Men's Izod Shirts Guide

Men's Izod shirts are shirts sold under the Izod brand - officially stylized IZOD - an American clothing company known for dressy-casual clothing and sportswear for men, and in 2016 part of PVH. The original Apparel Search guide made the honest point this page keeps: an Izod shirt is not a category of clothing the way a crew-neck tee or a turtleneck is; it is a brand, and it earned its place in this guide because one garment made it famous - the short-sleeved pique polo shirt, for decades produced with Lacoste and carrying the crocodile, and in its modern form marked instead by a color-matching crest and left-sleeve embroidery. This guide covers the styles worth knowing, the fit points that decide comfort, the fabrics and construction that separate a good buy from a regret, and the simple care that makes the garment last.

The Shirt Range: Pique Polos and Beyond

Start with the polo, because the polo is the brand. It is knitted in pique - a textured, waffle-like cotton or cotton-blend knit whose raised weave breathes, hides wrinkles better than a flat jersey, and gives the shirt its structured, dressy-casual hand. The classic pattern is a short sleeve, a ribbed collar and sleeve bands, a two- or three-button placket, and a tennis tail slightly longer at the back. Around that signature the modern line arranges the rest of a man's shirt drawer: button-down oxfords and dressy-casual woven shirts for the office side of the wardrobe, golf and performance polos with moisture management for the course, and long-sleeved polos and layering shirts for cooler months. Judge any of them first by the emblem question - crest and sleeve embroidery are the current Izod marks; a crocodile belongs to the vintage Izod Lacoste era, not to new stock.

A top earns its keep in finishing: seams that hang straight and stay even at eight to twelve stitches per inch, collars and plackets that lie flat after washing, buttons sewn with thread shanks so they sit in their holes without pulling. Hold the cloth to the light - a tight, even weave or knit outwears a loose one at the same labeled weight, and pattern pieces cut on grain keep the garment from twisting around your body by the third wash.

Fit and Sizing

Brand sizing is still sizing: Izod cuts follow the familiar American alpha scale, but the fit families matter more than the letter. Classic fit is the traditional, roomier body the preppy original was cut in; slim and tailored fits narrow the chest and waist for a cleaner line under a blazer. Measure your chest, try the polo buttoned at the placket, and check the two polo-specific points: the collar should lie flat without curling after you move your arms, and the sleeve band should meet the mid-bicep without gripping it. Length decides the job - a polo worn untucked should end around mid-fly, while one meant to tuck needs the tennis tail to stay tucked when you sit and reach. Between sizes, the pique knit relaxes slightly with wear, so a firm-but-comfortable new fit is usually the right long-term one.

Fit tops shoulders and chest first, because tailors cannot cheaply move either: the shoulder seam ends at the shoulder bone, the chest closes without pulling, and both arms raise without the hem escaping the waistband. Tucked lengths must stay tucked sitting; untucked lengths should end mid-fly. Sleeves are the cheap alteration, shoulders the permanent one - reject a wrong shoulder for any reason, forgive a long sleeve for many.

Wearing and Care

Pique cotton care is simple and worth doing properly, because the collar and placket are the shirt's architecture. Wash cool or warm, inside out to protect the embroidered crest and any sleeve embroidery, with buttons fastened so the placket keeps its line. Tumble low or line dry - high heat is what curls collars and shrinks the body - and reshape the collar flat while the shirt is still damp. Fold polos rather than hanging them for long storage, since knit shoulders stretch on hangers. Vintage Izod Lacoste pieces deserve one extra step: treat them as the collectibles they have become, washing gently and storing them out of sunlight, because a genuine crocodile-era shirt in good condition is a piece of 1980s preppy history, not just a spare polo.

Launder tops by the label with three defaults: cool or warm water to protect color and trims, dark and printed pieces inside out, and low or line drying, which is the largest single lever on a shirt's lifespan. Fasten buttons and zips before washing to protect the whole load, treat stains before the dryer can set them, and store knits folded so their shoulders keep the shape they were knitted with.

From Our Original Guide: Izod, the Brand Behind the Polo

Our original Izod page began with a candor this guide keeps: this type of shirt is not actually a category of clothing — it is not specifically a type of shirt such as a crew neck tee or a turtleneck — because technically this is a brand and not an actual shirt category, and it probably should not even be in this section; it was included because it was such an important concept that it deserved special attention. Izod (officially stylized as IZOD) is a clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing and sportswear for men, as well as footwear and accessories, and in 2016 the brand was part of PVH. It is perhaps best known for its short-sleeved piqué polo shirt, formerly produced by Lacoste and featuring the Lacoste crocodile on the left breast, now replaced with a color-matching/coordinating crest and left sleeve embroidery. Izod of London became most notable for its pairing with the Lacoste shirt company from 1952 to 1993: Vincent Draddy began to license the Lacoste shirt to add prestige to the Izod line, but could not at first find a market for the then-expensive $8.00 retail price — after Draddy began giving the shirts away to his famous friends, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bing Crosby, Daniel Platt and John F. Kennedy, the shirts soon became popular with department stores. “Izod of London” became a brand known simply as “Izod Lacoste”; while the shirts were equally Izod and Lacoste, they became abbreviated and popularized as “Izod” shirts, which led to the ongoing misunderstanding that the famous crocodile is the Izod trademark. The Izod Lacoste brand reached its height of popularity in the US during the late 1970s and became the signature 1980s “preppy” wardrobe item. During the early 1990s Izod Lacoste struggled to maintain its market dominance; the initial reaction from Crystal Brands, the brand owner at that time, was to separate the two names and target two groups of customers at once — “Izod” was re-introduced as moderate pricepoint apparel in department stores, while Lacoste was renamed “Lacoste Chemise” and re-positioned as a luxury lifestyle brand. Izod no longer had access to the crocodile logo.