When we left off before Easter weekend, we took a look at some images from Ralph Lauren‘s archives. Now we’ll continue checking in with RL as we check out some of the items from the spring collection.
As neo-prep makes a triumphant comeback (actually, we’ll have to wait and see about the triumphant part), there is much indebtedness to student styles from the past, in everything from cricket sweaters to military parkas.
By the way, if you’re actually still a student, don’t go into debt to buy clothes. Or even the wallet above. Take it from me. — CC
Childish. Clearly the demographic pre-pubescent. Maybe that’s where the dough is, but I’ll stick with last century’s Polo from e-bay. Every one of these kids looks like he’s pondering going trans.
The madras sneakers might be okay for a young teen. The rest of the stuff is pretty awful. Even if poorly patched and scribbled-on is a new thing (I haven’t seen any evidence of it around the grounds at UVA, FWIW), at least go to a thrift shop and patch and scribble it yourself. It will still be clown-like, but at least it will be cheap and somewhat personal.
I’ll echo a number of previous remarks here. The tartan sneakers are ok, not my thing, but they’re ok. The neckties ain’t bad, but the rest is simply too over the top. Refined understatement is a term that does not come to mind when I look at this stuff.
Can’t help but think that there’s some “signaling” involved here: My family can afford to pay full retail for overpriced, loudly labelled crap.
@Charlottesville
a field jacket like that above would not have been out of place at UNC around 1970, but, yes, the owner would get a real one and do his/her own decorations. No store-boughts
I hate seeing RL’s over-the-top outfits in their lookbooks. Modern RL is at it’s best when just one of the pieces is added to an otherwise very traditional outfit to give it a bit of youthful flair.
More faux Ivy garbage ironically being offered to consumers with no clue of any of its origins.
I guess I’d rather see a bunch of preppy poseurs than a bunch of Hip Hop idiots with their pants falling down…
Wore a khaki cotton sacksuit today. Plan to add patches of blue to the knees, lapels, and elbow when I get home from work. It’s going to take some time but I plan to grow my hair out for a full Buckwheat too.
NCJack – I confess to having owned an army surplus field coat, rather rattily worn and tattered, when going through my blessedly brief hippy phase as a teenager. But at least it was (a) real and (b) cheap.
There appears to be a lack of common sense among the commenters. Surely, you don’t have to wear the whole outfit as shown. You can limit yourself to one statement piece.
The clothes are uniformly odious, with the exception (possibly) of some of the neckwear, or the cricket sweater. That said, those too are probably emblazoned to the high heaven and hence rendered tacky and tasteless as well. The fact is, these clothes are indeed marketed at 20 somethings and adolescents (albeit adolescents and youths with too much expendable income for their own good), and thus we have a bunch of ectomorphically styled garments cut for the woman on the go, or “jogger” “pants” (used or useful for neither), or silly faux aged or “customized” ersatz collegiate rubbish. It’s a shame that Ralph doesn’t involve himself in designing the clothing anymore. I can’t imagine that he would make any of that garbage, then again, maybe he’s making so much money that he just doesn’t care anymore. Whatever it is, these clothes are horrendous and shameful and do not represent good value for money, which his clothes consistently used to do.
The lookbooks are always over embellished, in the same way that couture at runway shows gives designers the opportunity to be creative. But as CC usually points out, walk into an RL flagship and the “real” clothes are still fantastic.
I wore a field jacket in the late 60s and early 70s. It was patched with my name, rank, unit emblem and service branch. Possibly a hobo near Ft Benning is still wearing it. After further review, if I had it today, I’d pair it with gunboats, grey flannels, oxfords, alligator and engine turned belt.
Hawkeye and Trapper packed a full martini kit in theirs. My old army buddy kept his. He accessorizes it with robustos, cutters, lighters, and enough cans of IPAs to last an entire camp fire.
Keep it real. If you didn’t fly the mission, don’t wear the patch. Anything else is just prepackaged B.S.
I wore a navy issue peacoat in the mid eighties. If anybody finds themselves in Norfolk, you should pay the army/navy surplus store on Granby Street a visit. I’m thinking seriously about a pair of Alpenflage pants for mowing my north forty. Recently purchase olive drab canvas belt with a brass buckel there. $3.00
Just a reminder that tomorrow is a big day in NYC:
http://www.ivy-style.com/boyer-press-at-ny-squeeze-4-25.html
Childish. Clearly the demographic pre-pubescent. Maybe that’s where the dough is, but I’ll stick with last century’s Polo from e-bay. Every one of these kids looks like he’s pondering going trans.
Except for the ties, just say “ No”
Too tight, too short, excessive logos
Correction:
The Press/Boyer event is on Thursday the 25th,
not Wednesday the 24th.
Roger Berg,
You have renewed my faith in the common sense and good taste of some followers of this blog.
Someone please video the Press/Boyer event for those of us who can’t be there and seek some Ivy sanity. Now more than ever.
