Q: I guess you're more than partially responsible for the preppy rage --
A: Brooks Brothers was the foundation, and I revived it. I worked for them and wore all their clothes; I also left them as a consumer when they started making Dacron and polyester. They no longer had a style, and I was a traditional guy. So I saw the opening in the whole market and said, "Well, I want to look like this, and I don't want to shop here anymore. They're not moving." They did change, but they became more ordinary, more mundane. I was not going to be high fashion, but I did believe in individual sophistication, a more customized look - what Brooks Brothers used to be when they were great. That was what I went after, what I love, which is a life-style. Men who had a lot of money would go into Brooks Brothers to buy shirts, and say, "Give me three white, three blue, and three pink," and they'd walk out. They'd do it every year, year in and out. They weren't interested in what was the latest this or the latest that. I recognized a certain mentality and security about them. Working there was like going to an Ivy League school; there was an "in-ness," a quiet "in-ness" about that kind of place.
Source:
New York magazine - 10/21/85
8 comments:
Great find. However, if Ralph is such a devout traditionalist (that he was, as he claims, offended by Brooks Brothers' offerings), then I wonder how he ended up going in the direction that he did with RL Polo and some of his other brands. He should have stuck with what he was doing back in '85 or just prior to that at the heyday of the preppy handbook era.
$$$$$$$.
Great stuff. He nailed what it was like to work at Brooks. And he nailed that niche he found. Chipp was doing it better but they never thought the world would buy what they had to offer. Those words really hit me. Thanks.
I agree that Ralph's words were true-and that Chipp-after all, only one shop-did it better, because more exclusive.
That was me, not "anonymous"
I agree with Ron A. Ralph also has microfiber polyester and other "fake" materials in his collections....just look at Purple Label with 300$ shirts for example....it's the same "high fashion" that he was against
and in time ,ralph too, succumbed.-I think he has done some things tastefully, but ive never actually bought any RL garments (barring a couple of thrifted shirts! -in fact, well made broadcloth bd tattersalls)-at the time Brooks (in their day) seemed like the real deal and Ralph the poseur,-ditto the vintage La coste shirts - real and the pony was the arriviste.
almost 30 years later Ralph is universally known to young consumers ,Brooks has a far smaller market share .great article post
Ralph Lauren on Brooks Brothers
I agree that Ralph's words were true-and that Chipp-after all, only one shop-did it better, because more exclusive.
ralf laurent
polo big pony shirts
Post a Comment