How to Identify a Fake Lacoste Shirt
Knowing a real vintage designer clothing item from fake can occasionally be tricky. Whilst some fakes are blatantly obvious, other more high quality fakes are harder to distinguish. We believe that integrity when it comes to designer clothing is super important - for the brands, for you and for the industry as a whole.
Whilst it’s easy to know that the product you’re buying from the designer shop is an original, when buying a vintage Lacoste polo, there are a few key things to look out for to help you identify whether your investment is real or fake.
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- Check the Crocodile Patch
When looking at the crocodile patch, check for the detailed features such as claws and teeth. 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. Also to note on Mr Croc, the eye should be a slit shape to round. However, there is an exception when it comes to Lacoste Vintage brand where the crocodile will be high-quality but the same colour as the shirt
- Is the Logo on a White Background?
The infamous logo is actually a patch that is lightly sewn - emphasis on lightly - on from behind so that you won’t see the stitching when you look at it from the front. Make sure you keep an eye out for stitching around the patch’s boarder, loose threes of any needle hole marks - this means it’s a fake! However, again, on a couple of brands such as the Vintage brand, the crocodile may be printed directly onto the shirt which may make differentiation a little harder
- The Logo Needs to be under the Second Button
The crocodile should be in the middle of the left side of the shirt - between the bottom stitching on the collar and the second button. Low-quality fakes tend to often align with the crocodile with the bottom stitching - the stitching may also look a little wonky! One thing to be aware of is that some (not very many) real Lacoste versions also align the crocodile with the bottom stitching so on its own this isn’t the most reliable observation!
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Time to go Inside Out…
When you turn the shirt inside out, you should be able to see the faint outline of the patch - barely visible at all. On a real Lacoste, there won’t be any colours, threads of obvious stitching. So, if the finish isn’t clean, it’s a fake!
- Vertically Sewn Buttons
When you’re checking your shirt, look for two vertically sewn buttons with one button being at the top of the collar and the other a little bit further down. Every button of a real Lacoste shirt will have two holes with thread passing up and down through them - rather than horizontally. Real buttons will not be crooked but held tightly in place by the thread
- Are the Buttons Identical?
Lacoste uses real mother of pearl buttons which are each unique - you may even spot a rainbow shimmer! Each button will have its own pattern with marbling on the back. So, if your buttons look identical, they’re plastic, mass produced and therefore fake!
- Bite those Buttons!
Plastic button will feel warm with hard edges, whereas real mother of pearl Lacoste buttons will be cooler with thinner edges and have a slight dip in the middle. If you’re still struggling, tap the buttons against your teeth or even bite down on them to feel a harder, denser texture than plastic buttons - Sized with Numbers
As Lacoste shirts are made in France, they’re sized in numbers which are placed above the crocodile on the label in a red number - if it uses any words such as ‘Small, Medium, Large’ sorry, it’s a fake!
- Detailed Crocodile on Tag
The crocodile on the tag should always be an olive green colour! Much like our other croc on the outside, your croc on the tag should have distinctive claws, teeth, red mouth and clear white scales on its back. The outline should look smooth instead of lumpy with no rough lines. This is where some high quality fakes might trick you as they might look similar… If you look closely, there won’t be as much detail and the white eyes may look rough and too close together
- Look for that Second Tag!
If the polo has a second tag, it will be under the first one and its first line will be ‘Designed in France’. However, not all polos will have this this second tag however so you might want to use this alongside other methods to identify a real polo!
- Check those Washing Instructions!
The washing tag will be on the bottom of the shirt on the inside and will say ‘100% cotton’ printed in no less than… 7 languages! On the back, you’ll see the washing instructions with the word ‘Devanlay’ (the company’s name) - no fabric should cover the letters on the tag. In fake shirts, you need to look out for the washing instructions being on the tag’s front and the tags may be roughly sewn in with threads that will either obstruct or hang down
We hope this has helped you to identify any fakes lingering in your wardrobe or any that you might try to buy in the future.
The best way to avoid this issue is to buy your vintage Lacoste from Messina Hembry, where every item of clothing we source is checked for both authenticity and quality. You can have peace of mind when buying vintage from us with our Authenticity Guarantee.
