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Author Archives: JFP
The Ralph Lauren Polo Shirt
Although I’m a Lacoste fanatic, I’m still interested in other brands of Polo Shirts. In particular, I’ve always had a weakness for Ralph Lauren polo shirts. In my mind, they are the only real rival to original Lacoste polo shirts. So, I’ve written this post on the history of Ralph Lauren polo shirts.
As the Ralph Lauren site puts it:
An American style standard since 1972, the Polo shirt has been imitated but never matched. Over the decades, Ralph Lauren has reimagined his signature style in a wide array of colors and fits, yet all retain the quality and attention to detail of the iconic original.
The then twenty-eight year old, Ralph Lauren founded his fashion line, in 1967. Reportedly, he named the brand “Polo Ralph Lauren” because it sounded more English. In 1969, the brand had its first major success when Bloomingdale’s gave Polo Ralph Lauren its own shop within the store. This was the first designer shop within a Bloomingdales. Three years later, in 1972, Ralph Lauren launched the iconic polo shirt in twenty-four colors.
Although it is available in synthetic fabrics now, at the time of the polo shirt’s launch, Ralph Lauren was reportedly adamant about the superiority of cotton polo shirts and “open about his love for the patina of a well-loved garment, something that polyester couldn’t really offer.” This focus was reiterated in the Polo Ralph Lauren’s launch tagline “it gets better with age.”(1)
By the 1980s the brand was going head-to-head with Lacoste. As one observer put it, “The 1980’s became the decade of the polo-shirt as Lacoste and Ralph Lauren battled for the cash of Americans coast to coast.”(2). By the middle of the decade, in the United States, the Ralph Lauren polo shirt had equal status with Lacoste, although it had much less success in Europe.
Emblazoned with the iconic polo-player embroidered motif, the polo shirt has remained Polo Ralph Lauren’s most popular product for nearly fifty years. It’s truly a worthy competitor to Lacoste’s original polo shirt.
Lacoste Opens New Store At The Icon Outlet At The O2 in London
Updated 12/04.2020
Lacoste announced that it is opening a new store at the Icon Outlet at the O2 in London. For a limited time, to celebrate the new store’s opening, they are offering a chance to win “one year’s supply of iconic Lacoste polos.”
Here’s the press release:
Icon Outlet at The O2 has announced international designer brand, Lacoste, is the latest retailer to sign for its newest outlet store at the destination. As one of the leading shopping destinations in the capital, Lacoste is set to join Icon Outlet’s robust retail offering of over 60 brands including, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, GAP, Nike and adidas.
Lacoste will open its latest 1770 square foot store on the upper level adjacent to Ted Baker and Calvin Klein, from 10am on Wednesday 2 December. The store will stock Lacoste’s apparel lines, accessories and fragrances for men, women and children, and the brand remains an official partner of the Nitto ATP Finals which recently took place at The O2 behind closed doors due to the national lockdown.
Jamie Givens, CEO for UK & Ireland at Lacoste, commented: “We are thrilled to have signed for our latest space at Icon Outlet. At Lacoste we have always been committed to designing products that combine innovation, quality and elegance. Icon Outlet embraces these notions across their retail portfolio and we look forward to showcasing our premium range of unique and original lifestyle offerings for women, men and children.”
Marion Dillon, leasing firector for Icon Outlet, added: “Lacoste is a fabulous addition to our international brands here at Icon Outlet … Lacoste is an anchor brand and their signing is evidence that Icon Outlet remains attractive to international brands interested in reaching our diverse customer base.”
Janine Constantin-Russell, managing director of Icon Outlet, added: “We are delighted to be reopening again with Lacoste now joining our family of brands.”
See the complete press release at Retail Times UK, or for more coverage see Retail and Leisure International or Fashion United UK.
Lacoste Un Crocodile Sweater
I love the Lacoste Un Crocodile Sweaters. but they are long gone from the Lacoste Store. Now, I’m keeping an eye out now fo see if I can find a used one somewhere on Ebay. Or, you can just look at all the other Lacoste Sweaters.
