A polo neck, roll-neck (United Kingdom, South Africa), turtleneck (United States, Canada), or skivvy (Australia, New Zealand, United States) is a garment—usually a sweater—with a close-fitting collar that folds over and covers the neck. It can also refer to the type of neckline, the style of collar itself, or be used as an adjective ("polo necked"). A simpler variant of the standard polo neck is the mock polo neck (or mock turtleneck), that resembles the polo neck with the soft fold at its top and the way it stands up around the neck, but both ends of the tube forming the collar are sewn to the neckline. This is mainly used to achieve the appearance of a polo neck where the fabric would fray, roll, or otherwise behave badly unless sewn. The mock polo neck clings to the neck smoothly, is easy to manufacture, and works well with a zip closure. History Europe Turtle neck–like garments have been worn for hundreds of years, dating at least to the 15th century. They were originally designed to protect the necks of knights wearing chainmail. Royalty adopted high-neck fashion, with the height and volume of the neck ruffle indicating status. From the late 19th century on polo necks were commonly worn by fishermen, manual workers, athletes, sailors and naval officers. In the early part of the 20th century the black polo neck was typical attire of Oswald Mosley, leader of British Union of Fascists ("Blackshirts"), though since the middle of that century black polo necks have been closely associated with leftist radical academics, philosophers, artists and intellectuals. The polo neck jumper became an iconic symbol of the French philosopher Michel Foucault. Polo necks also became a big fashion for wealthy young men after they were worn by European film stars Marcello Mastroianni and Yves Montand. Greta Garbo often wore polo necks and trousers privately, as later Audrey Hepburn would do in official photographs. Vladimir Putin of Russia, Andreas Papandreou of Greece, and Emmanuel Macron of France are examples of European leaders who are fond of wearing polo necks. United States At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the high neckline blouse became a fashionable option for young women as part of the emergence of the Gibson Girl. Their adoption by Noël Coward in the 1920s turned polo necks into a brief middle-class fashion trend, and feminists made them into a unisex