In our previous article, we explored the history of the classic polo shirt, and discovered how legendary 1920s tennis star René Lacoste developed the Humble Oxford Button Down into the stylish shirt we know today.
Lacoste’s legendary design featured an open-weave piqué cotton fabric, a soft- collared, three-button placket-front and a tiny crocodile logo emblazoned on the breast.
In this article we explore how polo shirt fabrics are made and take a look at cotton piqué, the most popular style for high quality polo shirts.
Aside from some unusual material choices like silk, or the low-rent man made polyester offerings, the vast bulk of quality polo shirts are constructed using 100% cotton.
Within cotton polo shirt construction, two very distinct types of fabric are most of- ten used: Piqué or jersey.
Before we delve into the differences between the two types of material, it’s worth taking a quick moment to understand the difference between the most popular types of cloth manufacturing: Weaving and knitting.
Weaving is a process where long threads are interlaced with one another to create a fabric. The interlacing is done horizontally and vertically, almost in a checker- board pattern.
Industrial knitting works on the same principle as the popular hobby: Knitting ma- chines use long needles to create stitches from a single yarn. Knits are not usually interlaced and can be spotted by looking closely for the different braids sitting next to each other.
Polo shirts are almost always made using a knitting process. Within that process, the most popular styles are jersey and piqué:
The jersey knit is best known for its use in T-shirts, but became popular when Coco Chanel began using the material for overcoats. Before that, the soft and closely knitted jersey fabric was almost exclusively used for underwear.
Whilst jersey fabrics often find their way into polo shirt construction, it’s the Piqué look and feel that has become synonymous with the classic Lacoste inspired garment.
Piqué fabrics are knitted almost like a weave, and feature a geometric honeycomb or “waffle” style knit that is durable, flexible and breathable. An obvious choice for a shirt with sporting origins.
You might have heard of double knit, where two types of threads are combined into a single fabric? Well, double piqué is exactly the same.
Sometimes this technique is used to cut down costs by combining a lower quality material like polyester with natural cotton. In higher end shirts, double piqué is more often used to create unique color styles and subtle patterns, or to simply make a more heavyweight and durable garment.
On the one hand, it’s a matter of personal taste.
If you’ve selected a decent quality polo shirt, it doesn’t really matter what it’s made from. The choice is simply down to how you perceive the cut, and if you prefer the softer, smoother texture of jersey knit.
However, if you’re looking for a more “detailed” and weighty fabric that’s strong and breathes well, you really need to look for a quality piqué knit polo shirt. It’s the original choice of René Lacoste after all!However, if you’re looking for a more “detailed” and weighty fabric that’s strong and breathes well, you really need to look for a quality piqué knit polo shirt. It’s the original choice of René Lacoste after all!
Piqué polo shirts might be a little heavier and less smooth than jersey, but they feel (and look) much more expensive due to their detailed and textured knit. Piqué shirts stand up to abuse much better than jersey, and will keep a neater, stiffer collar for longer periods of time.
So if you want the original polo look and feel, you need to look for piqué.
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