As Lacoste puts it, “All the signs of Lacoste are condensed into this fine wool sweater with flat ribbing and a tongue-in-cheek Un Crocodile design, as seen on the runway.” They feature:
- Crew neck
- Relaxed fit
- Ribbed finishes
- Premium Ribbed Wool
- Tone-on-Tone crocodile branding
You used to be able to find them in the Lacoste Fashion Show store.
How To Identify Fake Lacoste Sneakers in 2024
Updated: April 29, 2024
I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries recently about how to tell whether the Lacoste sneakers you’ve bought are fake, so I’ve decided to put together this post on how to identify counterfeit Lacoste shoes. It’s important to be careful, because high-quality Chinese counterfeits are readily available, as you can see from this article. So, here’s how to ensure that you are getting genuine Lacoste sneakers.
Where Did You Buy The Shoes?
Start with where you are buying the sneakers. If you bought the shoes from a street seller or on Alibaba, you can be almost certain that they are fake. Lacoste shoes are only sold at Lacoste’s own stores or at certified retailers. You can determine if a store is an approved seller by checking it out on Lacoste’s website. Buying from an authorized retailer, is the number one way to ensure you have Genuine Lacoste footwear.
Check The Logos
Most fakes have cheaply made crocodile logos with badly defined body parts. The crocodile should be a deep, dark green with obvious individual teeth and claws. The top jaw is smaller than bottom and is angled slightly upwards. The tail will be rounded and be pointing in the same direction as the jaw rather than at the crocodile. You can see an example of a genuine logo below.
Unfortunately, Lacoste has been confusing the issue recently by using multiple versions of the logo in different materials on shoes. This is particularly true of collaborations like the recent one with Concept. So, if your item’s logo doesn’t look like the classic one pictured above, you should check it against some of the newer versions shown on my Lacoste Crocodile Logo page. While the colors differ, the quality of the logo and its coloring are still good indicators of the sneaker being genuine.
There are other logos and Lacoste branding that you should check also. Look at the Lacoste Logo from the back of a genuine sneaker shown below.
Notice the quality of the stitching on the logo. That’s brings me to the next thing you need to check.
Is The Quality Of The Construction And Materials High?
Lacoste shoes can be made of canvas, PVC or leather, but they all share one thing in common: their construction and materials are of high quality. A common fault of fake sneakers is inferior stitching. Genuine Lacoste sneakers have small, even, solid stitching as shown in the example below.
Uneven stitching or loose threads is an indication of a counterfeit shoe. A good place to check the stitching is inside the shoe, since the manufacturers of fakes often skimp on the non-visible stitching. If you see uneven stitching around the inside of the shoe, or bunching of the lining, you can be pretty sure you have counterfeit sneakers.
What Does The Label Look Like?
A Genuine Lacoste shoe will have a label on the tongue like the one shown below:
The label should have both European and US sizes. It will also have a high quality, printed logo with sharp defined edges.
Packaging
Genuine Lacoste sneakers generally come in a heavy cardboard, green box stamped on top and side with a high-quality Lacoste Logo in white. See the image below for an example, and note the quality of the printing of both the Lacoste name and the crocodile.
Every Lacoste shoe I have bought came in a green box. However, I’ve also seen boxes on the internet that are white, so you may get a box like the one below:
Inside the box, the shoes will be wrapped in high-quality, tissue paper with the Lacoste Crocodile Logo imprinted as shown below.
If you don’t get the Lacoste box, then the shoes are almost certainly fake. Be aware, though, that empty Lacoste boxes are readily available on Ebay, Alibaba and other sites, so this is not a definitive sign of quality. However, the vast majority of the boxes sold don’t include the tissue paper.
Other Resources
If you are interested in authenticating other Lacoste fashion items, check out my article on detecting fake Lacoste bags or my article on detecting fake Lacoste polo shirts. I’ve also written a detailed article on detecting counterfeit Lacoste items if these instructions are not good enough.