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Kickstart Your Summer With the Best Rugby Shirts for Men
Our editors' picks are more Ivy League than Rugby League
After years of distressed, grungy, slouchy ‘fits, menswear is returning to tradition. The preppy, old money aesthetic that last peaked in the Nineties has regained its status, and by far the quickest and easiest way to adopt the air of a man with a healthy bank balance is to throw on something born from the red brick sports societies. A cricket jumper, say, a polo, or (drum roll) a rugby shirt.
Despite an early 19th century genesis, rugby shirts didn’t really make it off the playing field until the Fifties – first amongst fans of the sport, then with Ivy League students across the pond. Consequently, the shirt style became synonymous with prep, joining the ranks of Oxford shirts, boat shoes and chinos.
Fast forward to the Nineties and Noughties, and it was hip hop stars like André 3000 and Kanye West espousing the collared, traditionally cotton silhouette, rocking it with big chains, big jeans and big, big energy. Regardless of how you plan on styling yours, we highly recommend opting for one of the 13 rugby shirts we've spotlighted below.
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