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Style Debate: Wearing a polo under a blazer

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The case AGAINST wearing a polo under a blazer:  If you’re hooked on Wurkin stiffs, there’s no way you can be a proponent of the polo/blazer combo.  If you demand a collar that doesn’t pancake under your jackets, then you’re going to go nuts trying to keep a polo’s collar anything but smushed under a sportcoat or blazer.  The look also flies in the face of purpose-based-layering.  If it’s too hot to wear long sleeves, why are you now wearing a polo under another layer that happens to have sleeves attached to it?  It’s just so easy to mess up, and the alternative of wearing a button up shirt of some sort underneath just looks so much better.  That, and with a polo’s short sleeves, you’ll never get that nice 1/4″ of shirt cuff showing at your wrists.

The case FOR wearing a polo under a blazer:  Admittedly, there are a ton of ways to not do this right.  Don’t wear a traditionally structured, office-ready wool blazer over a polo.  You want a blazer that’s way more relaxed than some yacht club deal.  Keep the colors on both the blazer and polo light and summery, and steer clear of dark monochrome combos.  Don’t button that top button either, or you’ll look like some weekend sports anchor who just came in from the field, realized he left a dress shirt at home, and did his best with a borrowed sport coat from one of the reporters.  Oh, and whatever you do, don’t pop your collar, and like your hands and feet on a roller coaster, keep the points of your collar inside the lapels.

Your turn guys.  Are you 100% button up with a blazer?  Or do you sometimes go with a polo when wearing a sport coat?  Leave it all below.  Jacket up top: Original Penguin Dubbsy Jacket – $150.75 w/ OPGRTMN33OFF.  Usually $255.  Code is from right over here.  Jacket looks a little short in the drop?  Haven’t seen it in person.  100% cotton.

Comments

  1. Not for your formal navy blazer. I’ve had some success with a thinly lined glenplaid grey one.

  3. Wear a polo under a blazer…that’s if you want to look like you belong to some Harvard frat.  

  5. It can be done very right, or very wrong. There is such a range of both blazers and polos that it all depends on individual execution. An unstructured, well-fitting blazer is the perfect light jacket to complement chinos and polo for a late spring/early summer night out. Give it a shot!

  7. perfectly fine for summer…and for going to the clubhouse after 18 rounds…i

  10. Not a fan of this look. Even a t-shirt or v-neck looks better under a blazer, in my opinion.

  12. You are absolutely right, Harvard does not have “frats” they have fraternities, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is one of them

  13. I have to suit up most days.  Even days when I don’t technically have to suit up, I try not to be too casual.  On the dress-down days, I have gone polo+blazer, but I agree not w/ the Navy blazer.  

  14. My shirts vary from OCBDs to polos and my pants from dark jeans to chinos. If I’m wearing a polo in the office, I’ll sometimes put on an unstructured blazer for meetings or going to another part of the building. 
    I know it’s not ideal, but I don’t think of it as a negative compared to just a polo. 

  15. Just did this a few weeks ago going to & from CA on a business trip:

    jeans
    Brooks Brother polo (green and pink)
    khaki colored blazer from Target
    black BR driving mocs without socks

    Received a lot of compliements on the look, would not try pulling this off w/ a traditional blazer though.

  23.  Social clubs or “final clubs” they call them. (Have you seen THE SOCIAL NETWORK?) Totally frats.

  24. Barely fraternities by practical standards.  From what I understand, they are not officially recognized on campus, don’t have actual houses and have very low participation.

  27. This just makes me think of a guy who walked into a nicer restaurant without realizing it and had to take a loaner coat from from the host in order to be seated.  In other words, this combo strikes me as something that should never be a deliberate choice a guy makes before leaving the house.

  32. I’m a huge fan of simple v neck shirt – no graphics – under a blazer with jeans. Relaxed enough to fit in with casual situations, but a little extra detail to put you a cut above.

  33. I think this one depends on geography. In Oklahoma we have had 30+ days over 100 in a row before. I won’t do sportcoat and shorts but I have no problem with a short sleeve polo shirt and lightweight blazer. You need to be able to adjust to your environment.

  35. Nice, structured polo. Unstructured jacket. Do it. DO IT. 

    But for real. If I’m wearing a polo all day and it cools off at night when I go out, I’m not changing clothes to accommodate that. I’ll probably throw on a blazer and be done with it. If everything fits I don’t see what the problem is. 

  37. I think it’s fine. There are worse things you can do. I personally don’t partake, but I can see the functionality of it for layering. I still don’t get the suit with pressed shirt and no tie thing tho. No real functionality and just says I wanna be George Clooney/Ryan Gosling/etc. 

  40. Doing the tieless thing today.  It’s warm, and I like a little neck ventilation.  Summer suit, shirt, no tie.  I’m also not wearing shoes at the moment though.

  41. Well I don’t think it has to be “light and summery” necessarily, Joe. Something like this works for me:
    http://www.gq.com/style/gq-100/201204/gq-100-style-bible-april-2012#slide=106

    Maybe you’re not a fan for this sort of looks, but I think the striped polo works very well with even dark tone blazers -even navy. Sure, I say that since I wear such combo from time to time. ha! 
    But hey there are far worse things such as, tee + blazer. Or even worse: deep v-neck tee + blazer. And sure, they are some abomination of the aforementioned striped polo + blazer combo like this one:http://www.flickr.com/photos/perci/6176691397/in/photostream/lightbox/ 

  44. Anyone who’s afraid of throwing a sportcoat over a polo needs to get a little less rigid.  Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and Jack Nicholson all rocked the look.  The trick is to not wear a shirt with a floppy collar.  Go for something from Kent Wang or Criquet, which both feature stand-up collars.

