Is there anything less worth your time than saying we should eradicate a particular item of clothing by just getting rid of it all together, no questions asked? I'd wager probably not. Well, that didn't stop one extremely brave writer for Today from saying it's officially time to retire the polo shirt.
Rachel Greenberg believes that with Ralph Lauren's stepping down as CEO of his company, we should retire the polo shirt with him. Because that totally makes sense and Ralph Lauren definitely invented the polo shirt because he has a brand named "Polo." Completely disregarding the actual genesis of the garment and Rene Lacoste is a strong start to the argument. She goes on to call the polo possibly the single most offensive piece of clothing ever and that "Polo shirts belong back in the frat house or exclusively on the golf course, polo field or tennis court where their practical nature can be put to good use. So, unless you are literally picking up a mallet, tennis racket or golf club right now, delve deeper in your closet and find something else to wear." Strong words. Though, I don't know if I've ever run into a clearer situation of misplaced disgust. Chill, fam. It's a fucking shirt with a collar on it.
Look, I'm not about to ride or die for the polo. My feelings for the shirt run about as deep as a puddle. Sure, I have a handful of them to wear when I need to be fake fancy, but none of them are earth-shattering or anything in terms of either sheer praise or disgust. And it's not the polo shirts fault that its reputation has been ruined by business casual dress codes and frat bros intent on popping any and all collars. Plenty of brands make perfectly fine polos with a slim fit in a variety of nice fabrics, some of which won't even allow for proper collar popping. Listen, the reputation of just about every article of clothing ever has been compromised at some point. That's just how shit works in general. If you let a bunch of fuccbois ruin a specific piece of clothing for you, before you know it you're gonna end up naked.
