Polo Ralph Lauren is one of those brands that everyone loves. We know this at Go Thrift, as we sell so much of it! So let’s take a nose dive into the world of Ralph Lauren and his iconic brand.
Who is Ralph Lauren?
Well, to start off with, originally he wasn’t! Originally called Ralph Rueben Lifshitz, Ralph and his brother decided to change their last name to “Lauren” when they were teenagers after their cousins from California changed their last name to “Lawrence”. He’s never given a specific reason for changing his name, just that he liked the idea of choosing a nice last name, and it was long before he became a fashion designer. After high-school, Lauren took business classes at night school and worked in sales by day. It was whilst working for a tie company that he was inspired to start designing neckwear himself, marketing his unique line of ties, influenced by the glamour of old Hollywood, under the name Polo in 1967.
From Strength to Strength
In 1968, Ralph Lauren debuted his first full men’s collection, which consisted of standout pieces including a white flannel suit and dress shirts made of sports shirt fabric. In 1970, The Polo by Ralph Lauren shop opened in Bloomingdale’s - an American luxury department store. Polo by Ralph Lauren was Bloomingdale’s first-ever boutique devoted to a single designer to which Ralph oversaw every detail. In 1971, Ralph Lauren opened his first standalone store in Beverley Hills. By the end of the decade, this would be joined by Polo outposts in Houston, Atlanta, Dallas Detroit Chicago, Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
Womenswear and The Pony
Also in 1971, Ralph Lauren debuted his first women’s line of smartly tailored shirts, featuring subtle hints of his menswear collection. This was also the first time he used the iconic embroidered Pony, which he put on the cuffs of this new womenswear line of shirts.
THE Polo Shirt
In 1972, Lauren introduced the Polo Shirt to his collection of designs, made from the finest of materials and available in multiple bright colours. The Polo Shirt became an icon of American style, “On one level, there’s an aspirational quality to having a polo player on it… On another level, it’s just a great shirt with lots of colours.”
Polo Ralph Lauren takes the Spotlight
Ralph Lauren only takes his brand onward and upwards by playing to the requests of his critics and customers. He created a full women’s collection in 1972 which was received well for its inspiration clearly being taken from the men’s collection. The growing popularity of his brand began to show as the menswear in The Great Gatsby all came from the latest Polo collection along with a suit designed by Ralph Lauren specifically for Robert Redford. Ralph Lauren also won a Coty Award for womenswear and the Coty Hall of Fame award for menswear in 1976 - he was the first designer to win in the men’s and women’s categories in the same year! Diane Keaton’s trademark Annie Hall look from the Oscar-winning film featured several Ralph Lauren pieces in 1977.
Of course, after such amazing success, Ralph Lauren and his brand only found more and more success and growth. Over the years he has started a fragrance line, a western line, created more collections, opened shops worldwide, come out with a home collection and won multiple awards, along with much much more!
