The button-down collar came off a polo field. In 1896, John Brooks watched English polo players pinning their flapping collars down so they would not whip them in the face.
He took the idea home, and in 1900 Brooks Brothers introduced the button-down 'polo collar' shirt. The buttons are still there. The polo is long gone.
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The post, as it ran
01THE BUTTON-DOWN COLLAR CAME
OFF A POLO FIELD.
02IN 1896, JOHN BROOKS WATCHED ENGLISH
POLO PLAYERS PINNING DOWN THEIR
FLAPPING COLLARS.
03SO THEY WOULD NOT WHIP THEM
IN THE FACE.
04HE TOOK THE IDEA HOME. IN 1900 BROOKS
BROTHERS INTRODUCED THE BUTTON-DOWN
'POLO COLLAR' SHIRT.
05THE BUTTONS ARE STILL THERE.
THE POLO IS LONG GONE.