Faherty vs Lacoste: which polo wins?
Both land in the premium tier — the Faherty Sunwashed T-Shirt Polo at $108, the Lacoste L.12.12 Polo at $110, just $2 apart. Here's how they stack up, head to head.
| Faherty | Lacoste | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $108 | $110 |
| Material | Slub cotton jersey listed by both the brand and retail stockists as 100% regenerative organic cotton, finished with a softening garment wash. | A 100% cotton pique knit — the fine "petit pique" texture the line is known for — that runs thinner and lighter than most pique polos. |
| Fit | Relaxed and roomy: the brand lists a relaxed fit, and one retailer's fit note reads true to size with extra room through the chest and body. Owners wanting a trim polo will find it generous. | The classic fit is roomy through the body, but the shirt runs small and short overall by American sizing. Owners who machine-dry recommend ordering a size up. |
| Quality | Retail ratings are strong — 4.9 of 5 across 39 reviews at one department store — and editorial coverage praises the softness. Because it ships pre-washed there is little crispness to lose, though long-term durability reporting is still thin. | Construction is solid for the tier — dense knit collar, tidy stitching — but several long-time owners report that recent production pills and stretches more readily than the shirts they bought years ago. |
| Best for | Right for casual and warm-weather wear — anyone who wants a collar with the feel of a favorite tee rather than a crisp golf or office polo. | Someone who wants the original pique polo in its trim, shorter cut and is comfortable paying a brand premium, or patient enough to buy on markdown. |
| Care | Machine wash cold inside out on a gentle cycle, tumble dry low, and use a cool iron when needed, per the brand's care label. | Wash cold and air dry: owners consistently report roughly a full size of shrinkage from a hot dryer. |
At $108 and $110 respectively, these two polos are separated by $2 — a gap too small to factor into the decision. The real difference is character: Faherty delivers a soft, relaxed garment-washed tee in polo form, while Lacoste delivers the classic structured pique silhouette with a century of brand identity attached. Neither is a clear value at full price, but both become defensible on markdown.
- The case for Faherty
- Faherty wins on feel and fit confidence — the pre-washed regenerative cotton is demonstrably softer out of the box, the relaxed cut is consistent across sizes, and care is more forgiving than the Lacoste's dryer-sensitive construction.
- The case for Lacoste
- Lacoste wins on structure and recognizability — the petit pique knit holds a crisper, more traditional polo silhouette, and the crocodile carries a heritage shorthand that the Faherty, with its newer brand positioning, does not.
The bottom lineWhich should you buy?
Buy the Faherty if the goal is a comfortable, low-maintenance warm-weather polo that wears like a tee — the soft slub cotton, forgiving fit, and machine-friendly care make it the more practical garment for the money. Buy the Lacoste if the classic pique look and brand identity matter, but size up and air dry without exception, and wait for the routine 40–50% markdowns rather than paying $110 for what independent reviewers rate as above-average rather than premium construction. The $2 price gap buys nothing — the choice is entirely about whether the buyer wants softness and ease or structure and the crocodile.
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