From Wednesday, April 13th, Isetan Shinjuku will be transformed into a French paradise for " French Week ." On the 1st floor Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building , the sweaters and casual shirts section will be highlighting LACOSTE polo shirts, with all the colors currently available in Japan. Furthermore, from 1pm to 5pm on Saturday, April 16th, columnist Atsushi Ide and artist Hiroshi Wataya will appear in the store as stylists for the day, offering styling advice to customers! Prior to their appearance, Isetan Men's Net has interviewed them about Lacoste.

Memories of my first Lacoste purchase

In a conversation between Mr. Ide and Mr. Wataya that was sure to bring a smile to your face, Mr. Ide appeared with about 20 of his own Lacoste shirts. The conversation began with him saying, "I think this French Lacoste is the oldest one."

I brought my Lacoste from home today , but I'm sure everyone from the American casual generation has some too. The oldest one is a French Lacoste I bought when I was in high school, and I also bought an American-made Izod Lacoste around the same time. The Izod ones have a longer back panel.
Back then, the original was French Lacoste , the American-made was Izod, and the Japanese-made was Lacoste by Osawa & Co., and they all had the word "Lacoste" inside the crocodile logo. I remember that the ones without the word were the French-made ones.


Back in high school, I actually thought single-point logos were kind of uncool. In issue 5 or 6 of the magazine "Popeye" (founded in 1976), there was a photo of the editor at the time, Takeshi Matsuyama, styled by Katsuhiko Kitamura, sitting cross-legged in a black long-sleeved Lacoste shirt, gray pants, and either Adidas Stan Smiths or Clarks Desert Boots. It was a French Lacoste shirt. When "Popeye" was released, all the Lacoste shirts in Tokyo sold out, and since black was rare at the time, French Lacoste shirts became popular. Everyone was surprised because I thought single-point logos were uncool. About a year later, I bought a French Lacoste shirt for around 9800 yen at an import shop in Shimokitazawa. I think the Izod was around 7800 yen .
Wataya: I was in the tennis club in high school, and at first I wore Crocodile, and then I wore Japanese-made Lacoste, but my club advisor was wearing a Lacoste with no writing inside the crocodile logo that he bought at Ameyoko, and I thought, "He's a real working adult" (laughs). I couldn't afford the French-made ones because I was a high school student. I've only ever bought one French Lacoste in my life.
Back then , it was used to describe "NEETs." The meaning of NEET is different from what it means today; at the time, it was used to mean "neat, tidy, clean, well-proportioned."

The way you wear a polo shirt changes with the times!

Wataya: About 10 years ago, Ide-kun and I happened to be wearing Lacoste, and when the three of us sat side-by-side at a snack bar counter, someone asked us, "Are you from some kind of crocodile association?" (laughs).
Oh yeah, that happened. When you're in a pinch during summer interviews, Lacoste is your go-to choice.
Wataya: The other day, I was watching The Folk Crusaders on YouTube and I noticed that Kazuhiko Kato was wearing a polo shirt with one collar standing up, and I thought, "Wow!"
Polo shirts definitely go in and out of fashion. Back in the day, Izod's burgundy color was popular with surfers, and people would say, "Don't button your polo shirt, leave the neckline open in a V shape, and wear it with the sleeves bunched up tightly." Sometimes a faded collar from repeated washing was considered cool, and during the Lacoste boom, a crisp collar was preferred. I didn't think so, but some people would button their polo shirts all the way up and wear a T-shirt underneath.

The Polo Shirt = Jeans Debate

For Wataya's lantern sleeves to be really tight, you need to have pretty strong upper arms.
I think polo shirts look best on people with a good physique, like rugby players. They don't suit middle-aged people with just a big belly, though.
When you think of it as a fashion item, like jeans, it's surprisingly difficult to figure out the right timing to wear it after you buy it. If it's brand new, it's too formal, and if it's too worn out, it's too casual. It's hard to judge that perfect balance between new and worn. The collar is the tricky part.
When you watch old Italian vacation movies, you see people wearing beltless trousers with polo shirts tucked in, but that's difficult for Japanese people to pull off.
Wataya: Our generation has a lot of fond memories of French Lacoste, but looking at the Lacoste that Ide-san brought, I realize that it's the same as jeans in that you can still wear it even after 30 years. It's hard to throw it away, isn't it?

NEXT> How to style it this year? A Lacoste polo shirt?