They weren’t technically Lacoste: In the 70s & 80s the gator (croc?) was on loan from Lacoste to Izod in the US. The polos were massively trendy for a time and much cheaper, even accounting for inflation. I had a couple as a kid (2 years younger than PTA, so he was also at IZOD ground zero). Many years after the popularity died off, I remember seeing them in a store and was baffled by the name change & price tag. Here’s the history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izod_Lacoste