T HE H ISTORY OF C USTOM P OLO S HIRTS Why athletes and not corporate employees first donned custom polos

I NTRODUCTION Plethora of unique types of clothing options Changing historical landscape Clothing options are relatively a new phenomenon No such thing as a clothing wardrobe Why clothing was sparse Expensive Lack of materials Lack of production tools What changed Industrial Revolution Custom polo shirts now readily available Custom polo shirts

T HE R ISE OF C USTOM P OLO S HIRTS Custom polos did not begin in the corporate world Too casual Not taken seriously Formal wear still reigned supreme Evolution of custom polo shirts Athletes first wore them Designed for sports Revolutionized game play

H OW DID C USTOM P OLOS START IN S PORTS Current state of athletic wear in the 1800s Stiff long sleeves Button down shirts No t-shirt on the horizon Problems with current athletic wear Not comfortable Little range in motion Original design of custom polo shirts Short sleeves Collar

C USTOM P OLO S HIRTS S OLVE P ROBLEMS Solution to current athletic wear Provided wide range of motion Increased comfortablility Blocked dangerous sun rays Alleviated stiffness Removed long sleeves Removed buttons Added “tennis tail” to keep shirt from pulling away from the pants

C ONCLUSION Changing function of custom polo shirts Fashion vs. sport Types of sports using custom polos Golf Polo Corporate work wear now an option