After a positively sporting summer, dominated by the Olympics, Paralympics, and the Euro’s, autumn is welcoming a new sports-inspired staple: the rugby polo. If the football shirt was your summer go-to, its cosier cousin, the rugby shirt, is ready to take the baton (or ball?) for the cooler months this autumn. And given the sporty staple’s latest star appearance in hyped Netflix Rom-com Nobody Wants This, there’s no better time to invest in the piece.
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In the series, Kristen Bell’s character Joanne opts for an orange and cream polo sweater from Turkish indie brand Siedrés, styled with skinny jeans and high-top Converse, when confiding in her sister Morgan (played by Justine Lupe) about the infamous ‘ick’. Set in Los Angeles, costume designer Negar Ali Kline, chose to deliberately mix independent and established labels for the series to create the ultimate high-low aesthetic, and perhaps that’s where the humble rugby polo fits in best.
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Its structured silhouette is relaxed like a sweatshirt or jumper, yet slightly tailored and collared like a crisp shirt, making it endlessly versatile. Whether thrown over jeans (like Joanne) for a casual day out or tucked into a statement skirt for a more polished look, it fits the bill. Unlike the football shirt, often emblazoned with logos and team affiliations, the rugby shirt has a pared-back heritage feel.
Wales Bonner Cotton polo shirt
Reformation Anna Rugby Shirt
By Anthropologie Stripe Rugby Shirt
You might immediately associate the rugby shirt with a British public school aesthetic – think a young Prince William at St. Andrews or Etonian’s line-up in Jack Wills – but it’s long since shaken off that posh-boy image and found its way into everyday wardrobes.
The style is having a serious moment on-screen and off and Nobody Wants This has given it fresh star power, while the SS25 shows were also a testament to the trend, as seen at Wales Bonner, Casablanca, and Kent & Curwen, who are all breathing new life into the classic. The look shows no sign of waning, picked up by the style set in the streets. So you might want to think about hanging up your boots (or shirt) when it comes to football and going for a rugby polo, like Joanne, instead this autumn.
While Joanne’s shirt is currently sold out so we advise you shop the other options above to get your rugby shirt fix.
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