The Best Knit Polo Shirts for Men in 2023

Sure, maybe some of these look like your grandpa’s polo shirts. But that’s OK because your gramps was freakin’ awesome.

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The first “polo” shirts were worn by 19th century polo players, but while you likely picture a short-sleeved shirt when you think polo, they were always long-sleeved. The short-sleeve polo shirt as we know it today was actually made famous not by polo players, but by tennis players. By the late 1920s, the polo shirt had gained widespread wear in the pro tennis community, largely thanks to its adoption by star player Jean René Lacoste. (Yes, that Lacoste, the crocodile logo brand.)

The retro “knit polo” is having a moment once again, but while polo shirts have always been knit (not woven), what’s in style at the moment are polo shirts designed with visible texture and a soft-to-the-touch feel, which gives the sporty top a luxury appeal. If you want to feel great while looking great while playing tennis, sailing, or enjoying a luncheon, we’ve got you covered with an assortment of vintage-inspired knit polos for just about any occasion.

Buck Mason Italian Slub Linen Polo

Much like a good handshake or a dry martini, this cotton jersey knit polo from Buck Mason is always welcome at the party. A light but sweater-like polo, this shirt can be a great choice for layering with a tee underneath it or with a jacket worn over it. The yarn-dyed Italian Slub Linen is a fine shirt for summertime—especially for those summer nights— but it will also be an acceptable post-Labor Day garment.

VERTICAL STRIPE CROCHET SWEATER

When we talked about grandpa’s shirt earlier? Yeah, this is the one you might not have been thinking of. It’s the shirt you can wear poolside or bar-side or downtown or uptown. It’s a shirt your grandkids will find in a big wooden chest some day and say: “Damn, Pop was hip!” The boldly colored and wildly textured shirt is made with a blend of cotton and polyester. This hand-crocheted shirt is purely one-of-a-kind that you’ll keep for a lifetime.

Percival Dandelions Shirt

Soft to the touch, easy on the eyes, and somehow at once both eye-catching and completely refined, the Dandelions Polo from Percival is a perfect polo for the summer. Anyone with a decent eye for clothing will be able to tell that this is a well-made shirt. It’s knit from a cotton blend also incorporating several synthetic fibers that add a bit of stretch and motion. No matter day or night, this is going to be your summertime staple.

Madewell Textured Cotton-Linen Blend Sweater Polo

As you probably guessed, this polo shirt is made from a blend of cotton and linen. It’s soft and loose and has a decidedly relaxed fit and feel; if you’re an old jeans and chucks kind of guy, then this is your polo shirt. Ditto if you’re a swim trunks and sandals guy. The three large buttons add some interest, but the textured fabric is the main draw here. This shirt will look like a well-loved standard piece of your wardrobe from the first time you wear it, and that’s not meant as a denigration.

Quince Mongolian Cashmere Polo Sweater

If you wanted to know what cozy looks like, it looks like the Mongolian Cashmere Polo Sweater from Quince. Made with 100 percent Mongolian cashmere—which is wild, considering how affordable it is—this is one seriously soft, warm shirt that you will want to live in from early fall right on through early spring.

Good Man Brand Knit Polo Sweater Shirt

This luxuriously textured shirt is made from merino wool knit and rocks a retro-inspired johnny collar (meaning it’s free of buttons in the collar) with ribbed collar, arm brands, and hem. It will go perfect under a blazer for some upscale pop or stands out great with some jeans or trousers.

The Jacquard Polo

OK, this is not technically a knit polo shirt, it's a woven polo shirt. The very term “jacquard” in fact means, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “a fabric of intricate variegated weave or pattern.” But you won’t care about such technicalities when you don this awesome shirt, which is made with 100 percent organic cotton and has a tailored fit and soft, t-shirt style feel. The rich texture here manages to be unmissable but still understated, letting you dress this shirt up or down as you wish.

India Street Indigo Dyed Slub Polo

The polo shirt with the subtlest knit we’re featuring here today, the India Street Dyed Slub Polo nonetheless has more texture to it than, say, an Iconic Mesh polo from Ralph Lauren (which, keep in mind, is still technically a knit shirt). This 100 percent cotton garment has a lived-in feel from the first wear and will only get softer and more comfortable with each washing. The subtle ticking around the sleeves, hem, and collar add some interest, while you can’t go wrong, color-wise, whether you choose the deep, dark India Indigo or the Oxford-like India Light Blue shade.

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