Cashmere silk tennis polo in dark brown

70% cashmere / 30% silk from Cariaggi Lanificio's Jaipur Collection
c.230 grams (light weight)
Italian made horn buttons

Made in Hawick, Scotland 

Also available in cream and navy 

Hand wash or dry clean. More garment care instructions here

Item code: CH-CS-POLO-BRWN

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Features

Our cashmere silk tennis polo is inspired by vintage pre-1950s tennis tops, with their signature longer short sleeves and larger spread collars.

They would have been knitted too, just like ours is, except ours is crafted using the world’s finest, luxurious cashmere silk yarn from Italian fine yarn experts Cariaggi Lanificio, giving the piece an unimaginably soft, “melt in your hand” texture, and a light, airy and relaxed feel when worn. With the mix of silk within the cashmere, it makes the knitted fabric much lighter than 100% cashmere, thus keeping the incomparable softness you get from cashmere, but allowing it to be a lot lighter and breezier, perfect for warmer weather when you do not want to compromise on the quality of clothing you are wearing but want to feel exceedingly comfortable.

It is knitted densely, fully fashioned and hand linked, giving the tennis polo substance and a neat fit (unlike the majority of modern polos which are cut and sewn).  

The collar is in a Milano stitch (a complex knitting technique that requires a lot more time and yarn to produce), giving it some firmness compared to the rest of the knit, allowing one to wear a sport coat over the top without flattening the collar. But the collar is not too stiff at the same time, keeping it a relatively casual, relaxed piece.

We have opted for a three button closure, with beautifully crafted mid brown horn buttons (rather than white mother of pearl or plastic), as we believe the horn buttons make the piece more muted and elegant. We admit that the use of horn buttons is an extravagant choice, used sometimes in the past, certainly not something you see even on the best of polo shirts anymore, but our core belief is in the return to an older philosophy of garment making which puts quality above all else.

In keeping with the tennis sport shirts of old, our tennis polo has the following design features:

• It has longer short sleeves, sitting about 2.5 - 3 inches above the elbow, covering most of the upper arm. The longer short sleeves are a deliberate design feature to give the tennis polo a sense of modest elegance, in contrast to cotton polos nowadays which often stop mid-bicep, making them more informal.
• The cuffs and hem have longer ribs, keeping the top well fitted around the body, enabling ease of movement. We believe that the longer ribs also look more flattering and elegant on the wearer than shorter ribs or no ribs (like modern t-shirts and polos).

These smarter aspects are inspired by tennis polos from before the 1950s, when they often were worn with tailored clothing. This makes our tennis polo a versatile piece – wear it to look more dressed up with casual clothing like jeans, but it would work just as well with a pair of light weight trousers, as a substitute to a shirt.  

As it is a piece with its yarn spun in Italy, but knitted and washed in the Scottish Borders, it possesses the unique quality of being light, breathable and soft (characteristic of knitwear made with Italian yarn), but has a robustness that comes with having been washed in Scottish water, with all its unique minerals that strengthen the knitwear, making it last decades. The perfect spring/summer staple to wear season after season, as part of a casual outfit, or with tailored clothing, in place of a shirt.

Fit

Please see size chart at the bottom of the page to determine which size is best for you. Other aspects:

• Our sizes run small. We recommend that you take one size up from your usual size
• Milano stitch collar to give it firmness compared to rest of the knit
• Longer short sleeves for a more elegant look
• Longer ribbed cuffs and hems, in keeping with vintage inspirations
• Slim modern fit but has a small amount of natural stretch and moulds to body over time
• Body of sweater tapers slightly from the chest down to the hem to give a more fitted look by minimising excess fabric often found around the waist of sweaters
• Smaller armhole without being overly restrictive

As Worn

Model wears size 38/S. He measures: chest circumference 36" (92cm); height 6"1 (185cm).

Styling

For ideas on how to style this piece, view our Style Journal. 

Inspiration

To learn about the inspiration for this piece, view our History Journal.

Unrivalled Quality 

We are confident in bringing you the world's finest knitwear because we only use the very best at every stage of manufacture:

Quality of fibre: 70% cashmere, 30% silk fibres of the highest quality. Cashmere fibres are 15.7mm in diameter and 45 – 46mm in length; silk fibres are 11 micron class aa1 in diameter and 58 – 60mm in length, making these the world’s finest and longest cashmere and silk fibres, thus the most luxuriously soft, and robust in equal measure. 

Quality of yarn: the world’s best cashmere silk yarn produced by world renowned spinners Cariaggi Lanificio from their famous mill in Cagli - Italian specialists in the production of light weight, fine cashmere and cashmere blend yarns since the 1950s. The cashmere silk blend gives the knitted fabric an incomparable, cloud-like airy softness, quite unlike anything you would have previously felt.

Quality of knit: knitted, hand-finished and washed by fourth generation heritage knitwear specialists in Hawick, the Scottish Borders, a region whose expertise in crafting knitwear is without compare. Garments are knitted tightly to minimise gaps and to ensure longevity.

Quality of finish: there is a high degree of hand-finishing. The sweater is "fully-fashioned", as signified by the faint-dotted lines along the sleeve-head of the jumper. This makes the garment more well fitted, much like a bespoke suit. Individual pieces of the sweater are “hand-linked” - a meticulous process by which each tiny knit-loop at the end of each piece of the sweater is linked together by hand, ensuring the seams are the straightest and strongest.

Quality of wash: the finished product is carefully washed in pure Scottish waters with the precise balance of minerals, so that the garment is given its famous soft handle without compromising the integrity of the fibres. Scottish knitwear may feel a little stiff to begin with but will soften naturally with age.

Find out more about the quality of our garments here. 

Size Guide

UK sizing is used for our garments. Please see the size conversion table below. Take your usual size for a fitted, slim look, or size up for a regular fit.

The measurements of the garment are set out below. To ensure you have the correct size, you may wish to take a measuring tape to one of your existing jumpers with the best fit and compare measurements. 

Measurements are approximate, but any variance is minimal and will not impact overall fit given that knitwear has stretch.

If you would like to discuss sizing or any other aspects of the garment, please feel free to contact us.