What's the story, alligator?

Did you know that originally, the classic Polo shirt was actually called a Tennis shirt? Back in the beginning of the sport, the traditional tennis whites were rather formal, until René Lacoste, the French 7-time Grand Slam tennis champion, decided that the stiff tennis attire was too cumbersome and uncomfortable and got to work and came up with something a little more loose.

After retiring from the pro tennis circuit, he teamed up with André Gillier, a clothing merchandiser friend of his, and together, they formed the company Chemise Lacoste, and began selling their shirts, which included the most famous polo logo ever, the small embroidered crocodile logo resting over the wearer's left breast.

Then polo players, who also were stuck in uncomfortable clothes on the field, became aware of Lacoste's invention in the thirties and quickly adopted it for use in polo. In 1972, Ralph Lauren introduced his "polo shirt" as a prominent part of his fashion line called Polo, fixing in people's mind what a polo shirt was and poularising the polo player logo, even though he didn't invent it.

Credit for that goes to Lewis Lacey, an Argentine-Irish haberdasher and polo player, who was first to embroider shirts with the logo of a polo player, a design originated at the Hurlingham Polo Club near Buenos Aires. Now the shirt can be found in every sport, and made by every manufacturer, and here's the story behind four icon brands.

Lacoste, The Alligator

As mentioned, this brand was founded by Rene Lacoste, a French tennis star who stole the Davis Cup away from the Americans in 1927. He was nicknamed "the Alligator" after winning a bet of a crocodile-skin suitcase.

Later, a drawing of the amphibian was presented to him, and he liked it so much he had it embroidered onto a blazer that he wore on the courts. The alligator is often claimed to be the first logo to be made visible on the outside of a garment.

Ralph Lauren The polo player

Although Ralph Lauren started his business in 1967 (he was selling ties!), it was not until 1972 that the first mesh Polo shirt with the polo player logo appeared. It came in 24 colours and quickly became known as an American classic.

Lauren has always preferred the preppy side of menswear. To him, polo as a game reflects grace and elegance, and he wanted these qualities to embody the Ralph Lauren Polo lifestyle.

Hang Ten A pair of feet

In the 60's, a surfer dude called Duke Boyd designed what was believed to be the first board shorts. He named them after a difficult surfing manoeuvre, the 'hang ten', which essentially means what it says - you hang all 10 toes over the nose of the surfboard.

A pair of golden feet was discreetly embroidered at the hem of the trunks. The brand came to symbolise the carefree Californian beach culture.

Fred Perry The laurel wreath

This tennis champion was another star to create a brand. This was during '30s England, when the young and dashing Fred Perry became the first Englishman to win the singles title at Wimbledon.

The natty dresser soon sold shirts marketed under his name. The logo of a laurel wreath was selected, but could only be used only after a signed approval by the powerful All England Club and Wimbledon! Add a comment