The Polo shirt was indeed invented for a sport: Tennis! A professional French tennis player named Lacoste used to find his traditional tennis outfit restricting a lot of his movement during the game: the button-up shirt and tie. Therefore, he set out to design a new uniform for tennis players that would mimic the button-up shirt and provide comfort and freedom. The garment was a success and Lacoste built a big brand around it. Polo players latter adopted the design because of the soft collars that would stay down over the shoulders while galloping – having the term coined by Ralph Lauren in 1972. Still today, it is possible to notice the sporty, yet slim design of the Polo shirt, still resembling its original design.
References:
https://www.gq.com/story/dropping-knowledge-the-polo-shirt
https://www.lacoste.com/gb/lacoste-brand/lacoste-history.html
http://time.com/4055543/ralph-lauren-polo-shirt/
