Polo neck
Apolo neck,roll-neck[1](South Africa),turtleneck(United States,Canada), orskivvyis a garment—usually asweater—with a close-fitting collar that folds over and covers the neck. It can also refer to the type of neckline, the style of collar itself, or be used as an adjective ( "polo necked" ).
A simpler variant of the standard polo neck is the mock polo neck (or mock turtleneck), that resembles the polo neck with the soft fold at its top and the way it stands up around the neck, but both ends of the tube forming the collar are sewn to the neckline. This is mainly used to achieve the appearance of a polo neck where the fabric would fray, roll, or otherwise behave badly unless sewn. The mock polo neck clings to the neck smoothly, is easy to manufacture, and works well with a zip closure.
History
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Europe
[edit]Turtle neck–like garments have been worn for hundreds of years, dating at least to the 15th century. They were originally designed to protect the necks of knights wearing chainmail. Royalty adopted high-neck fashion, with the height and volume of the neck ruffle indicating status.[2]
From the late 19th century on polo necks were commonly worn by fishermen, manual workers, athletes, sailors and naval officers.[3]Since the middle of that century,blackpolo necks have been closely associated with leftist radicalacademics,philosophers,artistsandintellectuals.[4][5]The polo neck jumper became an iconic symbol of the French philosopherMichel Foucault.[6]Polo necks also became a big fashion for wealthy young men after they were worn by European film starsMarcello MastroianniandYves Montand.[7]
Greta Garbooften wore polo necks and trousers privately, as laterAudrey Hepburnwould do in official photographs.
Vladimir Putin[8]ofRussia,Andreas Papandreou[9]ofGreece,andEmmanuel Macron[10]ofFranceare examples of European leaders who are fond of wearing polo necks.
United States
[edit]At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the high neckline blouse became a fashionable option for young women as part of the emergence of theGibson Girl.[11] Their adoption byNoël Cowardin the 1920s turned polo necks into a brief middle-class fashion trend, andfeministsmade them into a unisex item. Absorbed into mainstream American fashion by the mid 20th century, the polo neck came to be viewed as an anti-tie,a smart form of dress for those who rejectedformal wear.SenatorTed Kennedy,pianist/conductorVladimir Ashkenazy,conductorSeiji Ozawa,philosopherMichel Foucault,shipping tycoonStavros Niarchos,singerBarry Manilow,scientistCarl Sagan,Oracle Corporationco-founderLarry Ellison,TheranosfounderElizabeth Holmes,andApple Inc.co-founderSteve Jobswere among those often seen in polo necks.[12]
Over time it became a fad among teenage girls, especially in a lightweight form that emphasised their figures. It was not long beforeHollywoodwas also exploiting this image as part of thesweater girllook.
By the late 1950s the "tight turtleneck" had been adopted as part of thepreppystyle among students, a style emphasising neatness, tidiness and grooming. This would become an important aspect of the polo neck's image in theUnited States.
Very elegant polo necks of silk or nylon knit, especially made with French cuffs for formal dress affairs, have also seen success in American fashion.[13]
As an alternative to the necktie
[edit]
Polo necks have been used as substitutes for a shirt-and-tiesince the 1920s.[15]This was sometimes frowned upon in upscalerestaurantsand at weddings.
John Berendtwrote inEsquire[15]
the turtleneck was the boldest of all the affronts to the status quo. It was the picture of masculine poise and arrogance, redolent of athletes, sportsmen, even U-boat commanders. The simplicity of its design made neckties seem fussy and superfluous by comparison
turtlenecks are the most comfortable garment you can wear. They move with the body, and they're flattering too, because they accentuate the face and elongate the figure. They make life so easy: you can wear a turtleneck to work and then afterwards throw on a jacket, and it becomes very dressy. You can go anywhere you like.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Chilvers, Simon (2011-08-23)."Man-trend: Roll-necks | Fashion | guardian.co.uk".Guardian.Retrieved2013-03-14.
- ^Bucci, Jessica (2017-01-10)."Fashion Archives: A Look at the History of the Turtleneck".Fashion Fabric Sourcing. StartUp Fashion.Retrieved2020-04-02.
- ^"The Radical History & Psychology of Turtlenecks".The Good Trade.26 November 2018.Retrieved2020-04-02.
- ^Mary Ann Frese Witt,The Humanities and the Modern World,2000,ISBN9780669154269,OCLC254520256,pp. 463–464.
- ^Deirdre Bair,Simone de Beauvoir: A Biography,1990, p. 360.
- ^Eribon, Didier(1992) [1989].Michel Foucault.Translated by Betsy Wing. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. p. 311.ISBN978-0-571-14474-7.
- ^Guido Vergani,Dizionario della moda,2009, p. 348(in Italian).
- ^Zbigniew Brzezinski,Putin's Choice,2008.
- ^Theodore C. Kariotis,The Greek Socialist Experiment: Papandreou's Greece 1981–1989,1992
- ^"What's Emmanuel Macron's Turtleneck Trying to Say?".Vanity Fair.10 December 2019.
- ^"The Radical History & Psychology Of Turtlenecks".The Good Trade.26 November 2018.Retrieved2020-04-02.
- ^Warde-Aldam, Digby (15 October 2019)."How the black turtleneck came to represent creative genius".CNN.Retrieved2020-04-02.
- ^O'Donnol, Shirley Miles (1989-08-22).American Costume, 1915-1970: A Source Book for the Stage Costumer.Indiana University Press.ISBN0253113733.Retrieved2013-03-14.
- ^Olivarez-Giles, Nathan (October 11, 2011)."Steve Jobs' black turtleneck reportedly explained in biography".Los Angeles Times.Technology (blog).RetrievedJune 7,2014.
- ^abcHoffmann, Frank W.; William G. Bailey (1994).Fashion & Merchandising Fads.Haworth Popular Culture. Binghamton, N.Y.: The Haworth Press. pp.267–268.ISBN9781560243762.OCLC27225478.
External links
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