Ralph Lauren Fall 2014

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Ralph Lauren’s fall collection just went up online and is full of the very items we’ve been discussing lately. OK, we haven’t been discussing three-piece suits lately, but we’ve got a piece on vests coming up soon.

But lo and behold, here’s the dignified hoodie!

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And the swaggering polo coat, too dramatic for many of our readers:

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That outfit actually looks like it could happen. Guy’s chillin’ at home (or school) and steps out for a coffee or something and throws on his polo coat over sweatpants and camp mocs.

The below outfit is a more contrived juxtaposition, but that’s what I love about these RL looks. Nothing to be copied verbatim, but check out the tartan jacket paired with turtleneck, red chinos, velvet slippers and crew socks:

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Lastly, paint-splattered shoes. Hmm….

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Also posting today is my latest piece for RL Magazine, a little primer on Chinese New Year. It’s the year of the horse, so expect to see ponies everywhere. — CC

50 Comments on "Ralph Lauren Fall 2014"

  1. seems very RL rugby inspired. colored pant, wool socks, high messt cuffs and all

  2. A. Thomas Ward II | January 30, 2014 at 1:37 pm |

    I’m surprised at the prevalence of socks, RL has usually shown looks without them. I do like the 1967 sweater, though I wonder if its v-neck like Dehen’s?

  3. hmmm indeed. Let’s see….faux paint-splattered shoes, sweatpants paired with formal wear, ersatz crests, garish logos….it’s all so reminiscent of somebody we know.

  4. That Polo Coat would look dope if it wasn’t being modeled by Kamron from the Young Black Teenagers. On the upside, it’s good to see that dude still getting work after House Party 2.

  5. what a mess. looks like the lessons of Rugby have been totally lost on RL……

    the Fred Castleberriazation of menswear continues……leaving corpses upon corpses in its delusional, oblivious wake….

  6. Re: “Castleberriazation”

    In AEV’s obsessed mind, he’s considered cause rather than effect.

  7. I like the first pic and the striped sweater in pic #3. Uncle Ralph does do some things very well. I am looking forward to the vest piece. I recently acquired my first “waistcoat (tan wool),” but I haven’t had the chance to break it out yet. I imagine that many here will find the same issue with vests that they do the polo coat I did a little write up about vests during my search, but the pics I included are better than the post (http://oxfordclothbuttondown.com/2013/10/investigating-vests/).

  8. Shop RL, we have something for everyone?

  9. Christian –

    I do indeed blame, to some extent, neo-prep blog phenomena for popularizing many of the worst style trendlets of the last few years (e.g. affectation overload, faux-vintage and factory-worn costumery, purposeful paint splattering, neon, skin tight pants and blazers, no socks in the cold, and so on). Why? Well…

    …bloggers, in conjunction with their purchased Twitter/facebook followers, blurry “visit and follower” data, advetorial/copied content, and invented expertise, seem to have convinced many manufacturers to follow their lead (as they chase the sales/dollars they believe are hiding behind blogs’ ‘popularity’). This, of course, has proven to be a flimsy, if not failed, strategy as brands from Rugby to York Street have gone out of business and/or failed to be successful. York St., Ovadia, Gant Rugger, Red Label/etc. Brooks Bros., J. Press at Urban Outfitters, this new RL Polo campaign, innumerable start up brands, and so on have come after the rise of blogs like Fred Egan’s, not before…

    Is this the deduction of an ‘obsessed’ or perfectly rational mind? Speaking of ‘obsessions’, I’d kindly remind you that you’re the one with a daily Ivy blog (and Twitter account and freelance offshoot), not me…..

  10. Golf is an obsession, Ivy-Style.com is a business.

  11. Than I suppose I should get a cut…..

  12. You mean a haircut, no doubt.

  13. I sure don’t. But, if haircut gift certs is the best you can do, I’ll take em.

  14. ^ thanks for the laugh guys.

  15. @Halby, that wooshing sound you heard was that reference soaring over the heads of the tweedy masses here. But I appreciated it.

  16. If a customer like me, who already has much RL clothing, carefully edits the Fall 2014 RL Blue Label offerings, I expect to find sufficient items I like to be satisfied. See my recent post on this site under JPress about RL, etc. RL always includes some great sweater vests, shirts, outerwear, bow ties, caps, etc. in with all the stuff some people complain about in the collection. And I don’t overlook the RL outlet stores which, unlike other brands, offer good quality merchandise at reduced prices & sometimes include items from the previous season’s RL collection. And both RL stores & online have great end of season sales if price is an issue as it is for me. So my only complaint is that I don’t fit in those low rise pants now being offered by RL. Hopefully, as RL has in the past, they will come to their senses on that.

