Lacoste Hats Resale Value

Lacoste hats: price by condition

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

1. 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
2. The crocodile should be tightly and evenly embroidered with defined teeth and eye; buyers compare it against reference photographs
3. The care label gives the country of manufacture, and Made in France places a garment in the earlier, more valuable period

What lifts any hat, whatever the label

Hats are sized and shaped to the wearer, so condition of the crown and brim decides whether one suits anyone else.

• Recognised hatters and heritage brands
• Undented crowns and true brims
• Intact sweatbands and linings
• Original hat box

And what pulls one down

• Crushed crowns and warped brims
• Stained or perished sweatbands
• Moth damage in felt
• Sun fading on straw hats

Working out what yours is worth

1. Check the crown holds its shape
2. Inspect the sweatband inside
3. Measure the internal circumference

What to state in the listing

• Internal circumference in centimetres, plus any letter size
• Material and whether it is blocked felt, straw or fabric
• Brim width, and whether the brim is stiff or floppy
• Sweatband condition and any stain, dent or fray

Style, material and size: “Wool Fedora, 58cm, Charcoal” or “Panama Hat, Size L, 57cm”. Circumference in centimetres is the search that actually works. Name the style precisely — fedora, trilby, flat cap and bucket hat are all separate searches.

Preparing and photographing it

1. Measure the internal circumference of the band in centimetres.
2. Check the sweatband inside for staining and the brim for loss of shape, which is what ages a hat.
3. Brush felt with a soft brush in one direction and reshape gently with steam if it has flattened.

1. The hat from the front and the side, on a stand or upright
2. The inside band, showing the size marking and sweatband
3. The brim edge all the way round
4. Any maker’s label, plus every stain, dent, fray or misshapen area

When it sells best, and handing it over

Straw and summer hats lift April to July; felt and wool hats October to February. Occasion hats lift before wedding season.

Post in a rigid box, stuffed with paper to hold the crown. A hat in a padded bag arrives crushed and there is no recovering a blocked felt crown.

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 hat worth?

Roughly £6 to £33 depending on condition, against £5 to £30 for hats 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 £19 for a Lacoste hat, against what the commission marketplaces would deduct:

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 a hat for the title, handover and timing, or the general hat value guide if yours is not a Lacoste.

See also: all Lacoste value guides · value guides by brand · buying a hat · Clothing · condition grades.