Same differences, clashing similarities, Fred Perry, Lacoste
From The Royal Tenenbaums: Gwyneth Paltrow in Lacoste.
Jason Diamond tells A Tale of Two Tennis Shirts in The Awl.
…what the two companies lack in comparable aesthetics, they make up for in their very similar histories: Wimbledon champions founded both brands—René Lacoste started his company in the late 1920s, while Perry’s shirts made their first appearance in 1952—and both companies became famous for manufacturing very similar looking tennis shirts. These shirts are casually referred to today as “polo shirts” (which is technically wrong: the term polo shirt originally referred only to the long-sleeved button-up shirts worn by polo players). Even though the shirts look and feel similar and cost about the same (Lacoste shading a little less expensive), somewhere down the line the laurel wreath of Perry’s logo became a favorite of mods, skinheads, rude boys, football hooligans and Brit Poppers, while Lacoste became the sport shirt of choice for the rich and privileged and anyone looking to be seen as such. But why did it turn out that way?
Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry
By the way neither the French nor the English have won a grand slam in ages.
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