To all of those “clothes”; “Why?”
The madras sneakers might be okay for a young teen. The rest of the stuff is pretty awful. Even if poorly patched and scribbled-on is a new thing (I haven’t seen any evidence of it around the grounds at UVA, FWIW), at least go to a thrift shop and patch and scribble it yourself. It will still be clown-like, but at least it will be cheap and somewhat personal.
As Linda Evangelista famously said “Fashion changes every year because so much of it so ugly” is clearly appropriate here.
Guy in the white shorts – I like the socks. That’s it. But the socks I would wear.
I’ll echo a number of previous remarks here. The tartan sneakers are ok, not my thing, but they’re ok. The neckties ain’t bad, but the rest is simply too over the top. Refined understatement is a term that does not come to mind when I look at this stuff.
Best Regards,
Can’t help but think that there’s some “signaling” involved here: My family can afford to pay full retail for overpriced, loudly labelled crap.
@Charlottesville
a field jacket like that above would not have been out of place at UNC around 1970, but, yes, the owner would get a real one and do his/her own decorations. No store-boughts
I hate seeing RL’s over-the-top outfits in their lookbooks. Modern RL is at it’s best when just one of the pieces is added to an otherwise very traditional outfit to give it a bit of youthful flair.
More faux Ivy garbage ironically being offered to consumers with no clue of any of its origins.
I guess I’d rather see a bunch of preppy poseurs than a bunch of Hip Hop idiots with their pants falling down…
I’d buy the saddle oxfords, once had a pair of Ralph’s. There’s a lot here that would be cool to have sans the bull shit.
Terrible.
The tie is nice, everything else is nouveau riche
I’ll take the tennis (cricket) sweater when it goes on sale.
Boy, are the readers of this blog GRUMPY. I completely agree with the comments above, but we are GRUMPS!
@Jim F
Spot on, squire. These clothes are for a different generation. Not for grumpy gramps.
Wore a khaki cotton sacksuit today. Plan to add patches of blue to the knees, lapels, and elbow when I get home from work. It’s going to take some time but I plan to grow my hair out for a full Buckwheat too.
NCJack – I confess to having owned an army surplus field coat, rather rattily worn and tattered, when going through my blessedly brief hippy phase as a teenager. But at least it was (a) real and (b) cheap.
I knew that there had to be a reason to be happy to be 61 years old!
@Don, wait until you’re 69 years old like me, a happy life long trad.
There appears to be a lack of common sense among the commenters. Surely, you don’t have to wear the whole outfit as shown. You can limit yourself to one statement piece.
It’s a matter of common sense and good taste.
There are still young men with both.
The clothes are uniformly odious, with the exception (possibly) of some of the neckwear, or the cricket sweater. That said, those too are probably emblazoned to the high heaven and hence rendered tacky and tasteless as well. The fact is, these clothes are indeed marketed at 20 somethings and adolescents (albeit adolescents and youths with too much expendable income for their own good), and thus we have a bunch of ectomorphically styled garments cut for the woman on the go, or “jogger” “pants” (used or useful for neither), or silly faux aged or “customized” ersatz collegiate rubbish. It’s a shame that Ralph doesn’t involve himself in designing the clothing anymore. I can’t imagine that he would make any of that garbage, then again, maybe he’s making so much money that he just doesn’t care anymore. Whatever it is, these clothes are horrendous and shameful and do not represent good value for money, which his clothes consistently used to do.
The lookbooks are always over embellished, in the same way that couture at runway shows gives designers the opportunity to be creative. But as CC usually points out, walk into an RL flagship and the “real” clothes are still fantastic.
I wore a field jacket in the late 60s and early 70s. It was patched with my name, rank, unit emblem and service branch. Possibly a hobo near Ft Benning is still wearing it. After further review, if I had it today, I’d pair it with gunboats, grey flannels, oxfords, alligator and engine turned belt.
Hawkeye and Trapper packed a full martini kit in theirs. My old army buddy kept his. He accessorizes it with robustos, cutters, lighters, and enough cans of IPAs to last an entire camp fire.
Keep it real. If you didn’t fly the mission, don’t wear the patch. Anything else is just prepackaged B.S.
@Benjamin,
Perhaps CC would treat us to some photos of “real” clothing available from RL.
Vic Delta
Thank you for your service.
Charlottesville
I wore a navy issue peacoat in the mid eighties. If anybody finds themselves in Norfolk, you should pay the army/navy surplus store on Granby Street a visit. I’m thinking seriously about a pair of Alpenflage pants for mowing my north forty. Recently purchase olive drab canvas belt with a brass buckel there. $3.00
Cheers
Will
The first picture, oddly, is of a (KU) Jayhawk punching a(MU) tiger…
Most of the pieces featured here are over-the-top if I’m being candid.
Polo Academy? Is that one of the school involved in the Rick Singer bribery scandal?