Thank God for Ralph Lauren

[herringbonekid]

Feraud, i think that however good the attention to detail in the RRL line is, they will remain first and foremost a fashion label.
and - for a fashion label - there's probably a huge amount of risk associated with doing cuts that don't feel part of the current zeitgeist.

also, as has been said before, the hard core vintage buying community (people like us who have been buying vintage clothes for years) really represent a very small percentage of the RL brand's customers. most of us can't afford RRL except at sale prices.

 

[Matt Crunk]

What an interesting thread. I must admit I've never given much thought to Ralph Lauren outside of a few polo shirts I've purchased over the years. But I'll be paying much closer attention from now own. Thanks guys.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Feraud, i think that however good the attention to detail in the RRL line is, they will remain first and foremost a fashion label.
and - for a fashion label - there's probably a huge amount of risk associated with doing cuts that don't feel part of the current zeitgeist.

also, as has been said before, the hard core vintage buying community (people like us who have been buying vintage clothes for years) really represent a very small percentage of the RL brand's customers. most of us can't afford RRL except at sale prices.

That's true. I have seen it many times. Grown men who looks puzzeled when they try on trousers with a normal rise (about the height of the navel...not up to the ripcage) They feel uncomfortable because they are not used to it.
But then...it also works the other way. I simply can't go back and buy/wear modern rise trousers. They feel silly now. :eusa_doh:


I recently bought a linen/cotton RL cardigan with norfolk styling. Pictures coming soon.

 

[herringbonekid]

I recently bought a linen/cotton RL cardigan with norfolk styling. Pictures coming soon.

at a sale price ?

 

[Tomasso]

I came upon a very nicely priced ($199) RL navy blue linen blazer with patch pockets and belt back at the local discount chain store. It had one major flaw: On the breast pocket was an embroidered crest of ficticious origin with removal impossible. Darn.

 

[herringbonekid]

"Inspiration", makes theft sound downright respectable.

most tailoring design details from the 20s-40s are what i would call 'vernacular' design. i.e. common currency that no one owns. for instance no one owns the copyright on half belts, or pleated patch pockets.

when someone like RRL copies exactly a workshirt such as a Big Yank, i'm assuming that either the patent / copyright has expired on the design and / or the company no longer exists.

while i own a couple of exact replica 20s-30s shirts (that i wouldn't otherwise be able to find or afford in their original form) i'm still in two minds about the practice.

 

[Chasseur]

Its funny before I joined this forum I never had a positive view of Ralph Lauren's stuff since I would only see the 1980s pastel Preppy stuff being worn (you know popped collar pink polo shirts with fake numbers and crests of imaginary polo teams etc.). Through the wallet reducing knowledge of the Lounge in the past 3-4 years now a plurality or even a majority of my wardrobe is RL. I must have 10-12 RL belted back sport coats... Egad, perhaps I need to start saying, "I'm Chasseur, and I have a problem."

 

[herringbonekid]

Its funny before I joined this forum I never had a positive view of Ralph Lauren's stuff since I would only see the 1980s pastel Preppy stuff being worn (you know popped collar pink polo shirts with fake numbers and crests of imaginary polo teams etc.).

i also didn't have a positive view of RL's stuff until i saw a houndstooth cardigan with contrast edge in a copy of L'uomo Vogue. i went to the nearest RL shop (which happened to be the London 'flagship' store on Old Bond Street) to look for it. if memory serves, it was £400. i left in a state of shock. that was about 1999. i didn't hear of the RRL line until about 2005.

p.s. my view of their stuff is still mixed. but mainly i feel i'm not an RRL customer since i can't afford their prices.

 

[Chasseur]

i also didn't have a positive view of RL's stuff until i saw a houndstooth cardigan with contrast edge in a copy of L'uomo Vogue. i went to the nearest RL shop (which happened to be the London 'flagship' store on Old Bond Street) to look for it. if memory serves, it was £400. i left in a state of shock. that was about 1999. i didn't hear of the RRL line until about 2005.

p.s. my view of their stuff is still mixed. but mainly i feel i'm not an RRL customer since i can't afford their prices.

Similar on my side. There is one of their outlet stores not far from where I live and of all their wares it is probably only 10-20% that interest me. Most of it is either the preppy/yachting pastels or that strange "Emo- cowboy/western themed hustler wear" that Ralph is seen wearing often. But I guess that is good since it keeps me from spending too much money.

