Polo Ralph Lauren

The beginning of a success story, the American dream.
Ralph Lauren was born in 1939 in the Bronx borough of New York. As a kid, he sold self-designed ties to his classmates. After dropping out of college and spending time in the military, he signed on as a salesman in a fashion boutique. A private loan enabled him to design his own tie collection under the Polo label in 1967. That same year, he secured the naming rights to the brand and went into business for himself. Ralph Lauren then focused not only on ties, but designed complete collections for men, before 1970 women's fashion was added to the portfolio. Without training as a tailor or a fashion design degree, RL managed to make a name for himself within a very short time. It helped especially that he designed the entire clothing for the 1972 film The Great Gatsby.

The legendary Ralph Lauren polo shirt
The origins of this clothing classic lie in the India of the 19th century. There, the game of polo was extremely popular and players needed practical clothes for the exhausting competitions. They began to wear hip-length jerseys made of cotton piqué, with the raised collar to protect the neck from the wind while riding. Of course, Lacoste should not be left out of the story of the classic polo shirt. From the sports fields of this world, the polo shirt started its triumphant march and became an important part of leisure fashion. The polo shirt knows no gender boundaries or can be assigned to a particular generation. With its collar and button placket, it is in any case a bit more formal than the T-shirt.
After Ralph Lauren secured the name POLO, the first polo shirts hit the market in 1972. It was unusual by the standards of the time, but you had a choice of 24 different colors, which made it all the more popular. The chest of each featured an embroidered polo rider, the brand's logo from the beginning and still one of the most recognizable brand signets in the world. So, the Ralph Lauren polo shirt has been around for more than 50 years and has lovers in every demographic. That Ralph Lauren never played polo himself is just a little fun fact at this point.

Although Ralph Lauren is not a classic fashion designer, he still has a special place in the industry today. Countless sub-brands exist under the Ralph Lauren Corporation umbrella. The brand opened its first boutiques back in the 1970s, and they are still a statement when it comes to interior design. Ralph Lauren, is and was, the epitome of the preppy look. This, in the broadest sense, described schoolboys in their preppy uniforms, from which the designers at RL drew inspiration. The legendary Crown Shirts by Polo Ralph Lauren reflect this style perfectly. Initially, Polo by Ralph Lauren was an upper mid-priced brand. Divided into different sub-brands, there were affordable clothing to expensive designer clothing. The brand's various collections range from luxurious materials, to sportswear, to home furnishings and even cosmetics. The most popular are Polo sweaters, Ralph Lauren Polo winter jackets or sweat jackets, as well as classic knitted sweaters. In addition to the Polo logo, there is another logo that is synonymous with the brand, the Polo Bear, the best dressed bear in the world. Charming and cuddly, standing upright and optionally wrapped in suits or other polo apparel, he is emblazoned from T-shirts to knit sweaters or polo sweat jackets. He made his debut in 1991 and since then the polo bear has been part of every new collection. In addition, there are also cloth teddy bears dressed in miniature Ralph Lauren clothing, which are traded as collector's items.

Polo Sport by Ralph Lauren and the Hip-Hop Culture
If you grew up in the 90s and zapped through the various music channels, you just couldn't get past Polo Sport. Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan was one of the pioneers who brought Polo Sport to a different clientele than originally intended. The Polo Sport brand first appeared in stores in 1993. Unlike the other Ralph Lauren brands, the garments were inspired by sports and were much louder in design than the understated models of the other divisions. Large letters, wild color combination and oversized cuts are emblematic of Polo Sport. This collection also did without the Polo Sport logo or the Big Pony, an extra-large and colorful version of the logo. Although Polo Sport was worn by rap celebrities, the kids who were fans of this music, could not afford the clothing. Of course, they wanted to keep up appearances and make it look good, which led to the formation of small gangs that regularly visited the city's department stores to go on a raid. One of these groups was the Lo Life Crew, the Lo in this pun referring to POLO. The goal was to dress from top to bottom in Polo Sport. To this day, there are fans and collectors of vintage Polo Sport parts all over the world, who exchange and also meet from time to time to crown the Polo Sport queen or king. The 92 Stadium Series or the legendary Snow Beach collection are still the undisputed masterpieces of the Polo Sport Brand.

To this day, the rumor persists that Ralph Lauren was never happy to be worn by the black community. However, this is really just a rumor. Black artists, especially rap stars, are known to this day for more than just their music. Many have also stirred up the fashion world, be it with their own creations or just their preference for a certain brand. Already in the 90s, explicitly black models were chosen to increase awareness among this segment of the population and to attract new buyers. A lot of rappers wear Polo Sport or Polo by Ralph Lauren to this day and have even dedicated entire songs to the brand.

With us you can always get the latest parts of Polo Ralph Lauren and also the trendy collection of Polo Sport.