Are Long-Sleeve Polos Better Than OCBD Shirts?

When it comes to the business casual dress code, the shirt that’s most often associated with it is the Oxford cloth button and, in recent years, the long-sleeve polo shirt, came out to challenge its place in business casual. But which is better than the other? We take a closer look at both shirts to know which reigns supreme.

Business casual is something that we’re all familiar with. And as fun as dressing up all the way to the nines can be, it’s fairly clear that business casual is what most people wear when they’re at the office and in their day-to-day lives. 

Business casual can often be a little bit ambiguous and difficult to understand what to wear, but it’s very common and very popular to wear an Oxford cloth button-down shirt or an OCBD. Thus, it reigns supreme within offices around the world. It’s certainly more dressed up than a T-shirt or a polo shirt because it has a fully front buttoning placket and a nice structured shirt collar, but it’s not as formal as a fine and thin white dress shirt with a spread collar.

This makes the OCBD an extremely versatile shirt in the 21st century that you can wear with even more casual ends of suiting, all the way down to just a pair of chinos at the office. It’s a shirt that’ll keep you looking smart and is much more dressed up than a T-shirt. It’s also not so stuffy that it looks like you’re wearing a starched formal shirt every day to the office.

So, case closed–the OCBD is the champion of office shirts, right? Well, in recent years, we’ve seen a challenger to the OCBD’s throne, and that is the long sleeve polo shirt. Whereas the OCBD once was the star and had the center of the spotlight with all retailers creating a plethora of colors and different options, the long sleeve polo shirt has now quietly began to gain ground. There are now low end off the rack options, as well as high-end bespoke, and there really is a large range of different polo shirts to explore.

The question is, does it have the power to replace the OCBD? Let’s get some things straight to settle the score.

Not all long sleeve polos are the same

Not all long sleeve polo shirts are created equal. Long sleeve polos can be a little bit trickier than an OCBD in order to understand and categorize. 

Some of them are rugby shirts

It is easy to confuse a rugby shirt with a long sleeve polo shirt, but they’re not the same. Rugby shirts have a few distinct characteristics. They’re made of cotton jersey, which is something that you’ll more likely see on a sweatshirt than on a refined polo shirt. They also, obviously, have the white collar and placket, which contrasts with the other material color on the shirt.

Rugby shirts can come in plain colors, but they’re also traditionally in block stripes. This would help you to understand which team was what when watching a game or playing in a game of rugby.

Some are simply polo shirts with long sleeves

Some long sleeve polo shirts are simple standard cotton polo shirts with long sleeves. Basically, take a Lacoste shirt and put the arms on a stretcher. Typically speaking, these are not for the more sartorially inclined. The ribbed cuffs quickly become stretched out, and the collar isn’t very structured and can turn into that horrible hideous bacon collar very easily.

Ultimately, this is a nice casual piece. Maybe wear it with a pair of jeans or with a pair of chinos to the office, but it doesn’t really look that good with tailored clothing.

Some long sleeve polos are made of wool and are closer to a sweater

Unlike the ribbed cuffs of a cotton long sleeve polo, the wool is more naturally stretchy and this can give a better look and feel to the overall shirt material. As you can guess, wool polos can be a great sweater alternative, but it’s still not quite what we’re looking for. After all, a wool long sleeve polo can also make you run hot, because it’s wool.

Some long sleeve polo shirts lean heavier into the “shirt” element of the design

So, the most ideal long sleeve polos mirror and lean heavily into the more shirt effect, rather than the polo shirt effect. Universally, you’ll almost always find them in cotton pique. This will make them have a little bit more texture, and be a little bit more intriguing than typical regular cotton polos.

They also typically feature a structured placket and a shirt collar, and often include collar stays for added structure. This is also historically accurate, as the original polo shirts were actually made this way, although it is interesting that, originally, the term polo shirt was given to Brooks Brothers with their OCBD shirt.

