The Banana Republic Luxury Touch Polo Shirt (Long Term Review)6 min read

In this long-term review of the Banana Republic Luxury Touch Polo Shirt we’re going to take a close look at style & design, quality & longevity, sizing & fit, price & value and wrap things up with the pros & cons.

If you’ve been looking into potentially picking up these polos, this review is for you.

The polo shirt is divisive among many men, but there’s no denying that the right type of polo deserves a spot in a stylish man’s seasonal wardrobe.

A Little Background:

The Banana Republic Luxury Touch Polo Shirt has been a part of my warm weather rotation for the past several years. For reference, I picked up a luxury-touch polo in white and navy in June of 2015. And then added a dark grey colorway in February 2017.

Banana Republic Luxury Touch Polo Review

Style & Design

The polo is a versatile shirt style, but not all polos are created equal. Some are strictly casual and more loosely fitting, but Banana’s luxury touch polos can be dressed up or dressed down. Visually, they’re more polished than a regular pique (pee-kay) polo shirt. In addition to regular fit and slim fit they also offer a performance version.

In my closet I have 3 versatile colors (navy, white, grey) that’s appropriate for the office all the way to happy hour. They’re dressier than a basic t-shirt and more casual than an oxford cloth button down. Personally, I like to wear polos for more casual affairs and rarely dress it up with a blazer or sport coat, but these polos are refined enough to pair with a casual blazer.

In terms of styling the luxury touch polo — an ideal outfit is to pair it with slim fit chinos and boot styles like chukkas or chelsea boots for a clean and classic, smart casual aesthetic.

Furthermore, I went ahead and styled my 3 polos 3 different ways. The first way is the white polo with olive shorts and huarache sandals. Next, the second way is the grey polo paired with slim dark wash jeans and blue sneakers. And finally, the third way is  is the navy polo with green slim chinos, a heather grey comfort jacket and white sneakers.

Details

• Slim fit
• 100% cotton
• 2 button placket
• Ribbed cuffs
• Hits at the hip

Colorways

For colors, the BR luxe touch polos come in the basic neturals of navy, black and white. They also carry a wider palette of more colorful options, yet still muted. This is Banana Republic, not Asos and so BR will always have a relatively corporate feel about them. I suggest to start with white, black, navy, grey or olive.

Quality & Longevity

If I had to choose between a pique polo material or Banana’s luxury touch cotton, I’d go with the latter. The luxe touch polos are ultra soft and smooth. They feel like a performance fabric as opposed to rough textured and moisture absorbent. In my experience, they’re longer lasting as well.

Luxury Touch Polo Quality

These 100% cotton polos as their name suggests, feel luxurious to the touch. They’re immensely durable and have held up over years of regular wear. The collars lay flat for the most part. I did notice that after wearing it for several hours, the collar can curl a bit throughout a long day, but it doesn’t look bad by any means.

The luxury-touch polos have also maintained their shape well, which is surprising since it’s typical of shirts to become shorter and wider overtime. Unfortunately, the issue of these polos shrinking in length is real.

Luxury Touch Polo Longevity

As mentioned earlier, I’ve worn the navy and white polo for over 4 years and the grey one for over 2 years. After all of this time, they’re still my favorite polo shirts to wear. That being said, there is one major flaw that can be problematic, especially for tall guys. Banana Republic luxe touch polos are notorious for shrinking, more so than other polo shirts that I own. 

They will shrink if you wash in hot water, and especially if you dry on high heat. The best way to avoid shrinkage over time is to wash cold and air dry these polos. Alternatively you can dry on a low heat setting, but there’s still a chance for shrinkage. I do want to mention that it only shrinks in terms of length. Other parts of the shirt like sleeves, shoulder and collar remain unchanged.

I’ve washed my polos in both hot and cold water and dried them on high heat at least once. All 3 of my shirts shrank slightly. The newer grey luxe touch polo shrunk the most and is a little bit short for me now. I imagine being 6 foot as these polos could shrink to a comically short length.

All in all though, the shirts have held up extremely well over the years and dozens of washes. Since I know about the shrinkage issue, I always air dry these polos which is good for the environment and makes for a longer lasting garment. 

Sizing & How It Fits

The BR luxury-touch polos fit flawlessly from the start. It’s easily one of the best fitting polo shirts in my collection. They are contemporary and form fitting.

The size XS is the perfect fit for my 5’6″ frame. It wears comfortably and allows for ample breathing room around the neck. The sleeves are the perfect length, landing around mid-bicep and wrapping around my muscles nicely. It looks particularly good if you’ve been hitting the gym and want to show off your gains.

The polo’s length is not too long or too short and it fits properly in the chest throughout the body. As I said before, it really is one of my best fitting off-the-rack shirts.

My Size: XS

Comes in sizes: XXS, XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL (Slim or standard fit, regular and tall options)

I’d say you are still safe sizing up and running it through a wash and dry cycle, as this should result in a near perfect fit. For taller guys, there is a tall option which is always nice. With the shirt’s tendency to shrink, they could be ideal for guys 5’4″ and under. It’s also nice that they carry a size XXS.

Price & Value

Banana Republic’s Slim Luxury-Touch Polos have a retail price of $44.50. I would never buy them at full price since Banana often offers sales of 40%-50% off, and so it’s a good idea to wait for these promotional days to pick them up.

In terms of value, even at $44.50, they’re worth it. But if you get it for $25 or less, it’s an absolute steal. And when certain colorways are down to its final sizes the prices can go as low as $7 for a shirt making it an incredible deal.

Check Luxury Touch Polo Prices

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Flawless fit
• Durable over the long run
• Many versatile colorways
• Slim fit, regular fit, and tall options
• Wide range of sizes
• On sale it’s a steal

Cons

• Notorious for shrinking (avoid drying on high heat)

Wrapping Up

That’s it for my long-term review of the Banana Republic luxury-touch polo. If you’re on the fence about these polos, I hope that after reading this, you know that they’re an excellent option.

So pick up one or several, they’re sure to last you for many years to come.

Cheers to your style,
-K

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE LUXURY-TOUCH POLOS?

Let’s continue the discussion over in the Gentlemen Within Private Facebook Community.

Looking forward to seeing you in there.