The Best Polo Shirts for Men Are Game, Set, Match

At this point, there's no escaping the polo revival—and you wouldn't want to anyway, because the best polo shirts for men make looking good look easy. That's what happens when you're working with the perfect hybrid shirt: a top that's comfy as a T-shirt but made respectable by that (never to be popped) collar.

We could spend hundreds of words cataloging the polo shirt's versatility, but suffice to say that it'll work atop shorts (think deep '70s energy), chinos, or denim; under a blazer; on a casual business lunch, a coffee date, or a yacht. It can—and should—do it all.

While we’ve got love for the classics (see: Lacoste), there are plenty of places in Poloville that promise to bring a little more fun and funkiness to your shirt rotation. From the longstanding genre-definers to the swaggering upstarts, there’s a polo below for every taste and comfort level.

The Best Men’s Polo Shirts, According to GQ

• The Best Classic Polo Shirt: Lacoste Short Sleeve Classic Pique Polo Shirt, $110 $75
• The Best Rugby Shirt: Polo Ralph Lauren Iconic Rugby Shirt, $138 $115
• The Best Affordable Polo Shirt: Abercrombie & Fitch Johnny Collar Sweater, $70
• The Best Full-Placket Polo Shirt: Todd Snyder Full-Placket Polo, $298
• The Best Upgrade Polo Shirt: John Smedley Belper Polo, $320
• The Best Freaky Polo Shirt: Connor McKnight Tile Knit Rugby Pullover, $795

Best Classic Polo Shirt: Lacoste Short Sleeve Classic Pique Polo Shirt

Material: 100% cotton | Fit: Slim | Sizes: XS-4XL | Colors: Varies

Might as well start at the beginning, right? Around a century ago, French tennis player René Lacoste—famously nicknamed “the crocodile”—invented the polo as a way to blend hard-wearing performance with easy-going style. Almost 100 years later, the brand that bears his name still makes one of the best versions of the product category it invented—and its remit extends well beyond the court.

Lacoste’s signature design still features its telltale short button placket, elegant collar, and ribbed sleeves, done up in a now-legendary cotton pique fabric that’s endeared it to prepsters and punks in equal measure. It’s sturdy and soft, beefy but breathable, and a testament to the brand’s sovereignty decades into its reign.

“When I think of the polo shirt,” says GQ senior commerce editor Avidan Grossman, “I think of Lacoste. It’s as simple as that.” These days, Lacoste, the man, might not be remembered for his vicious backhand, but his contributions to the menswear canon remain undisputed. “Don’t sleep on the OG,” Grossman implores. He’s been wearing Lacoste’s genre-defining pique polo on and off for decades, and touts its crisp feel, timeless look, and universally flattering cut. If you need further convincing, Grossman submits one Jeremy Allen White as evidence.

Best Rugby Shirt: Polo Ralph Lauren Iconic Rugby Shirt

Material: 100% cotton | Fit: Straight | Sizes: S-XXL | Colors: Varies

Rugby shirts and polos are kinda like cauliflower and broccoli: They’re different even though they look similar and belong to the same family. The main difference between the two comes down to fabric and weight. Rugby shirts are noticeably beefier than polos, and thus a little more durable. (We’d be remiss not to mention the contrasting white collar, the former’s most defining feature.) There are plenty of real-deal, meant-for-sports rugby shirts on the market, but if you’re jonesing for an everyday option that’s just a hair softer and a lot better tailored, Ralph Lauren’s should be the beginning and end of your search.

Yes, we understand that it’s confusing for the best rugby shirt to come from a brand called…Polo. Even more confusing? Polo also makes a damn good polo shirt nearly as iconic as Lacoste’s. But Ralph’s rugby secured the crown this time around for its true-to-form design and rugged, modern-day fit. GQ commerce writer Gerald Ortiz swears by the silhouette, which he says is a little less roomy than more authentic fare but still plenty relaxed. “The silhouette is comfortable and roomy, but not in a way that feels like I should be able to bench 300 pounds,” Ortiz notes. “Plus, it’s not too long and pairs perfectly with my baggy pants.”

Best Affordable Polo Shirt: Abercrombie & Fitch Johnny Collar Sweater Polo

Material: Varies | Fit: Boxy | Sizes: XS-XXL | Colors: Varies

Call it the Ripley effect or chalk it up to camp shirt fatigue, but knit polos—especially retro-leaning, stripe-y styles—are everywhere right now. A lot of our favorite versions cost a pretty penny, but riding the new wave of La Dolce Vita-drenched style doesn't have to mean dropping big money. Luckily, Abercrombie, riding a revival wave of its own, dove headfirst into the trend this season, offering up a version of what they dub "sweater polos" for around 60 bucks. “In the past I’ve spent a little too much on Beams Plus’ retro polos,” GQ associate commerce editor Tyler Chin confesses, “but Abercrombie’s ticks all the right boxes—impeccable fit, drool-worthy design, cleavage-bearing collar—for a price that feels right for the 20th century.”

If variety is the spice of life, Abercrombie clearly likes its spice. The mall brand juggernaut offers its Johnny collar polos in a Crayola’s box-worth of colors and patterns, from airy open knits to textured jacquards to pleated riffs that look eerily similar—and eerily expensive. A&F introduces new variations throughout the season so, in a historic break with tradition, we’re giving its entire catalog of affordable polos the trophy.