  17. @AEV All of the things you mentioned (paint splattering, etc.) seem to me to be affectations too. But “no socks in the cold” is definitely not caused by “neo-prep” blogs. Undergraduates have been doing that for decades.

  18. Looks like a toned-down version of Rugby.

  19. Third guy down is the DJ that brainwashed Derek Zoolander

  20. Orgastic Future | January 30, 2014 at 10:18 pm |

    I have actually been wearing a pair of paint splattered bucs for about 7 years now. They go great with any combination.

  21. J. G. Striker | January 30, 2014 at 10:37 pm |

    Unabashedly Risible.

  22. Behind Door #…

    1. The tweed-like material appears attractive, but the cut is far too tight, and high water pants, anyone?

    2. Yet again the hoodie thing- just say no.

    3. Either we’re meeting our dealer, or we just rolled out of bed. Please shower before we “hook up.”

    4. Puleeze, gurlfriend…this isn’t “Straight Eye for the Queer Guy.”

    5. My college clothes (hell, my casual clothes today) looked a lot like this, though I tucked my shirt in, wore my pants at the waist, and didn’t have silly numbers on the front of my sweaters. Also, one rolls up one’s trousers for strolling through the oncoming foamy tide arm-in-arm with one’s date, significant other, or Lab named Macallan (the Lab and I have a close personal relationship). But paint-splattered shoes? Never, ever. I couldn’t have had lunch at The Ritz-Carlton Boston Tea Room (the one that doesn’t exist anymore) with paint-splattered shoes.

  23. AEV-

    “blurry “visit and follower” data”, I agree. If anyone realized that out of the 50,000 “visits” UP gets a month, 35,000 was from you hitting refresh on your browser, Fred’s world would fold like a house of cards. Joking aside, I do believe that a large amount of his traffic is from people who visit – hoping to see the next train wreck of a post.

  24. Gwai Lo!

    The article on New Year’s is weak at best. Reads like you read a wiki about the celebration. The celebrations, traditions, and cuisine vary across the country. In HK, they get 10, not 7 days off. You visit with the eldest relative on the first day. The cuisine is focused to the new year as hosts will have sweets and specific cakes for well wishers. Greeetings are traditonal and specific to relationships.

    You never eneven mention Red Pockets and Lucky Money? Huge Gwai Lo ommission there..

    Can’t wait to read about the dragon boat festival, or Clocken in the future….

  25. Roy R. Platt | January 31, 2014 at 11:53 am |

    Fortunately, we are all free to choose what we wear. Unfortunately, once upon a time, some Ralph Lauren employees were forced to buy and wear the latest Ralph Lauren products……

    http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Polo-could-pay-1-5-million-to-settle-lawsuit-2506780.php

  26. I especially like the tweed three piece. Unfortunately, it probably won’t be in my local Polo outlet anytime soon.

  27. As long as my RL stock goes up, it’s all fine. They need to sell lots of junk to subsidize the high-end offerings.

  28. @DCG…”Third guy down is the DJ that brainwashed Derek Zoolander”\

    Pop it and lock it, fool!!

  29. RL has been doing absurd styling in his shows forever. This is nothing new. As long as you can still buy great wool trousers (you can), excellent outerwear, including polo coats (you can), English shoes (you can), and soft-shouldered jackets (you can), who cares? While you have to visit a store to get the good, made-in-Italy stuff, it’s better than Brooks, which offers absurd styling but has little or nothing of quality for sale.

  30. Reading the comments makes me wonder why so much negativity prevails in the comments when the articles posted on the site are mostly positive in their approach to the subjects.

  31. I agree with srfsd’s comment.

  32. @srfsd
    Hear Hear! And they’ve offered trousers with a good rise and excellent proportion since forever. And wool challis ties in conservative widths, foulard squares, “must-iron” shirts…

  33. And ZAD’s.

  34. Comment by JWK — January 29, 2014 @ 2:56 pm
    Elliott Bossin’s comment has it about right about RL v the others; I only wear RL forward pleated pants, dress or casual, since the early 1970s, and find almost nothing worth buying in Brooks or J Press, though I was once a Brooks customer. I don’t wear suits much anymore but select from the RL offerings my bow ties & all my other clothing including shirts, pants, sweaters, sweater vests, socks, casual jackets, etc. I buy at the 2 Polo shops when I visit NYC or Greenwich/New Canaan CT, where no one pressures me to buy anything & sometrimes at Macy’s, or at http://www.polo.com . I enjoyed seeing the NYC J Press & Brooks stores, particularly the window displays, but found the staff unpleasant at both; The old New Haven J Press store was more enjoyable to visit & the staff was more friendly & I liked the old fashioned window displays, and the Yale Residential scarves which I bought for my daughters when they graduated. My only complaint about RL is that they have shortened the rise & slimmed the fit in RL pants & the current versions don’t fit me very well nor do the “custom fit” shirts.

