The Price Tag
The genuine men’s polos are always $75.00 for a solid colour, and $78.00 for a “heathered” colour (flecks of other colours can be seen in the predominant colour). Fake polos sometimes tend to have a price tag of $72.00. On the side of the tag where the Lacoste Croc is shown, there should be a red blot surrounding the hole. Diagonally upwards and left from the bar code should be a long serial number, and beneath should be the name of the colour of the polo shirt in French, and beneath this should read “100COTTON”. Most fakes won’t display the name of the colour. So Black would read “NOIR” etc. The “Lacoste” text beneath the Croc should be pretty bold and very black font. The Croc’s front foot should be situated less then one millimetre above the ‘O’.
Look carefully at the paragraphs of text beginning, “Vente exclusive par le réseau…” can you see any letters which look a different size or font to the rest of the text? If so, you have a fake. On the same note, look at the bottom paragraph. The word, “distribuição”. Are any of the little markings on the letters different to as shown here? The fakes on which we have based this information all had the ‘c’ written without the cedilla beneath it.
The Croc
The Croc should be facing right, and situated between the bottom of the placket and the lower button, NOT level with the bottom of the placket. Although many guides will outline exactly what the Croc should look like, all Lacoste Crocs vary from garment to garment, so this is not a true test of authenticity. However, there are a few obvious differences between the two Crocs which can be seen in the pictures.
The Buttons
Buttons found on Lacoste polos are known as ‘Mother of Pearl’ buttons. No button found on a genuine Lacoste polo shirt is the same as another. The button should look unique and almost shiny with small streaks for the pearl effect. If you have plain white buttons, you have a fake polo shirt. Genuine buttons are shaped differently to fake ones, and have a raised rim and larger holes for the thread. Furthermore, fake polo shirts will have a vertically aligned hole for the button, whereas the genuine polo has a horizontal one.
The Care Label
Look inside your polo shirt for a care label. It should outline washing instructions in both French & English. At the bottom, it should say ‘DEVANLAY’ in capital lettering. If your polo shirt does not have this, it is probably a counterfeit copy.
Lacoste
The Neck Label
Inside the neck of your polo shirt, you should find a single white label, bearing the Lacoste logo and the size of the polo, represented as a number. Many other guides will claim that there should be a second label, which says ‘Designed in France, Made in Peru’. However, polos bought in the United Kingdom do not have this label, so if you have bought your polo from the UK, and it has this label, it is probably fake; unless it has been imported. We have noticed that shirts purchased from the United States will have this label.
Recommended Retailers
We recommend that you always purchase your designer clothes & accessories from trusted online boutiques which have been verified by FakesRevealed. You can find a list of recommended retailers in the side bar, or by clicking the Retailers link at the top of the page.
