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A tennis shirt is really what most people are discussing if they say "polo shirt" or "golf shirt." They are a type of t-shirt which has a collar, several buttons down leading slit, and two side slits on the bottom. They often come with a chest pocket and created from such fine fabrics as; knitted pique cotton, merino wool, and silk.
Rene Lacoste, a 7-time tennis Grand Slam winner from France, is credited because the first person to generate the tennis shirt when he introduced his shirt design in 1929. The idea of creating the shirt came to Lacoste because the tennis apparel up to that time consisted of long-sleeved shirts, trousers and ties. The clothes worn by tennis players on the tennis court during the 19th and early 20th centuries were more appropriate for offices. Besides, the dress shirts worn on the courts were stiff and the ties heavy.
polo shirts
Alternatively, Lacoste's tennis shirt had a thick collar, was loose and non-starched, was made of pique cotton, had side slits in the bottom, and sported a longer shirt-tail. The thick collar, when turned up, provided protection to the neck so that the player didn't get sun burned.
What's interesting about Lacoste's tennis shirt was that polo players were already wearing shirts of exactly the same design because the late 19th century. In the past, they wore long-sleeved shirts that had a button-down collar. These shirts were manufactured from thick Oxford-cloth cotton. Despite the fact that the collar of this shirt-style was thick and didn't constantly flap from the wind, these polo shirts were still uncomfortable nor were they convenient to wear. Thus, when polo players discovered Lacoste's shirt design during the 1930s, they didn't think twice about adopting his design for their polo shirt.
It didn't take miss tennis shirts and polo shirts to be synonymous. When the 1950s came around, polo shirts were thought to be formal tennis attire in the United States. Even tennis players were calling their attire "polo shirt". The truth is, though, the "polo shirt" was actually first worn during a tennis game and not throughout a polo game.
The polo shirt reached its peak of popularity in 1967 when Ralph Lauren introduced his original clothing line aptly named Polo. Ralph Lauren's shirts weren't made for players to wear during polo games however the association of the polo shirt with the thought of leisure propelled his shirt into an instantaneous hit with non-polo players.
Golf attire used to be formal, however in the 20th century, golfers started to wear less formal and more easygoing golf apparel. It wasn't just polo players who started adopting the tennis shirt as standard sports attire, but golf players as well. Today, you will see most golfers wearing these shirts at tournaments. However, since golf is very different from tennis, the tennis shirts for golf players has to have a different cut design which differentiates the golf shirt from the tennis shirt.
Tennis shirts are so common today; they're worn by practically anyone if they play sports or not. Men and women wear them regardless of occasion. Clothing companies routinely have their own version of Lacoste's shirt. These shirts will be the perfect attire for times when round-collar t-shirts are too informal and formal business wear is too overdressed. You'll find semi-professional people and the ones in the retail industry often wearing tennis shirts to work. In lots of workplace environments, these shirts are acceptable work attire as they're smart and casual.
Then in the 1990s, the tennis shirt became the typical attire (business informal/casual) in the high-tech industry. This eventually spread to other industries. Companies eventually started printing their logos on tennis shirts if they became the corporate apparel. This way, the shirts provide the ultimate casual work wear while setting corporate identity and uniformity among employees simultaneously.
In sports, tennis shirts will be the standard attire. Caddies, umpires, and sports announcers wear tennis shirts. The shirts may also be commonly worn in schools both by teachers and students. In lots of schools, these shirts are in fact the required uniform.