  35. @ E

    You had me cracking up. I did not wish to point out the generalities of Christian’s article so pointedly, but please do remember he wrote it for “Ralph Lauren Magazine,” most of whose readers are in all likelihood not so curious about other cultures. OTOH, a not insignificant numbers of buyers of RL/Polo are Chinese. A writer on Chinese New Year might be a tad more astute. 新年快樂! 恭喜發財! in Mandarin or Cantonese as you wish, though my program has only traditional characters.

  36. @ JWK

    Almost nothing worth buying at Brooks?

    I still rely upon them for neckties and shirts, as I have for 50 years.

  37. Katzenjammer | February 1, 2014 at 9:40 am |

    I patronize RL for their ties/pocketsquares almost exclusively, aside from a gorgeous sweater once in a while. As a hockey player, sprinter, and a person who trains under iron – their clothes are simply too euro-fitting for me.

  38. This looks like the beginning of Polo Ralph Lauren FINALLY incorporating their old Rugby Ralph Lauren look into the core brand. I’v missed rugby so much since they have closed because it offers the younger generation a cooler look. I’m hoping the rest of this fall look is rugby inspired because NO other store has this. Jpress is the closest……..maybe…….and even that is not as creative as Rugby was.

  39. Scott
    I’m really not familiar with Ralph’s Rugby line, but most of the items above except for the fit look like the old the Polo from the mid to late seventies.

  40. Scott –

    Rugby went out of business for good reasons…..so, RL fans should hope they steer as far away from the mistakes of Rugby as possible.

    To be clear, re: the above “looks”, there is nothing ‘cool’ about a skin tight, highwater suit, a hooded sweatshirt worn under a flannel suit (!), sweatpants and slippers worn in public, tight red pants rolled up to the lower calfand paired with a blazer flashing a large brand logo/crest, or garish logoed sweaters worn with tight-rolled pants and factory splatter painted boat shoes. These ensembles make the wearer look like an idiot – not ‘cool’. People who wear things like this get laughed at – you don’t want to be laughed at, do you?

  41. AEV
    I agree the fitting sucks above, but if the cut was 70s Ralph? Originally the only clothing Ralph marqued was his shirts, player & pony.

  42. @Oxbridge – so shirts &ties at Brooks: nothing else? Where do you buy everything else?

  43. I do think brooks bow ties are high quality & I have bought many of them including some of the Gatsby collection but find most of the rest of Brooks sportswear offerings to be ordinary & uninteresting.

  44. @JWK:

    With a wardrobe full of rotated navy blazers and tweed jackets, I don’t need any more.

    The same goes for a wardrobe full of rotated grey flannel trousers. Impossible to find gentleman’s cut trousers anywhere.

    Chinos: Lands End or LL Bean.

    Shoes: Classic models of lace-ups and loafers widely available. There was never any need to buy shoes at Brooks.

    Polo shirts: LL Bean and Lands’ End, again.

  45. Oxbridge

    One word: O’Connells

  46. Katzenjammer | February 2, 2014 at 9:25 am |

    Chinos fro LLbean/Land’s End? Meh. I prefer Brooks Brothers Garment dyed Clark fit. They are gorgeous and well made.

  47. @Katzenjammer:

    The whole notion of “well-made” doesn’t mean anything to me when applied to chinos, jeans for adults.

  48. Katzenjammer | February 2, 2014 at 3:18 pm |

    Fair enough Oxbridge. 🙂

    I suppose I’m speaking comparatively – once, in a pinch, I purchased a pair of Jcrew chinos; and the first time I wore them I put my hand in my pocket and ripped the pant halfway down the leg.

  49. I used to buy sports shirts from Land’s end but have found Land’s end products since 2006 season to be of inferior quality, design & fit, lacking many details I prefer like sleeve plackets. I am still wearing LE shirts from 2005-2006. LLBean clothing may a little better but not much. I tried LE chinos but found them to be poorly fitting & low quality so I prefer the Polo Outlet Andrew model chinos of which I have a supply set aside. JCrew once had some unusual sweaters that they called “Collectors Sweaters” in their catalogs and they were quite nice, classic in fit & detailed but were only available in NYC JCrew shops or online. I would consider BB outlet chinos if they made them with forward pleats instead of reverse pleats. O’Donnells generally in beyond my price range although I think their mdse is great & I wish I had known about that store when I used to visit Buffalo. I would like to see the store in person & would be open to the quality mdse they stock, prticularly a Baracutta G-4 jacket with a traditional not slim fit.

  50. i think what some are missing is that this is all overly “styled” for marketing and fashion shows. if you possess half a brain to self edit, the pieces here are nice with a few exceptions (i despise faux crests myself).

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