Fred Perry is an English clothing label that like brands such as Lacoste have successfully blended their heritage as sports bases manufacturers with the fashion industry to create labels that have proved very popular within retail shops.

Fred Perry himself was born in the Manchester suburb of Stockport in 1909. He was a very keen athlete and went on to represent his country at both Table Tennis and Tennis. It was for the sport of Tennis that he was to really make his fame, winning the grand slam Wimbledon tennis tournament on three separate occasions.

Upon retiring from the sport of tennis, Perry needed a new career path and it was by luck that he was approached by an Austrian footballer and entrepreneur Tibby Wegner to collaborate on a wrist band that players could use to keep the sweat out of their eyes. The project was highly successful and they jointly decided to launch a range of t-shirts and polo shirts which were first worn in 1952 by tennis players at the Wimbledon championships. The clothing proved highly popular both for professional athletes and for amateurs too.

The polo shirts were known for having the Laurel logo to the left breast which still features on the majority of their clothing collection today. By the 1960's and 1970's the brand was picked up by fashion conscious teenagers in the UK and this led to an explosion in popularity for Fred Perry clothing that is still hear today.

The company is now owned by a Japanese corporation and they continue to produce excellent clothing pieces, which have kept them as one of the must have brands.

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