So, for the sake of everyone’s sanity and confusion, we’re happy that now these terms are separated. For this type of Ideal polo shirt, you’ll also find cuffs that are not stretchy or ribbed, but rather, have a cuff like a typical dress shirt with one button or two buttons. These cuffs, along with the more structured collar, make it more ideal to wear these shirts under tailoring.

So, whether it comes to a polo shirt popover style or a fully buttoning dress shirt, this is really what we are looking for when it comes to a dress polo. 

Long Sleeve Polos vs. OCBD Shirts

Similarities

1. Long body, designed to be tucked in

Both shirts feature a long body that is meant to be tucked in. Not only that, but oftentimes, you can find curved tails like you would find with a dress shirt. This can also help you find the point of reference between having this shirt in your closet versus a long sleeve more casual polo shirt, which can be left untucked.

The ability to wear either one of these shirt styles actually gives you an overall better range for wearing shirts with different outfits, as a more dressy polo can sharpen or dress up a more casual outfit under a jacket, whereas the shorter hem more casual long sleeve polo looks great untucked by itself.

2. Long sleeves

Another thing that is in common between a long sleeve polo and an OCBD is both of them have long sleeves. It is the long sleeves that are very important in making both of these shirt styles work. Shorten the sleeves on both of them, and all of a sudden, you have shirts that are both casual but also very different.

Plus, there’s also a quiet level of confidence in being able to roll up the shirt sleeves of a long sleeve shirt versus having a shirt with no sleeves at all. Now, this is definitely a matter of personal preference, but there’s certainly merit to both sides of the equation.

3. Barrel cuffs

Essentially, both of these shirts are too casual and are not to be worn with French cuffs. The fabric choices on a long sleeve polo and an CBD is way too hardy and robust to be refined to wear with cufflinks. It’s all about getting the balance and details right, so a barrel cuff strikes the right level of formality with both of these shirts.

4. Structured collar, designed to stand up against the neck

Speaking of balance design, a structured collar is something that both of these shirts also have in common. And, of course, when we say structure, we mean a collar that’s meant to stand up on its own. It’s supposed to stand up against your neck and frame your face in a very attractive way.

While other polo shirts will have a collar, unlike T-shirts, they’re, oftentimes, very soft and unstructured, and they can get wrinkled very easily. OCBD and long sleeve polos, instead, have collars constructed from at least two pieces of the shirt’s fabric stitched together and attached to a collar band that can give height against your neck.

So, this result of having a structured shirt collar gives them a great arguing point in the formality scale and helps you make the decision to choose them over a regular dress shirt. 

Differences

1. Material

OCBDs are famously made of Oxford cloth. Oxford cloth is a type of cotton that is very durable and quite structured, which can lead to a very desirable collar roll or the S-collar roll on the collar of the shirt. Meanwhile, long-sleeved polos are made from pique cotton. 

Unlike Oxford cloth, which is woven, pique cotton is constructed from yarns that are knitted together. The result is a distinctly textured cloth, which has a unique hand to it, which is perfect for a polo shirt in a pop-over style. 

2. Button-up and placket styles

Speaking of which, OCBD shirts open and button fully down the front placket, which is true to the character of a button-up shirt. The tighter weave of the Oxford cloth doesn’t give it a whole lot of stretch, so it would make it hard to get into if you were pulling it over your head like a pop-over style.

As we previously mentioned, long-sleeved polos are typically made in a pop-over style, and the stretchy fabric makes it easy to get them over your head and put them on. You can find this shirt created with a regular fully buttoned placket, but this is actually a pique knit shirt, not a polo shirt. Technically speaking, the pop-over or fully opening front placket gives shirts made of pique different names, but the reality is both are perfectly fine as alternative styles.

To pick another element from the OCBD’s name is the “button-down” collar – if only all clothing could be as literal as this! Unlike more formal dress shirts, OCBD shirts don’t have any internal structure to the collar (such as collar stays) so, to solve the problem of collar points that just run all over the place, the collar is fastened down to the shirt front by a small button at each collar point.

