Polo Shirts and Vestments
The origins of these two disparate approaches to clerical garb provide an interesting contrast.
The polo shirt’s beginnings are found in 19th century India (at the time, a British colony) among the aristocracy who played the traditional “sport of kings.” It evolved into popular European-American casual sportswear during the 20th century:
During the 1920s, tennis superstar René Lacoste revolutionised the polo shirt further. Tired of the traditional tennis attire, which included cumbersome long-sleeved shirts and ties, Lacoste designed a short-sleeved, loosely-knitted shirt made from piqué cotton. Lacoste's innovation marked a significant departure from the overly formal fashion norms, introducing a new era of casual elegance….
The polo shirt gained further prominence through the 50s and 60s, thanks to Hollywood icons like James Dean and Paul Newman. Their on-screen charisma and effortless style popularised the polo shirt as a symbol of rebellion, evolving the shirt into a canvas for self-expression, embraced by the younger generation, rebelling against the rigid dress codes of the past….
In the 1970s, the polo shirt found its way into the world of high fashion, thanks to renowned designers like Ralph Lauren. Lauren's Polo Ralph Lauren line elevated the humble shirt into a status symbol, adorned with intricate designs and vibrant colours. The shirt's versatility became evident as it seamlessly transitioned from sports arenas to upscale soirées, capturing the imagination of fashion enthusiasts around the world….
Today, the polo shirt is a ubiquitous presence in wardrobes worldwide. Its universal appeal lies in its ability to effortlessly blend comfort and style. From corporate boardrooms to weekend brunches, the polo shirt adapts to various occasions with ease, making it a quintessential piece in modern fashion.
The polo shirt is a rebellion against formality, but not too much. It is a way to stick a finger in the eye of tradition, while giving the wearer the satisfaction that he’s not part of the tee-shirt wearing rabble. It is the perfect LCMS male uniform - especially for a certain demographic cohort. It can be emblazened with anything from the LCMS corporate logo to one’s favorite sports team. It can be worn with jeans, shorts, or slacks; on the soccer field, in the corporate boardroom on Friday, or even as a casual uniform for police and law enforcement. It is the perfect comfort-wear for the retiree - especially those who enjoy staying in shape with golf or tennis. But the polo is also apropos for the more portly porcine pastor as well, as the shirt can remain untucked so as to accommodate the middle-aged middle-belly.
It should surprise no-one that as a vestment-replacement, the polo is the ideal blend of conservatism and rebellion. It’s a little bit James Dean, but without the leather jacket and cigarette. It suggests just enough “hip” while avoiding the excesses of the hippies, hipsters, and hip-hoppers. It is a safe, middle of the road, white-bread-and-oatmeal rejection of both extremes of teetotalism and weed-smoking. And to the men of a certain demographic, it connotes virility without stodginess. It cries out: “This is not your grandfather’s church.” And it also says, “This is not your grandson’s church either.”
How does this compare with the origin of vestments? Well, vestments began with God. He is the one who ordered up the first set and insisted that the clergy wear them while ministering in God’s Divine Presence as part of the larger picture of set-apartness (holiness) that accompanies the Real Presence.
Of course, vestments have a lot of downsides to them: they are expensive, they take work to make and maintain (thus taking resources away from fun, entertainment, and sports), they are not nearly as comfortable as short-sleeved cotton sportswear, and they tend to set apart the clergy while they are ministering at the altar. For men who want to be hip, displaying a bit of rebellion, of individual personality, of downplaying the Real Presence, of making people feel like the sanctuary is no different than the sports arena or picnic grounds - vestments are of no help at all.
Moreover, churches could sell those expensive vestments and give the money to the poor. By contrast, polo shirts are generally inexpensive.
And since it is 2025, and because of evangelism, the polo shirt has become a kind-of symbol of Lutheran unity, replacing the once-ubiquitous use of vestments among the Lutheran clergy - especially in our America-centric casual cultural paradigm. It may be frustrating that so many of our fellow Lutheran pastors around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America - and even a few sticks in the mud in North America - continue wearing vestments instead of polo shirts for worship. Rest assured that some of our leaders continue to advocate for a shift in the paradigm. And they do so while cleverly appealing to the Lutheran Confessions.
That said, I’m afraid our younger pastors and laity aren’t quite so enlightened, and are going back to an inexplicable medieval preference for pastors vested in vestments. Perhaps Gottesdienst can put together an instruction video for conducting a polo Divine Service. At very least, we should be selling a Gottespolo emblazoned with Fritz the Penguin instead of an alligator.
We all have to do our part for the cause of Lutheran unity.