Lacoste

After retiring from tennis, René Lacoste founded La Chemise Lacoste in 1933 with André Gillier, the owner and President of the largest French knitwear manufacturing firm at the time. They began to produce the revolutionary tennis shirt Lacoste had designed and worn on the tennis courts with the crocodile logo embroidered on the chest.

The shirt was only available in white up until 1951, it was then that the brand introduced the amazing range of colours they're famous for today. Lacoste fought it out with Ralph for years, even though the shirt with the crocodile had already been on the market 33 years by the time Ralph founded his company. Today, the choice Lacoste or Ralph generally comes down to colour & cut, the American polo is cut longer and narrower, the Lacoste is slightly shorter with a bigger collar. One thing's for sure, the Lacoste polo is an essential item in the Oi Polloi wardrobe, we've all got at least a couple (one of us has a few dozen). Trouble is, choosing which colour's a nightmare...