Best Full-Placket Polo Shirt: Todd Snyder Full-Placket Polos

Material: Varies | Fit: Relaxed | Sizes: XS-XXL | Colors: Varies

Full-placket polo shirts take up a significant chunk of space in the collective GQ closet. It’s easy to see why: Those extra buttons give the silhouette a retro ‘50s feel—wear one and you might as well be strutting around the pool of a swanky mid-century hotel to the dulcet rhythm of bossa nova. Crucially, the placket also gives you more styling options than a normal pullover would. (Layers!) And we’re not sure any brand owns the category more authoritatively than Todd Snyder.

Like the Abercrombie polos above, Todd Snyder’s full-placket joints come in a rainbow of colors and—if you’ll indulge the mixed metaphor—a sea of different fabrics, each one with its own distinct vibe. The through-line across them is simple: fit and quality. “Todd’s polos are undeniably good,” Ortiz says. “They’re soft, luxurious, and fit impeccably.” Ortiz especially digs the breadth of Snyder’s assortment: “The only downside is that it’s difficult to choose just one.”

Best Upgrade Polo Shirt: John Smedley Belper Polo Shirt

Material: 55% Silk, 45% Cotton | Fit: Slim | Sizes: XS-XXL | Colors: Varies

Every category of clothing has its platonic no-budget version. Said version usually comes from a brand with serious pedigree in the space, like, say, a multigenerational factory that’s honed and mastered its craft over decades. Its materials should be finer, its construction more sound, it should be immediately obvious that it’s a better product in every way. For polos, that version comes straight from John Smedley.

Smedley’s cotton-silk knit polo is a house specialty, largely thanks to its just-right fit and luxe handfeel. “There’s something inherently sexy about wearing a shirt with a bit of silk in it,” Chin says, noting that the ratio of silk to cotton makes the polo soft but not overly precious—and consistently flattering. The last time he wore it, Chin quips, “a friend of mine said I looked like The Rock.” As you might expect, price is the main prohibitor here. So until all of us can arm our dressers with a fleet of Smedley polos, it’ll remain a grail worth aspiring to—and lusting over—every time the paycheck hits.

Best Freaky Polo Shirt: Connor McKnight Tile Rugby

Material: 100% Extra fine merino wool | Fit: Oversized | Sizes: XS-XXL | Colors: Black/brown

Polo shirts, as we’ve noted before, have evolved. So if you’re trying to expand your polo palate, start with a taste of Connor McKnight’s Tile Rugby, which answers the question “what would my hardiest polo feel like if it was cut from a weighted blanket?” It’s chunky, enveloping, and oh-so soft—the only thing we want to wear when we’re having a rough day. Coupled with thick-gauge yarns that give it a ton of texture and an oversized fit that imbues it with capital-F Fashion energy, it’s one of the more head-turning riffs on the market, proof that the humble polo has come a long way from its preppy origins—and looks all the better for it.

Connor McKnight is a Bode alum, Grossman points out, and he understands the importance of identifying—and subsequently perfecting—a hero product uniquely his own. In a few short years, the Brooklyn-based designer’s rugby shirt has become exactly that, a calling card of sorts among dialed-in menswear buffs. Every season, McKnight releases a few different versions of his signature knit, each slightly boxy, expertly cropped, and rendered in blanket-soft merino wool. The result is an “elegant, easy-going riff on an American classic”, Grossman says—and a shoe-in for “our inaugural All-Stars class.”

More Polo Shirts We Love

In the decades since Monsieur Lacoste birthed the category, the polo shirt has evolved far beyond the croc’s wildest imagination. These days, the market is teeming with your requisite mesh golf polos and pique tennis polos, but it also includes scuzzy polo cardigans, slinky zip-up polos, and airy linen polos well-suited to an Amalfi getaway. Which, exactly, are worth your time?

To answer that question, we assessed the category holistically, with an eye on design, quality, and of course, dashing good looks. If polos used to be the sole preserve of casual Fridays, they’re now a mainstay of everyday life—in offices, fairways, and tragically cool art galleries alike. So we scoured the market for polos that could hang in each of those venues and situations (or all of ‘em, when possible), to ID the shirts that would meet the most people’s needs.

Each winning pick was carefully selected for its excellence in its respective category. We looked to the genre-defining options and the versions that truly broke new ground—but we also assessed the polos that may not have invented a new category, but found a way to do it better than their predecessors.

To start, we thought long and hard about the many polo shirts we’ve known and loved across our decades of polo-wearing experience. We took stock of the personal favorites that will always be in our closets and the countless options we’ve encountered in stores and showrooms—the ones we wished we had in our closets. We narrowed down the list to a lucky handful to be summoned to our high-tech testing facilities in the GQ office.

Then we got to work. We called on our best, brightest, and most stylish colleagues to actually wear the damn things. Our testers ranged from hardcore vintage nerds and self-proclaimed denimheads to tailoring hounds and monastic quiet luxury fiends. Some of them had never owned a polo shirt before; others owned handfuls. Over several weeks, our intrepid testers evaluated their polos across style, fit, quality, and overall value, offering their notes to the GQ Recommends braintrust to be recorded for posterity.

Based on those evaluations, we ran the numbers, collated the anecdotal evidence, and emerged with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best polo shirts right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable go-tos to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs. Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there's bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ's testing process here.)

Our Testers

• Gerald Ortiz, GQ Style Commerce Writer
• Tyler Chin, GQ Associate Commerce Editor
• Avidan Grossman, GQ Senior Commerce Editor