From Our EIC: Consider the Rugby

Nota bene: All products in this article are independently selected and vetted by InsideHook editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

If you’ve been reading InsideHook for any length of time, you probably know that I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to menswear trends. I don’t particularly care about what’s in or out or “back” or “having a moment,” and in fact find such commentary somewhat embarrassing. I think men — especially men of a certain age — should strive for a certain amount of timelessness and hard-won personal style that is at odds with the inherently fickle nature of trendspotting.

From Our EIC: ‘Tis The Season for Outdoor Pizza Making

Fall is the superior time for outdoor pizza making. We’ve got the pizza ovens to get you there.

So while I will refrain from making any grand statements like the ones above, I will say this: When I was a kid in the ’90s, rugby shirts were everywhere. In my seventh grade school photo, I was wearing a red-and-navy striped one from L.L Bean that I remember being the heaviest article of clothing I’d ever worn. In the years that followed, I don’t know if I was too busy drowning in flannel and old-man cardigans because I thought I was Kurt Cobain or what, but the rugby shirt seemed to disappear.

Now, though? I can’t go to a single retailer’s website without seeing one, and it’s a development I very much support. It should come as no great surprise that brands like Ralph Lauren and J.Crew are carrying them, I suppose, but it pleases me to see them also being made by cooler, more streetwear-adjacent brands like Corridor and Noah, too.

For my money, the rugby is among the most versatile shoulder-season items you’ll find, perfect with a pair of shorts on a cool spring day or paired with some jeans and layered under a tweed blazer during fall. So yeah, I don’t know if they’re “back” or “having a moment” or whatever, but they’re certainly available, and I think you should get one.