American polos split between performance labs and downtown design houses, NASA knit included. Ministry of Supply builds the Apollo NASA polo from temperature-regulating knit in Boston. Psycho Bunny keeps the Pima-cotton polo and its skull-rabbit emblem in New York. Engineered Garments cuts the asymmetric polo with patch pockets for the workwear shelf. Choose by collar first, because the body fabric forgives more than the collar does.
Hobson Brown and Billy Nachman founded Criquet in Austin in 2010 to recreate the vintage four-button-placket golf shirts of their prep-school youth; the organic-cotton shirts are made in the USA and Peru, with early backing from actor Luke Wilson.
Best for Vintage polos, organic cotton
Criquet Shirts was founded in Austin, Texas in 2010 by Hobson Brown and Billy Nachman, two New York natives who grew up together during the prep-school fashion era of the 1980s. According to the brand's own account, the impetus was nostalgia for a specific style of vintage golf shirt - Nachman's own well-worn family heirloom, nicknamed 'The Doctor Jack' - that the pair could no longer find on the market and decided to design and produce themselves. The resulting product line is built around 100% organic cotton and a four-button placket, styled as an old-school golf shirt reinterpreted with what the brand calls an Austin sensibility. Actor and Texas native Luke Wilson became an early brand partner. One caveat found in research: a Yelp listing for a specific Criquet Shirts retail address in Austin (1603 S 1st St) is marked closed as of an August 2026 update, though this appears to be one physical storefront rather than evidence the company itself has ceased operating.
Ministry of Supply is a Boston-founded (2012) apparel brand built by MIT-connected founders, applying NASA-derived phase-change material technology and other lab-tested fabrics to machine-washable suits, shirts and workwear.
Best for NASA-tech polos, performance; Apollo NASA polos; Hybrid performance polos; Velocity athletic polos
Ministry of Supply was founded in 2012 by Gihan Amarasiriwardena, Kevin Rustagi, Kit Hickey and Aman Advani, who met through MIT's Entrepreneurship Center in 2011. The brand's signature technology traces to phase-change materials (PCMs) originally investigated by NASA's Johnson Space Center for temperature regulation in spacesuit gloves; the founders licensed the same PCM technology from Outlast Technologies, the patent holder, and applied it to dress shirts designed to respond to body heat.
The company launched publicly via Kickstarter in 2012, raising roughly $429,000 against an original $30,000 goal, before opening a showroom in Boston and moving into online and retail sales.
AG makes premium denim, trousers and luxe casual basics from Los Angeles. Wash, rise and fit provide the clearest distinctions across jeans, while fabric blends affect stretch and recovery.
Best for Minimal polos, premium cotton; Minimal denim
Los Angeles denim house since 2003 — premium rigid jeans manufactured in company-owned facilities with forty-stage craftsmanship and sustainable production methods.
Best for Sophisticated polos, LA
Citizens of Humanity was founded in 2003 as a Los Angeles-based premium denim label with an unwavering commitment to quality without compromise. The brand manufactures through company-owned facilities as well as select production partners, with each pair of jeans passing through approximately forty skilled craftspeople before reaching customers. Their designers travel globally sourcing superior fabrics and vintage inspiration to create a uniform of wardrobe classics modernized for contemporary wear. The brand distinguishes itself through vertical integration and investment in sustainable production methods, including laser technology, ecological stones, and recycled water systems. Citizens of Humanity has built a devoted following for elevated-feminine silhouettes that combine sophistication with a natural ease, offering refined basics that have remained in steady rotation among fashion professionals.
Los Angeles denim label founded in 2012 by Erik Torstensson and Jens Grede, former Wallpaper magazine colleagues and co-founders of the Saturday Group agency. Built around the 'Le Skinny de Jeanne' jean; grew into ready-to-wear generating roughly $170 million in 2022 sales.
Best for Elegant polos, contemporary; LA-London denim
FRAME was founded in Los Angeles in 2012 by Erik Torstensson and Jens Grede, two Swedish-born entrepreneurs who met more than two decades earlier working at the design magazine Wallpaper in London. In 2003 the pair left to start their own agency, which grew into the multi-division Saturday Group. FRAME began as a narrower project: an attempt to design a single, ideal pair of skinny jeans. That jean, marketed as 'Le Skinny de Jeanne,' became the brand's breakout product and the foundation for a wider denim and ready-to-wear line. By 2022, press coverage put FRAME's annual sales at roughly $170 million.
