An American heritage brand born from golf, known for its preppy polo shirts and relaxed, mid-century style.
ORIGIN
USA
PRICE TIER
premium
Launched in 1955 by Munsingwear salesman Abbot Pederson, Original Penguin began with the creation of the iconic '55' golf shirt. The brand's origin story is famously rooted in a flight where Pederson, accompanied by a taxidermied penguin mascot named Pete, was inspired to embroider the dapper bird onto a shirt. This polo, with its signature underarm action gusset, quickly became a staple of 1950s and '60s leisure, adopted by cultural figures like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Arnold Palmer, cementing its place as an American classic. After a quieter period, the brand was revitalized in the early 2000s under Perry Ellis International, re-emerging by blending its archive of mid-century designs with a contemporary feel.