A henley shirt is a collarless men's casual wear pullover shirt, characterized by a 10 cm to 15 cm (4-6") long placket beneath the round neckline, usually having 2-5 buttons. It essentially resembles a collarless polo shirt. The sleeves may be either short or long sleeve, and it can be made in almost any fabric, although cotton, and cotton-polyester blends, and thermals are by far the most popular. Henley shirts are generally regarded as menswear, but recently women's versions have appeared as well.
They were so named because this particular style of shirt was the traditional uniform of rowers in the English town of Henley-on-Thames.
Originally quite popular in the early 1970s, henley shirts have recently made a fashion comeback, especially in Western countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia, but also in some East Asian Countries such as Japan and Korea.