One of the most famous and prominent designers (as if it needed to be mentioned), Ralph Lauren, stays true to his tradition. The brand is holding its own in its sub-brands despite the year’s economic downturn, according to an article by Jean Scheidnes on portfolio.com.
The R.L. style
According to Jean’s report, one of the elements Ralph stays true to is having a sharp silhouette. Now, those of you who have read my tweak series know that a seamless silhouette all the way through is a great element that helps us de-emphasize being short.
Another element that RL has stuck with is a monochrome look. He also brings back the three-piece suit for the year. Now I’m not really one for three-pieces, but many men still wear them with a sense of high style. For me, being among the lower demographic, I think that’s too busy and heavy looking. Now some shorter guys could pull it off without being overpowered, but I don’t think I can.
Purple
RL’s purple label still endures as one of its more traditional luxury clothing lines. It started with bespoke tailoring, oddly enough. Ralph is quoted as saying, “Purple Label is classically the most sophisticated. It has an international quality. This could be Italian, this could be French.”
RL Black
Ralph’s Black Label is another well-known line under his name. It has a more modern look with a defined elegance. He describes Black Label as “contemporary and somewhat technical”.
new pole
There are two new polo suit silhouettes. One of them has what they call a wide notch lapel paired with flat-front fitted pants. The second has rolled shoulders. These three-piece suits that, as I mentioned earlier, can be topped off with striped dress shirts and wide ties. Again, for us shorter guys, wider ties and ties with chunky stripes and patterns are no good. That look is too easy to master. We want to maintain a stylized image and silhouette that help the illusion.
