The 10 Best Men’s Polo Shirts To Buy Right Now

At once indispensable and yet wildly underrated, few pieces of menswear can carry off the effortless heavy lifting of the classic polo. Previously the remit of tennis pros and the country club set, in the ensuing decades, the polo shirt has found favour in a vast array of subcultures — both predictable and totally surprising.

Whether you’re keen on modish athleticism; Milano-ready tailoring; or even a hint of tropical vacay flair, the likelihood is that there’s a polo design in menswear’s sprawling, increasingly intersectional universe that will help nail your chosen look.

Here then are 10 of the best polo shirts you can buy.

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Boss Hunting’s Best Polo Shirts For Men

Nana Judy ‘Fairway’ Knitted Polo

Part of Aussie casualwear label Nana Judy’s latest seasonal offering, this ‘Fairway’ is an appropriately versatile polo for those looking for a do-all shirt that will take you from tee-off to tippling time.

The design’s exterior features prominent, finely knit ribs — running the length of the entire shirt. Wear yours with moderately tapered trousers for a polished everyday look. Also available in a ‘bone’ colourway.

Anglo-Italian Long Sleeve Polo

A perennial favourite among us Boss Hunting staffers, London-based Anglo-Italian is as good as they come if you’re in the market for the platonic ideal of the classic polo shirt. In founder Jake Grantham‘s consummate style, these are made using 100% piqué cotton that is pre-washed in order to achieve the finished product’s dusty, comforting colour.

Other details such as the curved barrel cuff, reinforced pocket, and just-long-enough collar leaves speak to the thoughtfulness behind this design — one that will reward pairing alongside staples of the ‘Italian industrialist’ uniform (think wool fresco trousers or a well-worn pair of Japanese denim).

Frescobol Carioca ‘Rino’ knit

Made out of a knit (as opposed to woven) cotton, Frescobol Carioca’s latest iteration of its bestselling ‘Rino’ is a brash, holiday-ready iteration of the traditional polo — envisioned in the kind of colour and proportions you’d see on Ipaneman sidewalks.

The shirt’s slightly saturated shade of yellow (described as ‘lemon’) is equally handsome in the early evening, making the Rino another versatile part of your beach-to-bar arsenal.

Boss Waffle-Structured Polo Shirt In Stretch-Cotton Blend

In keeping with Boss’s revival as a slick urban label (with an avowed focus on techwear), this “waffle-structured” polo shirt has a sharp, sparingly decorated look that allows wearers to better enjoy its comfortable stretch cotton fabric.

Already soft and lightweight, the shirt’s visibly crocheted texture works equally when worn as a primary layer, or whilst peeking from beneath folds of the brand’s boxy, artfully shrunken suiting.

Loro Piana ‘Camino’ Brushed Cashmere & Silk Polo Shirt

No list of the internet’s most excellent polo shirts would be complete without at least one entry from Loro Piana. The reigning kings of jet-set style in the 21st century do of course make shirts in conventional plant-based fabrics, but it’s cashmere for which the brand is so famed.

More closely resembling a wearable cloud than your average tennis shirt, this brushed polo features an interesting combination of cashmere and silk. Predictably, the sensation of Loro Piana’s cashmere is quite something to behold (never mind wear); and to this, the brand has added a practical embellishment in the form of strong, highly breathable silk.

Venroy Rib Knit Open Neck Polo

You probably don’t need another lecture about the myriad delights of linen (particularly as we head into the oncoming blaze of summer in Australia) but Venroy has managed to take all of this primeval fibre’s known practical benefits; and express them in a manner which feels perfectly at home in modern leisurewear. 

The Sydney-side brand’s aptly named ‘open neck’ polo is lean on decoration, favouring a strikingly clean V-shape placket that fans out into a wide collar you can wear casually, or alternatively, pop over the collar of your favourite sportcoat for maximum Goodfellas-esque effect.

NN07 ‘Ryan’ Polo In Desert Sun

Along with brands like Barena and Hartford, NN07 were early adopters of the Italo-Scandi aesthetic that now reigns supreme across Australia.

At a glance, there’s nothing revolutionary about the Danish label’s neat, streamlined designs, but a winning combo of comfort, quality, and affordability (relatively speaking) has ensured a steady fanbase. 

Designs like the ‘Ryan’ polo exemplify why. Made out of a crafty blend of knit polyester and recycled cotton, this shirt prominently features an open weave that looks best layered over a singlet in contrasting colours. Enjoy it with swimmers, chinos, your go-to pair of denim — any essentials you love wearing, really.

Orlebar Brown Terry Towelling Resort Shirt

Inspired by the one-piece bathing suit Sean Connery famously wore in Goldfinger (1964), this ‘Resort’ shirt by British leisurewear brand Orlebar Brown has been a staple among well-heeled vacationers for a number of years now.

In many quadrants, the brand’s original design was responsible for reviving the popularity of terry cloth: a distinctive evocation of woven cotton that is both plush and extremely absorbent. As its name suggests: akin to a towel.

This poolside take on the classic short-sleeved polo comes in an array of essential and seasonally appropriate colours, though we’re big advocates of the ‘Riviera’ blue — precisely because it recalls the Golden Age of coastal vacationing. If it’s good enough for 007…

P. Johnson Navy Ice Cotton Polo

Another in the canon of dressy, sartorially inclined polo shirts, this short-sleeved design from Australian stalwart P. Johnson seeks innovation in the material realm — with breathable ‘Ice Cotton’ that is woven in a jersey-style fabrication.

Technically, there’s nothing to stop you from wearing this in a casual application but the sum of details makes it clear that this is a polo shirt best accompanied by a certain sporty casualness.

Also available in similarly versatile shades of green, off-white and black, this offers a cool and light-wearing staple all throughout the summer.

Rodd & Gunn Long-Sleeve Sports Fin ‘Gunn’ Polo

From the jump, we talked about minimally styled polos that are modish in their simplicity; and if what you’re after is a shirt that is unfussy and well-made, Rodd & Gunn’s eponymous ‘Gunn’ polo may just be the ticket.

This long-sleeved design by the Kiwi heritage clothier is is all about practical pleasure: its cotton yarns are doubled over one another and feature a 32-thread count, meaning that (despite the handsome, brunch-ready design) it technically qualifies as performance clothing.

Uniqlo DRY-EX Polo Shirt

For over a decade, UNIQLO has led the charge when it comes to smart, deftly designed everyday clothing — ‘lifewear,’ if you will. Its range of DRY-EX polo shirts is emblematic in that regard: made out of recycled polyester treated with a streaky ombre effect. 

Unlike your run-of-the-mill short-sleeved polo, these DRY-EX designs are made with a tubular construction. The lack of side seams gives the shirt a looser, more amply draped feel: making it a great option for polo wearers who favour an overall look that is more street than sartorial.

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