Golf Wang’s seasonal drops move between graphic apparel, footwear, accessories and music editions. The online archive is useful for tracking collaborations and capsules, while permanent flagships carry the current collection.
Teddy Fresh emerged in 2017 when Hila Klein, seeking affordable colorful clothing with genuine playfulness, founded a streetwear label blending children's whimsy with vintage eclecticism and refined aesthetics.
Best for Colourful street polos, bold
Teddy Fresh emerged in 2017 when Hila Klein, seeking affordable colorful clothing with genuine playfulness, founded a streetwear label blending children's whimsy with vintage eclecticism and refined aesthetics. Based in Los Angeles, the brand has developed a distinctive voice by licensing partnerships with properties including Looney Tunes, SpongeBob, and Care Bears. Each collection balances bold graphics and nostalgic references against deliberately accessible price points, avoiding the cynicism that often shadows streetwear. Beyond apparel—tees, hoodies, jackets, dresses, and accessories—the brand maintains active charitable campaigns, with notable recent expansion into Teddy Glow, a high-end makeup line launched in November 2025. The label's evolution reflects deliberate curation rather than seasonal churn; each drop speaks to a specific cultural reference or creative collaboration.
Los Angeles premium-denim label founded in 2002 by Jeffrey Lubell and Michael Buckley; built its identity around a horseshoe-shaped back-pocket stitch inspired by a Buddha motif and became closely associated with 2000s hip-hop and celebrity style.
Best for Logo polos, West Coast
True Religion was founded in Los Angeles in 2002 by Jeffrey Lubell and Michael Buckley, entering a premium-denim market that was then dominated by older, mass-market brands. The label built its identity around a distinctive back-pocket stitch: a horseshoe-shaped 'Super T' design the brand describes as inspired by a Buddha's smile, paired with heavy, contrast-color stitching and deliberately exaggerated washes and fits. Those design choices, combined with a Buddha logo, made True Religion jeans easy to identify at a glance, and the brand was quickly picked up by hip-hop artists and Hollywood figures, appearing repeatedly in music videos and on red carpets through the mid-to-late 2000s. That period built True Religion into one of the defining premium-denim names of the decade, and the brand has more recently leaned on that nostalgia, including collaborations aimed at reintroducing the label to a younger generation of shoppers.
Bonobos sells menswear through fit-focused trousers, shirts, suits and casual clothing, supported by showroom appointments. Guideshops emphasise trying sizes and ordering rather than carrying every item for immediate take-away.
American clothier founded in 1818 and associated with the ready-made suit and the polo button-down collar. May 2025: house opened a 10,000 sq ft global flagship at 195 Broadway, returning downtown near the 1818 Catherine-and-Cherry origin after leaving 346 Madison.
New York menswear artisans — soft-shoulder chore coats, chinos, custom suiting and factory-direct trouser programs.
Best for Knit polos, trousers, jackets
Epaulet Brand is a New York-based menswear specialist focused on tailored and artisanal clothing construction. The brand operates primarily as an e-commerce retailer offering both ready-to-wear in-stock items—chore coats, chinos, jeans, shirts, pants, bags and accessories—and custom clothing services for suits, sportcoats, trousers, overcoats and custom shirts produced through partnerships with manufacturers in the United States and Europe. Epaulet is particularly known for soft-shoulder construction techniques and use of premium cloth from suppliers like Loro Piana. The brand emphasizes quality craftsmanship and offers direct purchasing programs allowing customers to commission custom trousers and other tailored pieces. Epaulet positions itself within the contemporary menswear movement prioritizing construction quality and material selection over mass production.
New York streetwear label founded in 2006/2007 by childhood friends Micah Belamarich and Julian Goldstein; built its identity around NYC Parks Department iconography and later became an official apparel partner to NYC Parks, Sanitation and the MTA.
Best for Minimal street polos
Only NY was founded at the close of 2006 by Micah Belamarich, then a graphic design student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and his high-school friend Julian Goldstein. Digging through New York City's graphic archives, the pair gravitated toward the Parks Department's iconography, and have released seasonal NYC Parks capsule collections ever since. The brand opened a flagship store on the Lower East Side and grew from an independent streetwear-adjacent label into an official design partner for New York City agencies, producing apparel for the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Sanitation and the MTA.