It is worth mentioning that some long-sleeved polo shirts have button-down collars as well, but the majority of them typically have spread collars. Due to the very drapey nature of the pique knit, having them buttoned down doesn’t always lead to the best collar roll and the best overall look, which is typically why the spread collar style is favored, and it’s often aided with collar stays.

3. The ability to be worn with or without neckwear

As one final difference, OCBD shirts have the ability to be worn with or without neckwear. The beauty of this shirt is it gives you a lot of versatility with things like knit ties or ascots. With its roots being firmly planted in Ivy or Trad style, this is a shirt that can be worn with neckwear on university campuses and gives you a lot of range and versatility.

On the other hand, a long sleeve polo shirt really shouldn’t be worn with neckwear, as it doesn’t have a full placket, and the collar is going to be, while structured, a little bit more soft. There are some ties that can work, but typically, it’s not seen with neckwear.

Are Long-Sleeved Polos the New OCBD?

In an increasingly casual world, it’s often easy to say that shirt with a structured collar and cuffs is something that is formal. So, on that merit alone, you could choose really any color you want, and you would be good in “formal” occasions, right? But for lovers of style, it’s the little nuances that make things great.

Speaking from strict formality, the OCBD is just a touch more formal than the long sleeve polo shirt. The tighter weave of the cloth, the longer collar, the button-down collar, and the ability to wear it with a tie make it just a touch more formal. But it’s not that big of a difference, as a long sleeve polo shirt is much more formal than a regular polo shirt, due to the standing collar, long sleeves, and barrel cuffs.

Overall, these shirts fit firmly in the middle of the formality shirt spectrum. Both shirts can be worn in very similar ways they look very at home with casual pants, such as chinos and corduroys, but they also look great with odd jacket and trouser combinations, and both should be avoided when you’re wearing very formal garments, such as formal suiting. So, it should go without saying that these shirts have no place and no business being in evening wear.

The slight differences between the two allow for unique opportunities, where one is actually better than the other. For example, if you’re a lover of denim, you might find that the long sleeve polo, with its soft construction, might be more comfortable than a more structured OCBD. Plus, a long sleeve polo, with its soft material, tends to pack and travel easier than an OCBD. After all, the more structured OCBD fabric can easily become wrinkled when you’re traveling, which leads to more laundry and garment care when you get to the hotel.

Meanwhile, if you like more casual suits, like linens and tweeds, the OCBD might feel more at home with a more casual suit. Plus, we’ve also found that the OCBD ages more gracefully than the long sleeve polo. This is especially true when it comes to colors, as a long sleeve polo will fade a lot more easily than an OCBD, but this could be a charming element that you find attractive.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think it’s safe to say that there is room on the throne for both of these great casual shirt styles, and both the long sleeve polo and the OCBD have a place in the classic men’s wardrobe. These shirts come with a lot of style and heritage attached to them. The OCBD is a classic, whereas the long sleeve polo has classic roots with a contemporary eye. 

So, whichever you choose, we would love to hear more about your favorites down in the comments below.

Outfit Rundown

My shirt in today’s outfit is a long-sleeved polo shirt with a pop-over placket. This was made to measure by Proper Cloth. I’m wearing a bright blue micro-houndstooth sports jacket. This was made to measure by Beckett and Robb. I’m wearing a pair of tan L.L. Bean chinos.

My shoes are a pair of brown travel loafers from Yanko and Skolyx. On my wrist is an Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra with a brown calf strap that’s a prototype for Fort Belvedere. My scent today is the Azzurro by Roberto Ugolini. This is a light and fresh summertime scent, which is why I’m wearing it in the warm weather month.

My pocket square is this orange with green and purple large paisley pocket square from Fort Belvedere. If you want to pick up a summertime pocket square or any other accessories, check out the Fort Belvedere shop.