Recently on Simon Crompton’s Instagram I noticed a photo of a man wearing an Eidos Lupo polo under a sportcoat. At least that’s what it looked like. Once I read the photo caption i discovered the shirt pictured is in fact a new variant on Crompton’s well known “Friday polo,” (produced by Luca Avitabile), which he sells on his web shop. From what I can tell, it looks detail-for-detail exactly like the Eidos Lupo.
I can understand why he’d copy the shirt. It looks better under a sportcoat than any other polo shirt you can buy—better than the tennis collar variety or even the more rakish cutaway collar polo (such as is made by Kent Wang or even Luca Avitabile).
In the photo above you can see the navy Lupo I bought from independent Michigan retailer AK Rikks in spring 2015. It has been all over the world with me and is one of my favorite shirts. Paired with a navy jacket, white trousers and suede shoes, it is one of my signature looks. It works equally well in summer as it does in winter (I have no qualms about wearing white trousers after Labor Day). Penny or tassel loafers in the warmer months, chukkas or jodhpurs in the cooler ones.
Antonio Ciongoli, former creative director of Eidos, says this season the Lupo is the best it’s ever been. It was made in America of Supima cotton by a manufacturer in LA at a level of quality Isaia’s Italian facilities haven’t lived up to in years. By all accounts, the fit is greatly improved—or rather perhaps, it’s been restored (this season’s size medium sounds like it will match my SS15 size medium, instead of fitting like an extra small, as they have the last couple of years). The collar is a bit more substantial and therefore sits under a jacket better (again, my 2015 Lupo sits very well under a jacket, but more recent ones have been flimsier). And the construction quality is much improved as well (many people have had problems with the placket tearing away from the body of the shirt and that is now fixed).
The icing on top is that because it was manufactured here in the States, for us U.S. shoppers, there was no import duties for retailers who carry it here, and so it has a lower retail price.
Since new creative director of Eidos, Simon Spurr, is resetting the brand completely, making it more expensive, and reportedly offering logo hoodies, this is the best time to buy one.
I just ordered another navy one to rotate with my clearly well-loved, but still-going-strong 2015 one.
Here are the retailers that I know about who are selling them:
Bloomingdales in NYC
Martin Patrick 3 in Minneapolis (where I bought mine; ask for Todd)
Update 3/2/18—Simon Spurr himself commented on my Instagram post saying that the Lupo will carry on under his direction. His exact quote: “Fear not gentlemen. Lupo and Ladro styles have already been carried over and additional fabrications will be offered giving you more options than before. And maybe give the new look for the brand a chance. You may like it.” So there you have it. I was glad to grab this made-in-USA navy lupo (and also grabbed a white one), but the color of the navy has more magenta in it than my old one, so it doesn’t look as good with my heavier-weight winter navy blazer. Let the Lupo glory continue!