A New York label cut in Peruvian pima: polos and knitwear under the skull-rabbit mark.
Best for Pima-cotton polos and knitwear carrying the skull-rabbit emblem
Psycho Bunny grew from its skull-and-crossbones rabbit emblem into a full menswear and childrenswear business whose signature remains the brightly coloured polo. The house’s current supply-chain reporting says its Pima cotton is sourced primarily from Peru and that most of its signature cotton polos and shirts are manufactured there, with third-party social-compliance audits across the supplier network. That production story gives the familiar logo product a more useful point of comparison: fabric, colour and construction matter as much as the irreverent mark.
Surfwear brand traced to Jack O'Neill's first surf shop, opened 1952 on San Francisco's Ocean Beach, moving to Santa Cruz in 1959. O'Neill is popularly credited with the modern wetsuit, though physicist Hugh Bradner's earlier prototype predates it; the wetsuit business remains family-owned and Santa Cruz-based.
Best for Santa Cruz surf polos
The O'Neill brand traces to 1952, when Jack O'Neill opened his first surf shop on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, experimenting with neoprene to make cold-water surfing more bearable. He moved his family and the business to Santa Cruz in 1959, where the wetsuit side of the company remains family-owned and headquartered today. O'Neill is widely credited as the inventor of the modern wetsuit, though the claim is contested: an earlier prototype was developed and tested in Lake Tahoe around 1950 by UC Berkeley physicist Hugh Bradner. Ownership of the O'Neill name has since split by category - the wetsuit business stays with the O'Neill family in Santa Cruz, while the O'Neill apparel license for the US market has been held since 1993 by the La Jolla Group. In early 2025, O'Neill closed its flagship downtown Santa Cruz surf shop after 25 years, though three other O'Neill retail locations remain open in the city.
American golf-apparel brand introduced in 1989 as a tribute to golfer Robert Tyre 'Bobby' Jones Jr., the only player to win all four majors open to him in one calendar year (1930) and a co-founder of Augusta National and the Masters.
Best for Golf polos, premium cotton
Bobby Jones is an American golf-apparel brand introduced in 1989 as a tribute to Robert Tyre 'Bobby' Jones Jr., the amateur golfer who in 1930 became the only player to win all four major championships open to him in a single calendar year — golf's original Grand Slam. Jones also helped design Augusta National Golf Club and co-founded the Masters Tournament. The apparel company, which markets itself on the values of 'character, integrity, respect, consistency,' has operated for over three decades and has moved its corporate base to Atlanta. It licenses the Jones name and legacy through the Jones family's Jonesheirs organization and continues to release collections referencing his career and American golf heritage. In 2026 it partnered with outerwear maker Sunice to unveil new collections at the PGA Merchandise Show, and it marked the United States' 250th anniversary with a Patriot Collection referencing the country's founding era.
Ralph Lauren's 1978 diffusion line, built as an affordable department-store alternative to Polo. Since October 2020 it operates under a fully licensed model, no longer directly designed or run by Ralph Lauren Corp.
Best for Accessible American polos
Chaps was launched by Ralph Lauren in 1978 as a lower-priced diffusion line, positioned to sell through mid-tier department stores such as Macy's rather than Ralph Lauren's own boutiques. It built a reputation on classic American sportswear - suiting, tweeds, outerwear with an equestrian, East Coast prep influence - under a navy crest label reading 'Chaps Ralph Lauren' until the late 1990s, when the branding was shortened to simply Chaps. In October 2020, Ralph Lauren Corporation announced it would move Chaps to a fully licensed business model, handing day-to-day operation to a licensing partner. Chaps remains available today, sold through chaps.com and department-store partners, but is no longer directly designed or run by Ralph Lauren Corporation.
Skateboard brand rooted in environmental stewardship and the tree-logo ethos of Wind, Water, Fire, Earth.
Best for Tree skate polos
Element was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1992 by Johnny Schillereff as Underworld Element, later shortening to Element. The brand's defining symbol is a stylized tree within a circle—Schillereff's emblem for "the life of natural wood" and "oneness" with the skateboard itself. The full logo rings the tree with four words: Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth, representing the brand's deep environmental commitment alongside skateboarding culture. Earth symbolizes grounding, authenticity, and respect for skateboarding's origins. This connection to the earth drives Element's use of sustainable and responsible materials, plus active support for environmental protection initiatives. The brand unites three pillars: skateboarding excellence, environmental stewardship, and an appreciation for life's simple pleasures. Element has become synonymous with environmentally conscious skateboarding, standing apart in an industry where many brands treat ecology as afterthought.
