buyer's guide - buttons, logos and tags

It has recently come to our attention that some enterprising individuals have jacked up the prices of their Lacoste replicas in order to trick buyers into thinking that the shirts are Lacoste originals.

While the real thing is indeed expensive, the price should not be the only indicator that the merchandise is authentic. Just because something is expensive does not mean that it is genuine.

Here are more indicators to help you determine that the shirt you have is an original Lacoste classic polo shirt. Are you ready to perform an (ocular) inspection of the apparel?

Buttons

• The classic shirts have only two buttons. (For ladies, there is a 5-button variant).
• The old stocks still use mother of pearl, while new ones now use plastic. 
• There should only be one pair of button holes.
• The direction of the thread from one button hole to the next should be vertical, not horizontal.
• Both buttons are plain and should show neither the crocodile logo nor the word "Lacoste."

Crocodile Logo

• The crocodile logo appears twice: on the left hand part of your shirt and on the size tag.
• You will find a relatively lighter green crocodile on the size tag.
• On the shirt, the crocodile is dark green.
• The fangs and claws are very detailed for both crocodiles.
• The eye of the crocodile logo on the size tag is wide open. You can see the pupil or eyeball.
• The eye of the crocodile logo on the shirt does not show the pupil.  The croc appears asleep.
• The crocodile logo on the shirt is approximately 1.25 inches wide and 0.65 to 0.75 inch tall.

Crocodile Placement

• One of the best indicators of an authentic Lacoste shirt is the placement of the crocodile.
• By rule of thumb, the crocodile is never positioned lower than the edge of button placket.
• For men, the crocodile of authentic Lacoste shirts is without exception only found in between -- not aligned with -- the second button and the edge of the button placket.
• For women, the crocodile is positioned almost in close alignment with the edge of the button placket, but never below it.

Tags

• Check the inner portion of the shirt. There should be a Devanlay care tag complete with laundry and drying instructions.
• For tags in the neckline, the number depends on when the product was released. Old stocks sport double Euro tags while new stocks sport only a single tag. Today, while the use of only single tags has become commonplace in Asia and even UK, Lacoste shirts sold in the US continue to have two tags.
• The underlying Euro tag indicates where the shirt was designed and/or made. For instance: "Designed in France, Made in Peru" or "Designed in France, Made in Morocco" followed by a line that reads "RN87651-CA 16998." 
• On top of the design tag is the size tag, which shows the crocodile logo and indicates the size of your shirt. Note: Original Lacoste sizing only appears in numbers, and not in letters S, M, L or XL. The size is printed in RED and no other color.

We hope you found our guide useful. We have had a pretty busy week, but we'll be posting pictures soon in case you need help in visualizing our guide.