The Viva team offers up their top styling advice on what to wear and how to wear it as part of our regular styling series. Creative and fashion director Dan Ahwa looks at the rugby shirt revival and shares his love of a classic, offering up some simple ways to wear it for an everyday wardrobe.
There are three moments in my life where I can pinpoint wearing a rugby shirt.
The first was in 1995 when I played for Roskill Districts rugby club. The second was when I played in my fourth-grade team in high school in 2001. The third was as an assistant store manager at Polo Ralph Lauren in 2005.
I know what you’re all thinking, ‘Oh no, here’s another fashion person trying to appropriate another item of sportswear’, but at the peak of autumn and as we segue into winter, there’s a familiar sense of nostalgia when it comes to the practicality and comfort of a rugby jersey.
These aren’t the taut, synthetic, body-hugging jerseys worn by rugby players today, but the long-sleeved, cotton versions of the past.
I used to live in mine almost every day after school. To revisit it in a fashion context with Ralph Lauren’s preppy take on a classic during the mid-noughties was a novelty then. In fact, it was in 2004 that he decided he wanted to focus on rugby shirts, launching a diffusion line separate from Polo we now know as Rugby Ralph Lauren.
What I love about a rugby jersey is that it symbolises a type of preppy that isn’t trying too hard, a rough-and-tumble spirit that goes beyond class and plays on the concept that you can wear an item of clothing around the clock and still look good. It’s unpretentious.
Today, designers are revisiting sportswear with a more traditional proposition off the back of internet trends like ‘dark academia’ and the quiet revolution of cable knit jumpers, rowing blazers and loafers. We’ve seen the multicoloured striped versions parading down the runway at Louis Vuitton and Lacoste.
Close to home, several local brands have also paid tribute to a sportswear classic, reinterpreting it in a range of colours and fabrics that are perfect for layering during the cooler months ahead to wear all day, every day.
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Advertise with NZME.The jersey
A local label with an indelible history, Swandri was my first port of call for a rugby jersey with the right amount of modernity with respect to its heritage. Made from 95 per cent cotton with 5 per cent elastane, the 230 gsm weight of this French Terry fabric is a great option for when temperatures drop.
The Whitson Rugby Shirt also features one of the details I love about a rugby jersey inspired by the past — a sturdy contrast heavy drill collar you can leave unbuttoned and still looks smart in its crispness.
Available in two colourways, I opt for this soothing combination of teal and navy stripes accented by a thin white stripe in between. It’s the sort of colourway that works well with a pair of raw selvedge denim jeans.
The advice
Off the field, a heavy-duty rugby jersey is an ideal option for our temperamental weather patterns. Opt for one with a really good weight to it.
Here, I have tucked the Swandri option into a pair of raw denim Jacob Kalin jeans with a leather belt and leather boots. It’s an easy way to look pulled together for the office.
For an alternative approach to styling, I would probably wear this jersey untucked with a pair of baggy denim shorts, socks and loafers. It’s an irreverent way to pay homage to the garment’s preppy roots.
If you’re in the market for a decent option, here are a few to consider when you’re looking for something smarter than a jumper or hoodie.
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Advertise with NZME.While there are some great options from international brands, you can’t look past the great way some of our local retailers have paid homage to an item of clothing synonymous with our love of the sport.
Like Swandri, brands such as Barkers and Hallensteins have created their own nod to the heritage of a rugby jersey with fresh updates you can easily incorporate into your wardrobe right now.
The shop
With thanks to Fuji Instax.
Previously: How, exactly, do you wear a bright short skirt?
