Lacoste Mens Clothing

Filter

Lacoste has been making the polo shirt since René Lacoste invented it in 1933 — the L.12.12, in the petit piqué cotton he developed so tennis players could move and breathe. The range here runs

Read More

63 products

About Lacoste and the L.12.12 polo shirt

René Lacoste was a French tennis player with seven Grand Slam titles and a nickname — The Crocodile — that came from a bet over a crocodile-skin suitcase. In the 1920s he grew tired of playing in stiff long-sleeved woven shirts and designed something better: short sleeves, a ribbed collar, a buttoned placket, a longer tail at the back, and a knitted cotton he called petit piqué that let air through and did not cling. He wore it at the French championship in 1928 and caused a minor scandal. In 1933 he went into business with the knitwear manufacturer André Gillier and put it into production as the L.12.12 — L for Lacoste, 1 for petit piqué, 2 for short sleeves, 12 for the twelfth prototype. The crocodile embroidered on the chest was the first brand logo ever put on the outside of a garment.

Lacoste polo shirts, tees and shirts

The Original L.12.12 is still made in the same petit piqué and is the one most people mean by a Lacoste polo. Classic Fit is the same cloth cut a little easier; the washed-effect and eco versions are the same shape in a softened or recycled-content cotton. Beyond polos, the Pima cotton crew necks are the plainer everyday option in a longer-staple cotton that resists pilling, and the graffiti and tennis prints are the louder end. The shirts run to oxford, denim, gingham poplin and linen, cut regular rather than slim, and the overshirts in corduroy, denim and linen blend sit between a shirt and a light jacket.

Lacoste trousers, outerwear and trainers

The rest of the range is quieter and worth knowing about. Linen and stretch cotton chinos and drawstring trousers cover legs. Outerwear is light rather than serious — a showerproof puffer, a packable water-repellent nylon jacket, a track jacket and a taffeta shell, all made to be carried rather than relied on in weather. On feet, the Powercourt is the leather tennis shoe and the Club Low the plainer everyday one, both in white. Caps, a wool beanie and underwear round it out.

Browse all polo shirts, see t-shirts, or look at trainers.

Lacoste FAQs

It is the code Lacoste gave the original 1933 polo shirt. L stands for Lacoste, 1 for the petit piqué cotton, 2 for short sleeves, and 12 because it was the twelfth prototype. The shirt is still made under that name and in that fabric.
The knitted cotton René Lacoste developed for the first polo shirt. The structure creates small raised cells in the fabric, which makes it lighter and more breathable than the woven shirts tennis players wore before it, and gives it the slightly textured surface a Lacoste polo has.
It was René Lacoste's nickname. Accounts of exactly how he got it differ — the most repeated version is a bet with his Davis Cup captain over a crocodile-skin suitcase. He had it embroidered on his blazer in 1927, and when the company launched in 1933 it went on the chest of the polo shirt. It was the first brand logo worn on the outside of a garment.
Lacoste states on its own product pages that the Original L.12.12 runs small and advises sizing up if you are unsure. Classic Fit is cut a little easier through the body.
Both Yards Store shops carry Lacoste: 13 Old Bank Street in Manchester and 86 Pinstone Street in Sheffield. Ranges differ between the two, so ring ahead for a particular piece or size. Everything on this page ships across the UK.