Picture this – it’s 1925, and stuffy garb rules the tennis-o-sphere with a rigid, uncomfortable fist. Players are collapsing left and right on the court due to sweat-related exhaustion (not entirely sure whether this what was the case, but it’s funny to imagine it was) and every single racket-wielder is chaffed-up to the nines.
This was the status quo until a man named René “The Crocodile” Lacoste came up with the ingenious idea of creating a short-sleeved, piqué cotton shirt explicitly designed with tennis in mind.
Not only was this a massively comfortable upgrade from the tennis clobber of yore, but it also looked pretty sharp – and it wasn’t long before Lacoste outgrew the court.
Here’s some snaps hoiked from the internet of people sporting the humble Croc.
