Lycra and spandex are the same things. The only difference between these two words is that Lycra is a trade brand, while spandex is the generic name for the material which was invented during world war ll in 1962.
Lycra is a brand name for Invista Company. Spandex is a synthetic fabric used to make stretchy cloths, while Lycra is another word for spandex created by DuPont. Examples of clothing made of spandex include clothes for sport, such as a bathing suit, wet suits, bicycle shorts, underwear, bras, leggings, stretchy pants, and others.
Spandex is made of strong, elastic, and flexible rubber. It is usually white in color, and color dyed are added to create variety. All spandex is not lycra, while all lycra is spandex.