3Sixteen Long Sleeve Knit Polo

The collar is where this one differs from its siblings. It is ribbed, knitted in a raised alternating structure rather than as a flat panel, which gives it enough tension to stand at the back of the neck and enough elasticity to fall open cleanly at the front. A ribbed collar with no button and no placket holds a shape without being held, which is a small piece of knitting cleverness that most polos solve with hardware instead.

The rest is deliberately plain. It is a lightweight cotton, knitted in Peru, in a mid-brown that is warm without going orange. Brown is the colour most people avoid in knitwear because it is so often done badly, and it is the one that does the most work once it is right: it sits against indigo, charcoal, cream, and black with equal ease and looks like a decision rather than a default.

Why we selected it

We took this one for the colour and the weight. A long-sleeved knit this light is a nine-month garment in this climate, and there was nothing in the store doing that job in brown.

3Sixteen’s Peruvian knitwear is the part of the line that has least to do with denim, and this is the most refined piece in it.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton, knitted in Peru. Ribbed buttonless collar, long sleeves. Colour: brown.

Fit notes

Lightweight and close-following without being tight, as a knit is. It layers under a jacket with no bulk at all, which is what the weight is for, and it will show what is underneath it, so wear it against skin. Cotton knits relax across a wearing and come back with washing. Take your usual size.

Styling

Under the Work Blazer in grey, brown against grey, which is one of the better colour pairings in men’s dressing and one of the least used. With raw denim and a boot. Under the Liner Jacket when it turns.

Care

Wash cool and dry flat. Never hang a knit by the shoulders, and never hang one by the collar. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The knit polos beside it are the Knit Polo, short-sleeved in Pima, and the LS Knit Polo, in cotton and linen. For real warmth in the same brown register, the Alpaca Crewneck Sweater. It was chosen to go under the Work Blazer in Grey. Everything we currently hold from 3Sixteen is listed together.