Also that is how they stay in business offering different things to different people. I have a colleague who wears even more RL stuff than I do but you'd never realize we shop at the same store. I try for vintage inspired look either Clark Gable from "It Happened One Night" or a vintage sporting look (tennis or cricket), and he revels in the flashy prep stuff: the madras fabrics, the fake polo and club logos, the plaid blazers, etc. The positive side is that if they didn't sell all those pink polo shirts and madras shorts they wouldn't be able to offer those belted back jackets and fair isle sweaters!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I've seen a few RL belted back jackets in charity and vintage stores. Very obviously aiming at the 30s aesthetic.

tbh my impression is much like HBKs above (he was talking about the trousers) - a good effort, but with critical parts of the cut adulterated to the modern fit sensibility. Arm scye too deep, too bulky through the chest or a true 36 (not a drape cut either), the fabric just not interesting enough. Disappointing, and not even worth the £20 they are typically offered at.

On the whole I like, as people have noted above, maybe 10-15% of he stuff I see from RL/RRL. But too expensive for my wallet, and while the style is nice, the cut generally is not.

 

[Fading Fast]

Accepting that RL is a modern company in the fashion industry (and a public company that has shareholders to answer to), I am glad it is out there doing what it does. It has lines ranging from modestly priced to very expensive that all echo, reflect, are imbued with a traditional aesthetic. Even though it doesn't do what many here would like - a pure reproduction of vintage clothing - it makes some incredibly vintage-inspired pieces at many price points.

It not only helped to keep the flame alive when fashion was least interested in classic / vintage / traditional styles, it introduced many younger customers to these styles and pushed other fashion houses in that direction.

Away from all that "it's been good for the cause" blah, blah, blah, I just love some of the Ralph Lauren items I own - a linen and silk Fair Isle sweater vest (that looks like it came off the set of Brideshead Revisited), a charcoal, herringbone, cashmere suit that Cary Grant could have worn in "Suspicion," a pair of gum-soled bucks that look like they walked out of the pages of a 1930s edition of Apparel Arts and a pair of Gurkha pants (heavy cotton, side buckles incorporated into the crazy way the pants close, button fly and awesome drape). I have many other items from Ralph acquired over the years and, while, I have some great items from other companies, the most and the nicest come from Ralph.

 

[resortes805]

Thanks HBK, appreciate you posting Bihlmaier's comments. It's good to know someone in the company is aware of the concerns from a segment of their market.
With this in mind RL may one day be inspired(bad pun intended..) to do a line of high-waisted trousers and see how the market reacts.

Ironically, the regular Polo Ralph Lauren slacks featured a higher-rise, full-cut seat and thigh with inward facing pleats for decades. Now their standard pattern is the low waisted, flat front, trim look now popular.

I do have two pairs of high waisted buckleback wool trousers by RRL, but these were from RRL's early years.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Speaking of Purple Label, here is a prize find from last fall I've not had much of a chance to wear yet. Cream linen Purple Lapel DB belted back sport coat. Great quality on the construction and materials, and wonderful fit on those high arms holes! Also RL POW check trousers.

Scored the same one from ebay yesterday. The seller had them for months with a high BIN but finally gave up and started with a low opening bid. I was lucky (and the next bigger size went for even less) Sometimes it pays to buy anti-seasonal. But now I have to wait forever before I can wear it. :eusa_doh:

 

[herringbonekid]

Flo, where are the photos of the Norfolk styled cardigan you mentioned ?

 

[simonc]

He's drifted away from his karaoke copies and is now churning out mass produced basics for the logo obsessed masses. I think its more an age thing, getting old, getting insecure about his riches, decides to amass as much as possible, opens the flood gates. Sad really.

 

[Tomasso]

Sometimes it pays to buy anti-seasonal. But now I have to wait forever before I can wear it. :eusa_doh:

You could always sneak away for a holliday in warmer climes.

 

[flat-top]

Being 6' tall with the build of a linebacker, low rise anything is my worst nightmare. That being said, I have found several RRL pieces that are not low waist, and some actually on the high side.

 

[Feraud]

Yes, it is hit or miss with regards to the trouser rise. I've experienced the rise from acceptable to simply awful. What I find adding insult to injury is when RL adds a buckle back to a pair of low rise trousers... now what is the point of that!! :eusa_doh:

 

[flat-top]

What I find adding insult to injury is when RL adds a buckle back to a pair of low rise trousers... now what is the point of that!! :eusa_doh:

And suspender buttons....OUCH!

 

[herringbonekid]

... I have found several RRL pieces that are not low waist, and some actually on the high side.

earlier pieces ?