Lacoste activewear sets: price by condition
| Condition | Typical |
|---|---|
| New with Tags | £61 (~$81) |
| Like New | £52 (~$69) |
| Good | £40 (~$53) |
| Fair | £27 (~$37) |
| For Parts | £15 (~$20) |
Seller-declared grades, sterling with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). What each grade means.
What holds its value across Lacoste
- The L1212 pique polo, which has been in production essentially unchanged for decades and is the item buyers search for
- Vintage pieces made in France under the Devanlay licence, printed on the care label, which carry a clear premium over later production
- Older garments labelled Chemise Lacoste, which is the original naming and dates a piece to the earlier era
- Collaboration pieces and the Lacoste Live sub-line, which were made in much smaller runs than the mainline
What pulls Lacoste resale value down
- A frayed, lifted or partly detached crocodile, which is the identifying feature and the first thing anyone looks at
- Stretched or greyed collars on the polos, the normal failure and the reason most used ones sell cheaply
- Faded colours on the brighter polos, which is common and very visible
- Current mainline basics in common sizes, which compete directly with a new one on sale
Identifying and dating yours
- Lacoste sizes are numbered 2 to 8 rather than lettered, so state the UK equivalent and the flat chest measurement — this is the commonest cause of a return on the label
- The crocodile should be tightly and evenly embroidered with defined teeth and eye; buyers compare it against reference photographs
- The care label gives the country of manufacture, and Made in France places a garment in the earlier, more valuable period
What lifts any activewear set, whatever the label
Activewear is heavily supplied second hand, so brand and fabric integrity are what separate a sale from a listing that sits.
- Recognised activewear brands with a following
- Fabric with no pilling or transparency when stretched
- Intact waistbands with working elastic
- Complete matching sets
And what pulls one down
- Pilling between the thighs, very common
- Fabric that goes sheer when stretched
- Perished waistband elastic
- Unbranded sets, which sell for very little
Working out what yours is worth
- Stretch the fabric against the light to check opacity
- Inspect the inner thigh area for pilling
- Confirm both pieces match in size and colour
What to state in the listing
- Brand and specific product line
- Sizes of both pieces, stated separately
- Fabric composition, and whether opaque when stretched
- Any pilling on the inner thigh, and seam condition
Brand, line and both sizes: “Gymshark Vital Seamless Set, Top S Leggings S, Sage”. Brand line names are searched exactly in activewear. State both sizes and confirm it is a genuine matching set.
Preparing and photographing it
- Check the top and bottoms are genuinely matching, same brand line and same colour batch.
- Test the fabric for opacity when stretched, and check the waistband and seams.
- Note both sizes separately and the brand’s style names if they have them.
- Both pieces laid out together
- The fabric stretched over a hand, showing opacity
- Both size and composition labels
- Seams, waistband and any pill, mark or pull
When it sells best, and handing it over
Steady with a strong January lift and a spring bump. Recognised activewear brands sell within days.
Light and cheap to post. Wash both pieces before sending and say so — on used activewear that single sentence resolves the buyer’s main hesitation, and it costs you nothing but a wash cycle.
What buyers ask
What size is a Lacoste 5?
Lacoste uses its own 2 to 8 numbering rather than S to XL, and a 5 is roughly a UK medium to large depending on the cut. Always give the flat chest measurement as well, because this numbering causes more returns than anything else on the label.
Are old Lacoste polos worth more?
Pieces made in France under the Devanlay licence, and older ones labelled Chemise Lacoste, carry a real premium. The care label is what tells you which you have.
How much is a Lacoste activewear set worth?
Roughly £16 to £61 depending on condition, against £15 to £55 for activewear sets generally. The identification points above are what move a listing to the top of that range.
What the fees would take elsewhere
At the mid-range £38 for a Lacoste activewear set, against what the commission marketplaces would deduct:
| Platform | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Poshmark | −£8 | £30 |
| eBay | −£5 | £33 |
| Mercari | −£4 | £34 |
| Etsy | −£2 | £36 |
| WishThrift | −£0 | £38 |
Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026, percentages only — the per-order and processing charges those platforms add are excluded, so the real gap is wider.
Listing is free and there is no commission — read how to sell an activewear set for the title, handover and timing, or the general activewear set value guide if yours is not a Lacoste.
See also: all Lacoste value guides · value guides by brand · buying an activewear set · Clothing · condition grades.