On Mon, 17 Jun 1996 12:46:30 MST Dan Lester <[log in to unmask]> said:
 
>It  seems  to  me  that  wearing "marketing  garments"  is  very  widely
>done...and has  been at least since  the first alligator showed  up on a
>golf shirt pocket.
 
Well, just  FYI... The little alligator  first appeared in 1930  or so on
the font of  a TENNIS shirt worn  by a (then) famous  tennis player whose
name was Lacoste and who was nicknamed "the alligator". His girlfriend is
rumoured to have sewn the alligator on  the shirt to bring him good luck.
The shirt was a special design that  was made to be much lighter and more
comfortable to wear while still meeting the standards of "decency" of the
30s. Then this  all turned into a commercial venture,  nicely funding Mr.
Lacoste's retirement.  Then, much later,  when the shirt was  imported to
the US,  someone with more marketing  degrees that it is  healthy for any
single person to have decided that  this shirt could not possibly be sold
in the US  under the name Lacoste,  for reasons that my  limited stack of
degrees does  not allow me  to comprehend. The  name IZOD appeared  a lot
cooler and  more appropriate. Similarly, the  shirt had to be  sold under
the label of  "golf shirt", even though Americans did  play tennis at the
competition level, and with good results  too boot. The IZOD "golf shirt"
was born.
 
  Eric