3Sixteen Knit Polo

The buttonless knit polo is a specific object from a specific decade and it has been badly copied ever since. What makes it work is that there is no placket and no button to fasten, so the collar is not held anywhere. It falls open at the neck by itself, in a soft V that a jersey polo with a two-button placket can only imitate. That single absence is the entire design.

It is knitted rather than cut and sewn from yardage, which is why the collar rolls instead of standing and why the whole garment moves with the body. The yarn is Pima, a long-staple cotton with fibres long enough to spin into a smooth, low-pill yarn that holds colour and takes a clean dye. Knitted in Peru, which is where the world’s best Pima knitwear is made and has been for a long time.

Why we selected it

This is the most useful thing in the store for a man who does not wear tee shirts. It reads as a finished garment in a way a tee does not, it goes under a jacket without a collar fight, and in black it is close to formal. We looked at a lot of knit polos and most of them were jersey with a knitted collar sewn on, which is not the same garment at all.

3Sixteen’s knitwear is made in Peru rather than at its denim or workwear makers, and it is the quietest part of the line.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent Pima cotton, knitted in Peru. Buttonless open collar. Colour: black.

Fit notes

A knit sits closer and moves more than a woven shirt, so this reads trimmer than a cotton polo of the same nominal size while feeling less restrictive. Knitted cotton relaxes across a wearing and recovers with washing. It layers under an unlined jacket without bulk at the shoulder, which is the main reason to own one. Between sizes, take the smaller if you want it under tailoring and the larger if you want it worn alone.

Styling

Under the Work Blazer, which is the outfit this garment exists for. With the Drawstring Short in summer. With black denim for something almost monastic, which we mean approvingly.

Care

Wash cool and dry flat rather than hanging, because a knitted collar is the first thing to distort on a hanger. Fold it. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The long-sleeved versions are the LS Knit Polo, in cotton and linen, and the Long Sleeve Knit Polo in Brown. It goes under the Work Blazer, and when it is genuinely cold, the Alpaca Crewneck does the same job in a heavier fibre. Everything we currently hold from 3Sixteen is listed together.