In my day polos used to be soft thick 100 % cotton with generous sleeves covering the upper arm till above the elbows and collars standing high and grand and covering the back of the neck till below the hairline. They had substantial structure/body (shape that held) and ultra comfortable soft cotton. This was my go to piece of clothing to step out in (as opposed to round neck collarless T-Shirts that I wore only at home or for sporting activities).
However, this simple good thing was not to be taken for granted. As time went by, I watched in horror this simple evergreen staple slowly vanish - being replaced by plastic, toxic, carcinogenic trash (synthetic, polyester, 'performance', 'hi-tech') being passed as clothing riding solely on deceptive/misleading/convincing marketing and rapidly transient 'fast fashion trends'. These pieces of junk being passed as 'performance polos'/'hi-tech' had no 'body', clung to your skin like plastic, caused my sensitive skin to itch, with arms so short as if there was shortage of clothing material in the world and were of such thin cheap uncomfortable material that I would wonder how in the world do people put these on their bodies.
The 'trend' continued ...
Fast forward to the present day, finding the 'cotton polo of my youth' is like finding a dinosaur. The polo I grew up with is practically extinct - replaced by trash made with ever cheaper feeling and more toxic materials. Its a win win for the corporates/brands - cheap synthetic lab created materials astronomically marked up (riding on advertisement) - filling the corporate pockets unlike never before and successfully 're-programming' the minds and purchasing behavior of the new generation to accept, get used to, and even get addicted to such toxic 'hi-tech' trash. As for the manufacturing ? No problem - hire some MBA's (with zero knowledge/passion for good quality textile/garment manufacturing) - their sole purpose to be 'maximizing profits' for the next 'earnings report' and they would find the 'cheapest' offshore factory to outsource the manufacturing to. This being a continuous process - if you get a cheaper bid from another factory, just switch to it. No wonder you can never get consistent material, sizing, quality for the exact same product purchased even months apart.
Not just that - even brands that sold fantastic quality 100 % cotton polos at a very reasonable price like Tommy Hilfiger etc went STEEP DOWNHILL. A Tommy Hilfiger polo being sold today is NOWHERE NEAR anything like the quality they had even a few years ago (even though still being theoritically 100 % cotton, the quality (material, cut) now is absolutely junk - in fact they went from being my favorite Polo Shirts (thick, soft, cloud like cotton with generous neck and sleeves and amazing body, texture and shape and in high quality colors and finish) to absolutely shockingly unwearable pieces of garbage (thin, rough, itchy cotton with skimpy sleeves and flat collars and dull cheap finsih and colors with NO lusture, body whatsoever).
I always wish I had seen this day come. I would have stocked up on a lifetim's supply of 'real' clothing when they were still available.
Given the above, I am extremely surprised (pleasantly) by this Amazon Essentials Cotton Polo. This is 100 % cotton, has generous non-skimpy sleeves and has decent material and shape reminiscent of the 100 % cotton polo I am habituated to from my time. Quality of material wise - it is about 65% - 70% of the cotton polos of yesteryears - BUT - even THAT - is like finding diamond (or a dinosaur) in these abhorrent-clothing-times for the 100 % cotton polo lover.
Get this before the 'real cotton polo' is gone for good. I think I may be getting a few.
Rowdy Ron
Debashish Mitra
JOE ALLEN