Sunspel Polo Shirts

Filter

Sunspel polo shirts, led by the Riviera — the mesh-knit cotton polo Peter Hill developed in 1955 on Long Eaton's old lacemaking machines. Sixteen colours here in short and long sleeve, from bark and mink

Read More

25 products

About Sunspel Polo Shirts

The Riviera, and why it exists

In 1955 Peter Hill, great-grandson of Sunspel's founder, was on holiday in the south of France and found the piqué polos everyone was wearing unbearably hot. He went back to the Long Eaton factory and brought a set of disused lacemaking machines back into service — Nottingham had been the centre of British lacemaking, and Sunspel had the equipment sitting idle. What came off them was a cotton warp-knit mesh: open enough to move air across the skin, stable enough to hold a collar and a placket. That fabric became the Riviera polo, and it has been made the same way ever since. Fifty years later the costume designer Lindy Hemming put one on Daniel Craig for his first Bond film, which is why a great many people own one without knowing where it came from.

Riviera in short and long sleeve

The Riviera is cut slim and straight, with a two-button placket, a ribbed collar and a short side vent. The mesh is visible up close and sits away from the skin rather than clinging, which is the whole point of it. Short sleeve runs through white, black, navy, bark, dark green, loden green, drill green, pine green, dark cedar, bakelite, selvedge blue, blue mist, real indigo, pistachio and pale pink. Long sleeve comes in black and navy — the same fabric and fit, worn on its own in spring or under a jacket later in the year.

The knitted polos

The rest of the collection is knitwear cut as a polo rather than jersey. Extra fine merino is the thinnest and works under a blazer without bulk. Lambswool is the winter weight, in drill green. The Sea Island long sleeve uses the extra-long staple cotton the company was named after — smoother than standard cotton and it stays that way through washing. Mesh stitch, textured cotton and cotton mesh sit between the two, with more surface interest than the Riviera and a slightly heavier hand. The open textured and fine knit polos round it out in navy.

More Sunspel in the full collection, with polos from other brands in polo shirts and related pieces in knitwear.

Sunspel Polo Shirts FAQs

A polo made from a cotton warp-knit mesh that Sunspel developed in 1955. Peter Hill found piqué polos too hot on holiday in the French Riviera and returned to the Long Eaton factory to make something cooler, reviving old Nottingham lacemaking machines to knit the mesh. It has been made the same way since.
Costume designer Lindy Hemming dressed Daniel Craig in one for Casino Royale in 2006, his first film as Bond. Sunspel also supplied a Riviera version of its classic t-shirt for the same production.
An extra-long staple cotton, meaning longer individual fibres. It spins into a finer, smoother yarn that resists pilling and softens rather than roughens with washing. Sunspel took its name in 1935 from the Sea Island quality stamp — a sunburst through clouds.
Slim and straight through the body, cut close without being tight, with a shorter hem than a traditional polo so it works untucked. The mesh has little stretch, so if you're between sizes or prefer more room, take the larger one.
Piqué is a textured woven-look knit, the standard polo fabric, and it holds warmth. The Riviera mesh is a warp knit with an open structure that lets air through and sits away from the skin. It was made specifically because piqué was too hot in summer heat.
Cool wash at 30°C, inside out, and dry flat rather than hanging wet. The mesh and the knitted polos both lose shape if they're hung heavy with water or put through a hot dryer. Knitted polos should go on a wool cycle.
Yes. We stock Sunspel at both Yards Store shops — 13 Old Bank Street in Manchester and 86 Pinstone Street in Sheffield. Colours differ between the two, so call ahead if you want a particular one.