Britain is the birthplace of many sports that we know and love today. From cricket, to tennis, every summer, games that started off being played by a small group in the British Isles are now played by aficionados in several countries the world over. With it came a plethora of sportswear that developed over the decades which have now become inspirations for us.
As a British company that champions classic design, it comes as no surprise that we like to look back at our own history to see what inspires us and British summer sports contain a wide array of great designs that inform our clothing today.
Perhaps the two most popular summer sports that are enjoyed by many worldwide and which have their birthplaces in Britain are tennis and cricket. So today, we are going to take a little trip down memory lane and have a look at the history of these two sports as well as how their uniforms have evolved and form the basis of some of our knitwear range.
Cricket
This first sport we’ll look into is cricket, a sport strongly associated with the colour white and the flannels - an entirely white kit - worn for decades by cricketers. Today you’ll notice, particularly in shorter forms of the game, that coloured kit is common. Often when we think of cricket, it’s the whites that come to mind, the white or cream trousers, shirt, and famous cable knit sweaters.
Interestingly, though we associate cricket with white, colour and elaborate attire was actually worn for decades. It was only in the late 1800s that we began to see cricket whites being worn. In the early history of the game, three-cornered hats adorned with silver or golden lace were worn, along with stockings, buckled shoes, frilled shirts and breeches. In the early 1800s breeches were still worn, right up until the 1830s, despite the fact that trousers were generally far more popular. Fast forward to the mid 1800s and the frills are now replaced by wide bow ties and high collars, and the earliest versions of the cricket blazer we know today is beginning to emerge.
In the 20th century practicality, at least in terms of movement, starts to become more of a priority. Coloured outfits are moved aside to make way for cricket whites. Some claim this is to ensure easy visibility of the red cricket balls that we used up until the 1970s. This is also where we see, amongst other changes, the sleeveless cricket jumper introduced. Players wanted something they could move around in more easily that would also keep them warm on cooler days. Though cricket is a summer sport, this is an important consideration in the British climate.
Dr WG Grace, 1899
In line with our design philosophy, our take on the cricket sweater and club cardigan is all about updating some features whilst retaining others, to pay homage to the original design. We want to ensure that our clothing is distinguished whilst still being very much wearable for today.
The Colhay’s take on a cricket sweater is available in three colourways: navy with a burgundy and olive trim, cream with a navy and burgundy trim, and cream with an olive trim. Of course, the cream versions bear the closest resemblance to the original cricket sweaters, but you’ll notice they all possess some classic cricket-inspired features. The cable knit and v neck, for example.
Having said this, you’ll also spot that we’ve made some adaptations to the traditional neck line. We’ve made it a little deeper and also omitted the tubular white strip on the inside of the neck line that is frequently seen on sporting sweaters.
Our cricket sweaters are made from superfine lambswool which is supremely soft, a far cry from the coarse and itchy lambswool you might remember from childhood. Our wool is sourced from yarn spinners, Todd and Duncan, who are renowned in the industry for their exceptionally high standards. To produce the yarns used to make our sweaters, they source only the very best fibres, those that are both long and thin. The resulting pieces are unbelievably soft whilst also incredibly strong and durable.
A little note on styling from us:
Usually Colhay’s pieces are entirely one shade thus making them incredibly easy to style. Our cricket sweater, though, combines more than one colour and, although each colour is in keeping with our pared back and muted colour ethos, we understand that this can make some people apprehensive in terms of not knowing how to style it. We recommend wearing it with what we call in the menswear field, the menswear uniform. This comprises grey trousers with a navy blazer, items that go with almost everything and that most men will already own, or jeans with a navy blazer, like so:
View more of the cricket sweater and club cardigan.
Tennis
The second piece of sportswear that we’ve looked to for inspiration is the polo shirts worn by tennis players. Being a mostly solo sport, tennis wear is very much dictated by the individual player’s tastes and requirements. Various big names - think Fred Perry, Rene Lacoste, Stan Smith, Pierre Etchebaster, and Bunny Austin - within the sport have now become household names thanks to their innovations.
Bunny Austin 1931
For a long time formal wear was the norm for men playing tennis, slowly but surely evolving into the unrestrictive, casual attire we see today. This move toward more relaxed tennis gear began the 1920s, with formality taking a back seat to make way for looser pieces.
In France, player Rene Lacoste famously introduced short sleeve lightweight cotton shirts which, perhaps unsurprisingly, offered him more flexibility, movement, and speed on the court than the starched collars and long sleeves that had come before. As Lacoste’s playing career reached its end, here in England a player named Fred Perry was also popularising the polo throughout the 1930s, and the shirt has never really fallen out of favour since.
The pictures included above are of our cashmere silk tennis polos, our new version of these famous polo shirts is Colhay’s Coach Polo Shirt. This Japanese made piece is made from 100% extra-long staple cotton and is perfect for warmer weather. Again we have taken the original and made some slight alterations to fit with our design outlook and the needs of the style conscious. Perhaps one of the most important features is the sleeve length. Whilst still short, they finish around 2.5 - 3 inches above the elbow, making them considerably longer than a traditional polo shirt which would finish mid-bicep. We find this gives a more elegant, sophisticated finish and avoids the boxy look.
Find the coach polo here. Coming July 2025.