Designer Logo Madness

I blame a french tennis player for the blight of gaudy logos on designer clothes. How do people react to designer logos? Some covet the designer clothes as some kind of so-called status symbol, because the logo itself becomes desirable. Some like the style of a particular designer and stay with that brand. Others view large logos as unnecessary design flaws.

So how did there come to be so many men's clothing brand logos that strive to become iconic and desirable? We have to credit French tennis player Rene Lacoste for creating the first brand name and logo that appeared on the outside of a piece of men's clothing.

Lacoste was part of the team that won the 1927 Davis Cup in tennis. As Lacoste tells the story, "I was nicknamed "the Alligator" by the American press, after I made a bet with the Captain of the French Davis Cup Team concerning a suitcase made from alligator skin. The public must have been fond of this nickname which conveyed the tenacity I displayed on the tennis courts, never letting go of my prey! So my friend Robert George drew a 'crocodile' which I then had embroidered on the blazer I wore on the courts." In the thirties Lacoste and a friend set up a company to manufacture their logo-embroidered shirts for tennis, golf and sailing.

The Lacoste alligator has enjoyed cycles of popularity among preppy high school and college students, followed by other brand logos denoting Polo by Ralph Lauren or lately the Moose logo of Abercrombie and Fitch. In marketing, the logo is a symbol that conveys the values of the brand as depicted in advertising. Imagine the McDonald's golden arches logo for a moment. What does it suggest? It usually connotes fast, consistent food, popular with children. Researchers and parents know that even pre-literate toddlers recognize the golden arches logo, as symbolic of food. For the shopper, a clothing logo can become a symbol of consistent quality.

During my college days, cave explorer and cave diver Paul Smith of Florida, parodied logo madness with his upside down cave bat logo. Paul's sense of humor was welcome on caving expeditions to the deep caves of Mexico and Belize. His creativity complemented his skill as a superb rock climber. Paul made up his own golf shirts with the logo he called the Batzod.

A small discreet logo is harmless, but the huge "big pony" logo seen on recent Ralph Lauren shirts is almost a parody of itself. A large gaudy logo on sports shirts is probably most appropriate for the sort of man who sits in a hotel restaurant, bragging loudly enough for all the other patrons to hear how his child was invited to an "upscale bowling alley" in Miami for a birthday party. An ostentatious logo calls attention to itself and how much it costs, much like the loud mouth restaurant diner bragging about how much everything cost the birthday party host at the bowling alley.

I prefer to have the small monogram that identifies my laundry, hidden on the tails of custom shirts, so only my dry cleaners can see them. So I find huge or gaudy designer logos to be too showy to wear. The fit and tasteful design of a good shirt should complement your look without calling attention to itself. Giant, gaudy logos attract the wrong kind of attention and suggest that you don't have the confidence to make your own look.

With a bit of work you can learn to make your own style, that doesn't depend on slavishly following the dictates of some famous designer, and their constantly changing fashions. Sure you can wear designer clothes, but choose them mainly because their fit and their look complement your face, your body shape or your style.