  47. Can we expect a style debate no shoes soon? I think it may be the first unanimous decision. 

  48. As always, fit is everything. I think some of the opposition may come from seeing guys in two-sizes-too-big golf polos with billowing bodies and down-to-the-elbow sleeves. If the polo and jacket fit well (as they should, we’re Dappered readers after all!), I think the look can be polished and not like you tossed the jacket on as an afterthought.

    Also, to avoid the pancake collar, try looking into polos with slightly more substantial button down collars like this one from Brooks Brothers – http://goo.gl/PxCit (yeah, it’s expensive, but wait for a F&F sale to help out). I haven’t personally attempted the look, but if you have a preppy/east coast lean to your look already, I think it can definitely be pulled off.

  50. Agreed – a tee with an unstructured cotton blazer is a good look. To me the polo/blazer combo is equivalent to pleated khakis.

  52. I find this look works best with a blue polo, white blazer, and no pants. Or underwear.
    I wear this regularly and no one has ever commented negatively on my jacket/polo combo.

  54. Trying to think of why this looks “better” than layering a polo under your blazer. I think wearing a tee or v-neck under a blazer looks decidedly purposeful: nobody could possibly be unaware that a button-up normally goes with a blazer, so it looks like a purposeful contrast. But putting on a polo under your blazer just makes you look confused, like you thought “polo” was close enough to “button up”, so you figured you could bet away with it.

    That said, I think a polo can look perfectly tasteful under a very, very light, very unstructured, summery blazer. But a heavier blazer, like that in this post’s picture, looks a little sloppy.

  56. How about a slim sharkskin jacket over a Fred Perry tipped polo buttoned to the top and a Paul Weller haircut? That would work just fine if you’re into the whole mod thing.

  57. Oh well said! I was trying to come up with something it reminded me of, and there it is! Well said Ron Combs

  59. What about with Wurkin Stiffs new “polo stays”? Joe, I refer you here: http://www.wurkinstiffs.com/c-4-polo-stays.aspx. Or is this trying too hard and risking someone discovering that your sprezzatura isn’t quite as sprezzy as you’d like?

  60. Never liked the way this combo looked together, even with the most casual deconstructed blazer over the top. No matter what body type, brand, or color scheme, it still looks like you just didn’t want to wear a button up cause you were lazy, or trying to make a point. It is such a tween shirt choice (button up vs. t-shirt), I can’t see the reason to wear it.

    May whatever god you pray to have mercy on your soul if you decide to do this AND flip the polo collar up.

  61. I had this on today. I think it worked… It was a Ralph Lauren Polo under a Gray Tweed Blazer. Somehow, it worked… I wouldn’t try the combo with anything else however. 

  62. I think it’s fine with a cotton or linen coat. And usually pairing a light polo and a light jacket.

  63. For a true screw-up, wear a crew-neck undershirt under the polo shirt. Need some undershirt showing to complete the look of failure*

    *For a hall of fame fasion failure, combine with white athletic socks.

  65. I do it, but only in casual situations.  Like jose_jackson above, I think it adds nightime cooler temparture versatility.  I disagree that you have to keep both blazer and polo in light colors.  That’s a cool look too, but you can also go for contrast:  http://www.accidentalsexiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/fp_2102536_johnny_depp_shooting____the_rum_diary____in_puerto_rico__.jpg  (Though I would reign in the collar a bit)

    Also, as far as keeping your collar in line, Wurkin Stiffs makes polo stays too: http://www.wurkinstiffs.com/c-4-polo-stays.aspx  I haven’t used them myself but it seems like they’d work as well as their normal ones. 

  67. Leroy Jethro Gibbs rocks it every week….and with a t-shirt under the polo no less.
    I’ve never done it but I like the look. 

  69. Wearing anything without a collar under a jacket will eventually ruin the jacket. The oil from the back of your neck will stain the collar. I’ve seen too many nice jackets end up in thrift stores for this one simple reason.

  71. actually polos in general are bad. either with or without a blazer they are dorky.

  72. What a ridiculous argument. If your only comeback is calling him out for the use of “frat” instead of “fraternity” then you must not have much else to say.

  73. I completely disagree. I think polos and blazers work very well together as long as they’re for the right reason. It says “I am trying to beat the heat and relax a little but I am still making the effort to dress to impress.” Living in Arizona, this look works. Live in Miami? It works. Live in Palm Beach? It works. A great example of it being pulled off with style and class is in the episode of Mad Men when Don travels to San Diego and goes “off the grid” for a while to that pool house with the transients that he recently met.

  74. I forgot to mention, however, that there has to be an agreement between the polo and the jacket. A relaxed, more casual blazer with a dressier looking polo allows the two to “meet in the middle.” If you wear a “casual” polo and couple this with an actual dress suit jacket, you’re going to look silly. For me, the best bet has always been with a blazer that errs on the side of casual and couple it with a clean-cut polo.

    To illustrate my point…
    This:
    http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=117390&locale=en_US&kwid=1&sem=false&sdReferer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bananarepublic.com%2Fproducts%2Fmens-polo-sale.jsp

    ill simply not look good under a blazer.

    This:
    http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=47431&vid=1&pid=429610&scid=429610022

    -or-

    http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=47431&vid=1&pid=456142&scid=456142012

    will look fantastic under a well-fit, simple, blazer.

    And I was wrong earlier, it’s when Don goes to LA, not San Diego. It’s S2E11, “Jet Set.” Unfortunately the photo this website uses doesn’t REALLY show it but they describe what his outfit is.

    http://www.valetmag.com/style/profiles-features/2010/mad-men-casual-looks.php

  75. I do, sometimes. When it authorizes assassination of US citizens, America is a cunt.