Beverly Hills golf-lifestyle brand founded 2011 by designer Mossimo Giannulli, known for colorful golf gloves, shoes and apparel; acquired by Peter Millar (Richemont) in 2018.
Best for Fashion golf polos, bold colours
G/FORE is a golf-lifestyle brand founded in Beverly Hills, California, in 2011 by fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, best known for launching the Mossimo apparel label in 1986. Giannulli built G/FORE around a stated goal of a golf lifestyle brand that was "hipper, younger and more outspoken" than the market, starting with brightly colored leather golf gloves before expanding into golf shoes, bags, and men's and women's apparel and accessories. The brand's look mixes traditional golf tailoring with fashion-driven color and print, breaking from the muted country-club norm. In January 2018, Peter Millar - a Raleigh, North Carolina, luxury apparel company owned by the Swiss group Richemont - acquired G/FORE for an undisclosed sum, after the two brands had previously collaborated on a golf shoe. G/FORE has continued operating and expanding under Peter Millar's ownership, adding standalone stores in Scottsdale, Arizona; Palm Beach, Florida; and New York City. In November 2024 it opened a two-story flagship at 401 N. Canon Drive in Beverly Hills - its fourth retail location - finished in the brand's signature pink with pastel accents and stocking golf shoes, bags, accessories and performance apparel for men and women.
Oceanside, California golf-lifestyle label founded in 2009 by John Ashworth and Geoff Cunningham, blending surf culture with golf apparel under the motto 'Tempus Fugit' (time flies).
Best for Relaxed polos, sustainable
Linksoul was founded in 2009 by John Ashworth and Geoff Cunningham as an independent golf-apparel label headquartered in Oceanside, California. Ashworth had already built one golf-clothing company - the eponymous Ashworth brand, started in Los Angeles in the late 1980s - before leaving it in 1997; Linksoul is his second run at reshaping how golfers dress, this time filtered through Southern California's surf culture. The brand's name draws on the Latin phrase Tempus Fugit ('time flies'), reflecting a stated philosophy that time spent with family, friends, physical activity, creativity and nature is time well spent. Its clothing blends technical golf performance with the loose, worn-in look of surf and skate wear rather than the traditional country-club uniform. Beyond apparel, Linksoul operates Goat Hill Park, a public golf course in Oceanside that also includes a disc-golf course and a free three-hole short course for children.
Macro Polo has stocked quirky gifts, apparel and novelties from its Market Street storefront in Portsmouth, NH since 1979, styling itself the city's original 'goof shop.' Its full catalogue is also sold through an online store with nationwide shipping.
Best for Quirky gifts, apparel and novelties since 1979
LA denim since 2004 — Paige Adams-Geller's fit-obsessed premium jeans now expanded to lifestyle wear.
Best for Soft polos, modern; Soft denim
Paige is a Los Angeles denim brand founded in 2004 by Paige Adams-Geller, Michael Geller, and Michael Henschel. Paige Adams-Geller, a top fit model early in her career, brought deep expertise in achieving perfect fit to the brand's foundation. The company is headquartered in Culver City, Los Angeles, and now employs approximately 300 people across Los Angeles and London. PAIGE launched its original all-female line in 2004 before adding menswear in 2006. Over the years, PAIGE has expanded from focusing on denim to becoming a comprehensive Los Angeles lifestyle brand, now offering leather, outerwear, silks, knits, footwear, swimwear, accessories, and many additional categories. Paige Adams-Geller sits at the helm of PAIGE as the only female founder in the denim industry, continuing to challenge convention and infuse her colorful spirit and chic sensibility into every collection she designs. The brand guarantees the So Cal casual look with fit-obsessed craftsmanship.
American men's and women's sportswear house founded in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2001, known for cashmere sweaters and performance golf polos; now owned by Richemont.
Best for Premium polos, soft cotton
Peter Millar was founded in 2001 in Raleigh, North Carolina, by Chris Knott, Greg Oakley and Chet Sikorski, reportedly starting with a single cashmere sweater. The brand name comes from a vintage lawn-bowling ball inscription Knott found. In 2005, Scott Mahoney and Sea Island Company acquired the label; the company built its reputation on cashmere knitwear, performance golf shirts and sport coats. Peter Millar is now a subsidiary of Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, the Swiss luxury group.
