The Rugby Shirt: Muddy Fields, Rocky Cliffs, and City Streets
- Eric Langlois
- Nov 22, 2024
- 5 min read
Before Michael Jordan, there was, of course, Dr. J. And as a little kid, checking him out, I never saw anyone like him. He revolutionized the game. He stayed in the air. He had the big Fro. And whether it's with the Nets or the Sixers, those are pretty cool uniforms.
The sneaker he rocked was the Converse Pro Leather. I asn't really a big Converse guy, but looking at that Converse on him, it was impressive. Decades later, I got to cop a pair. In 2016, Converse released, I believe, five different colors. You're seeing one of them. I have them in gray. And they're freaking amazing.
I always loved the smooth look of the show and I always liked seeing the star at the back of the sneaker.
Suede sneakers are cool. Back in the day, I had a grey pair of Adidas Campus. Which was right at the golden age of the hip hop era. Now it's fun to have this high top. But It's a classic and I don't need to have the most current shoe. Nothing against Hoka’s but fortunately my feet are pretty hardy and this Converse has an inner sole compliment of Nike, who owns Converse. Now, isn't that a kick in the head? You may want to rock a pair, you may not.
PRO TIP: Wear a sneaker that makes an impression. Always be fly (even you can’t float like The Doctor or Jordan). 🏀
A SINGULAR TAKE ON FASHION
The Rugby Shirt: Muddy Fields, Rocky Cliffs, and City Streets
By Eric Langlois
When I worked in Harvard Square, I was picking up a coffee when I passed a young woman sporting what was clearly a freshly-broken nose. I stopped short, wondering if I should check if she was okay, then spotted several more women carrying gym bags and tossing an egg-shaped ball back and forth as they ambled down the street. I had just encountered the Harvard women’s rugby team.
The idea of a game in which two sides would fight over a ball in an attempt to get it across a goal line is nearly universal. The ancient Romans had Harpastum, the Greeks Episkyros. The Irish game of Caid came about alongside the Welsh Cnapan, French Soule, and Italian Calcio Fiorentino. Independently, indigenous Australians and New Zealanders played Marn Grook and Ki-o-rahi. These fast-moving and violent games were extremely popular, although not always culturally acceptable. In England, “Footeballe” was banned by more than 30 royal and local laws between 1324 and 1667, and Sir Thomas Elyot denounced it as “nothinge but beastlie furie and extreme violence.”
English football, played by carrying or kicking the ball, was not formalized until the 19th century at the prestigious Rugby School, which gave its name to the variation of football we call Rugby today. While somewhat more refined than the no-rules battling that preceded it, modern rugby has been described by one anonymous observer as “war without the frills.” In the days before standardized uniforms, players would wear wool sweaters, but the increased availability of cotton led to the creation of a more practical piece of kit, which we now recognize as the rugby shirt.
The rugby shirt’s design is entirely dictated by the violence that it would be subjected to on the field. Rugby shirts are traditionally made of 100% cotton, which is easily laundered and springs back after being stretched when grabbed by an opposing player. The collar is small and made of stiff cotton twill, usually white, which keeps it from flapping in the player’s face and gives it the strength to survive being hauled on during a scrum. Buttons were a problem on early rugbies, either scraping players or snapping off during hard play. A solution was found with rubber buttons, which would be less abrasive and were often hidden behind a fly front for added security. Teams would develop shirts in their colors, usually in alternating horizontal stripes called “hoops” or in a single set of stripes across the chest and biceps, while national uniforms tend towards solid colored shirts.
Although never reaching the popularity of its cousin Association Football (soccer), rugby is played worldwide. Former and current British nations naturally turn out national teams, but so do France, Italy, Argentina, and Japan, among others. Among students and other local groups, it has been a popular minor sport internationally since the early 20th century. By the 1950s, rugby was taking off among Ivy League students in the US, and New Haven clothier J. Press was importing rugby shirts from Britain. The 1963 film “This Sporting Life” starring Irish actor Richard Harris helped boost the profile of both rugby and the burly shirts worn by Harris and the other actors. In the 1965 photo book Take Ivy, American Ivy League students can be seen casually wearing rugbies on campus, demonstrating their popularity.
In the 1960s and 70s, the sport of rock climbing was also seeing an increase in interest, particularly on the West coast of the United States. Rock climber Yves Chouinard had picked up a handful of rugby shirts while travelling in Scotland, and found them very convenient for climbing. The tight cotton weave held up well while soloing up (or sliding down) an abrasive rock face. The twill collar was also ideal for protecting a climber’s neck from the ropes and sling they would use to arrest a fall. Chouinard added a clothing line to his climbing equipment company, selling rugbies under the brand Patagonia. To this day, vintage Patagonia rugby shirts from the 70s and 80s are prized for their toughness and association with the golden age of sport climbing.
The collegiate associations of rugby shirts made them mainstays for brands like Polo and Tommy Hilfiger, which specialized in the Ivy League and prep school look. This aspirational aesthetic, as well as the cachet of designer clothing, led to their adoption by hip hop performers and fans, with young Black people adopting the style en masse. By the time I was beginning to notice fashion while growing up in the 90s, my first introduction to rugby shirts was as an accessory of rap culture.
The history and bombproof construction of rugby shirts have made them something of a chameleon in the world of clothing. I like to think of them as a similarly-versatile alternative to either a sweatshirt or a button down, or a combination of the two. They can be worn untucked with shorts or jeans, or tucked into a pair of grey flannel trousers. Rugbies have a tough and unstudied style which looks good on men and women, and are available in a myriad of colors and price points. You don’t have to wear one while scaling El Capitan or tackling a winger, but you could if you wanted to.
Eric Langlois is a writer, menswear professional, and history enthusiast based on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
Comments