The Regionalized Polo Shirt

Much has been written on the venerable  Polo-style shirt, both here and throughout the blogosphere, so I will try not to be too redundant. Of late, I’ve observed that around the country, companies have been sprouting up that seem to base much of their business effort on the Polo, or more exactly, the Polo, the cap, and small accessories.

The strategy seems to be based around the logo – typically using a highly regionalized theme, which evokes a certain lifestyle in a given region.  Here are just a few:

The South

Southern Tide – with Skipjack (fish) motif

http://www.southerntide.com/products/Skipjack-Polo-%252d-Classic.html

Southern Proper – with bow-tied Lab motif

http://www.southernproper.com/store/gentlemen/proper-polo.html

Southern Point – with Pointer motif

http://www.southernpointco.com/category.php?cat=polo

Cash Robinson Clothing Co. - with horse racing theme

http://www.cashrobinson.com/small_batch_apparel/silks_reserve_polos?product_id=63

The Northeast

Green Lobster USA – with Green Lobster motif

http://www.greenlobsterusa.com/menspolos.html

Castaway Clothing – with Life ring motif
http://www.castawayclothing.com/classic-polo-shirts.html

Vineyard Vines – with whale motif

http://www.vineyardvines.com/product__129756_____13068_13050

In my brief Internet search, I didn’t turn up anything for the Midwest, the Rocky Mountain Region or the West Coast, so I apologize in advance for possibly overlooking. But as you can see above, the Northeast and The South are well represented with companies.   I understand that Polos are both a tradition and a traditional shirt in those regions, but is there any reason why other parts of the US can’t have a successful regionalized Polo shirt?  For the Rockies, I could see a pair of crossed skis as a nice motif, for California, perhaps a surfboard or wine bottle motif.  Here in Cascadia, I could see a mountain, an umbrella, a sailboat, or perhaps, a meth lab motif.

But seriously, if there are any venture capitalists reading this, contact me.  Let’s work up a business plan, do a feasibility study, and hopefully represent the West in the regionalization of the Polo shirt.

(by the way, I do like all of the clothing companies shown above... except for one.)