Spanish digital-native fashion brand founded 2012 in Alicante by Israel Vives and Rafael Tormo (also behind Hawkers eyewear); sells classic-style polos, knitwear and casualwear mainly online, and is B Corp-certified.
Best for Polo lifestyle
The Polo Club at poloclub.com is a Spanish fashion company founded in 2012 by Israel Vives and Rafael Tormo - the same team behind the sunglasses brand Hawkers - and based in Alicante. It positions itself as reinventing classic wardrobe staples: polo shirts, t-shirts, shirts, sweaters, jackets, and accessories for men, women and children. The company sells primarily through its own e-commerce platform rather than physical stores, operates a loyalty program, and describes itself as a certified B Corp with a dedicated sustainability program. It has grown into a team of more than 80 people.
Skateboard brand launched in 2015 out of Cincinnati, Ohio, by former Alien Workshop rider Chad Bowers with Jake Johnson, Gilbert Crockett and Tyler Bledsoe. Originally named 'Mother,' the team rebranded to Quasi after a trademark cease-and-desist forced a name change.
Best for Skate polos, minimal
Quasi Skateboards grew out of the closure of Alien Workshop in 2014. Former Alien Workshop team member Chad Bowers took time off before regrouping with riders Jake Johnson, Gilbert Crockett and Tyler Bledsoe to launch a new company in March 2015, initially called 'Mother.' A cease-and-desist letter over the name forced a quick rebrand to 'Quasi.' Operating out of Cincinnati, Quasi has kept tight creative control over its output, including screen-printed decks and cut-and-sew apparel.
Performance menswear brand founded in 2014 by brothers Nate and Ben Checketts with Casey Edgar, Kyle McClure and Carras Holmstead; its GoldFusion fabric infuses 24-karat gold nanoparticles for odor control and faster drying.
Best for Technical polos, anti-odour; Commuter anti-odour polos; Delta pique polos; Reign GoldFusion polos
Rhone was founded in 2014 by brothers Nate and Ben Checketts together with Casey Edgar, Kyle McClure and Carras Holmstead, with the goal of building a performance menswear brand positioned between mass-market athletic labels and expensive niche ones. Nate Checketts became CEO and Ben Checketts creative director. The company's best-known technical development, GoldFusion, infuses 24-karat gold nanoparticles into its highest-performance fabrics; Rhone says the treatment makes garments more color-fast, more resistant to odor, more breathable, and faster-drying than comparable synthetic fabrics. Nate Checketts worked directly on GoldFusion's development alongside biochemical technology partners over roughly a year before launch. The line was introduced through a pre-launch Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign before a curated GoldFusion collection reached retailers nationwide in spring 2017. The brand's broader catalog covers polos, joggers, outerwear and other menswear built around moisture-wicking, stretch and odor-control performance fabrics, aimed at customers who want athletic-grade technical features in clothing designed to also work outside the gym.
Surf-and-skate brand founded in 1999 in Costa Mesa, California by Pat 'PM' Tenore and professional surfer Conan Hayes, built around the 'Balance of Opposites' V/A logo and an in-house artists network; sold to Billabong in 2010.
Best for VA surf skate polos
RVCA was founded in 1999 by Pat 'PM' Tenore together with Hawaiian professional surfer Conan Hayes, launching from Costa Mesa, California. The brand's name and logo reference 'The Balance of Opposites,' expressed visually through interlocking V and A chevrons. Tenore built a roughly 70,000-square-foot Costa Mesa headquarters that also housed the brand's Artist Network Program. By 2009, RVCA reported distribution through about 600 US accounts and 28 countries, before Billabong International acquired the brand in July 2010.
The box logo — Lafayette Street skate shop turned billion-dollar cultural institution, VF-owned. First Lafayette shop put clothing around the perimeter so skaters could ride through the centre. First employees included Kids extras Justin Pierce and Harold Hunter. Lafayette closed 2019.
The official brand of the United States Polo Association — sport-rooted polos and casualwear licensed from the governing body of the sport itself, distinct from Ralph Lauren’s Polo.
Best for Authentic polo-association heritage at everyday prices.
Baltimore-founded performance sportswear company known for moisture-wicking compression apparel, training gear and footwear, including the Curry basketball line.
Best for Performance athletic polos; Golf performance polos
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