Lacoste is a French owned apparel company, founded in 1933. They sell clothing, footwear, perfume, leather goods, watches, and eyewear, but most famous for their polo shirts. The company is easily recognized by its green crocodile logo.
Izod is a premium clothing company that produces clothing in the "preppy" style similar to brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren.
Izod began in the early 20th-century as the London tailor shop "Jack Izod's." By the 1940s, Jack Izod's was awarded the Royal Warrant of Shirtmaker to King George VI. An American businessman, Vin Draddy, bought the name "Izod" and branded his newly-founded American apparel company with the prestigious British name.
Under an agreement with the French company Lacoste, a line of clothing known as "Izod Lacoste" was produced for the U.S. market until the 1990s. Lacoste withdrew Izod's license to produce Lacoste branded clothing over not unfounded quality concerns. The loss of this licence greatly attributed to Izod's falling popularity.
In the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, Izod and Lacoste were often used interchangeably because at that time, Izod produced clothing known as Izod Lacoste under license for sale in the US. This partnership ended in 1993, when the company regained exclusive US rights to distribute shirts under its own brand.