Introducing the only polo you need on these warmer days

Words: Zak Maoui

In association with:

Originally introduced to the world in the mid-1920s by the super stylish and business savvy tennis player René Lacoste, the polo shirt has transcended the sports world and become a staple in the wardrobes of men everywhere. With the help of guys like Paul Newman, Elvis Presley and Steve McQueen, for much of the 20th century polo shirts became a signal of cool, no matter who or where you were.

Sunspel, the British outfitter with a penchant for making everyday clothes that are a little bit more special than your average garb, is still making the same Riviera polo shirt that is has been pushing since the 1950s. It was then that Peter Hill, the great grandson of Sunspel founder Thomas Hill, first introduced the polo shirt as more of a wardrobe staple, and less of a sports hero. Hill found that the pique polos that had gone from tennis court to the backs of some of the most stylish men in the world, were still pretty unsuitable for all day wear due to their thicker fabrication, and therefore not quite suitable for warmer climes - appropriately it was on the French Riviera that he first realised this, hence Sunspel’s signature garment’s name.

So what makes the Riviera polo shirt so special? Well, not only does it harness the timeless power of a garment worthy of the wardrobes of men such as Paul Newman and Robert Redford, but its very construction has it sitting atop the peak of the polo pile. This is the ultimate polo shirt when it comes to fabrication specifically built for warmer days.

Hill, upon returning from his summer jaunt to the Riviera, headed to Sunspel’s Long Eaton factory in Nottingham, in the hope of finding a way to solve his sweat-inducing polo problems. Well, he did just that. He revived the disused lacemaking machines at the factory to create a new cotton warp knit mesh, which was named Q75 and based off Sunspel’s original Q14 cellular cotton. With a super lightweight construction, the fabric resulted in garments ideal for hotter weather. Meanwhile, the mesh construction allowed supreme breathability, in turn reducing sweat.

In fact, the modern classic Riviera polo (yes, the very one you can buy right now), was so good that it was the one you would’ve seen on the back of Daniel Craig’s James Bond. With Bond costume designer Lindy Hemming (who was likely inspired by the original Fleming book in which Bond wore Sunspel), the brand ensured that the Riviera Polo was fit for Craig’s 007, tailoring it to mould to his physique, while keeping those same fabrication elements to make it ideal for the warmer climes of the film’s Montenegro setting.

Sunspel Riviera Polo shirt, £138. sunspel.com

Sunspel Riviera Polo shirt, £138. sunspel.com

Sunspel Riviera Polo shirt, £138. sunspel.com

And the Riviera Polo will slot neatly into your summertime wardrobe from here on out, and you don’t even need to bulk up at the gym like Craig did for Casino Royale to pull one on. The polo shirt has a slim-fit construction, and thanks to its refined style it's the sort of item you can wear to dinner, sitting coast-side at Le Plongeoir or the like, or simply for jaunts around London in mid-July. It can be paired up with linen trousers (Sunspel also does those) and a pair of sneakers, or even worn with shorts and loafers.

The Riviera comes in 46 colourways, from neutral hues such as undyed, buttermilk and black to more punchy colours like thyme, garnet red and blue mist, each as wearable as the next.

Shop the Riviera polo shirt now at sunspel.com