It's all about horsepower. I call my closet the stable. I step out for a walk and I bring the cavalry with me. Neigh. I had to get that out of the way.

If you know me in any capacity, you hopefully know I love Polo Ralph Lauren. I make this very known about myself. The guy's a visionary. He started out selling ties, and is now a household name; he's brought whole counterculters into existence. If you ask me, his work is under-appreciated in the general zeitgeist of fashion (likely beacuse of the household name thing, suffering from success). This goes deep and you're about to read a love letter.

On the technical side...

For the unitiated, first consider how the brand works. Ralph is not a designer, and doesn't really claim to be. Rather, he works with [his] designers to actualize his visions. These tend to idealize and model different American lifestyles, which the brand separates into sub-lines. Polo is prep, RRL is westernwear, Chaps was for rowdy youths. The list goes on. While this isn't the topic at hand, an interesting thing I've noticed (particuraly with Polo) is that these lines are appreciated by both those who actually live these lifestyles, and those who want to play dress-up every now and then. There's a point to be made here on the power of clothes (and Ralph) enabling upward mobility by making the 'uniform' accessible to the outsider. Regardless...

What's great about this separation is that the clothes of each line effectively work as a system. Each piece of Polo in my closet works with the others. When I was a 22 year old wanting to dress better, cheap old Polo showed me a way. Sure, I had to be cognizant and critical of why everything went together, but the value in simply having a starting point backed by an understanding of someone much more qualified than you can't really be quantified when it comes to something like coming into your sense of style. It's like having a swaggy older brother.

I can't go without mentioning that old men stuck-in-their-ways on prep forums help[ed] me too. Polo, however, is the reason I was there in the first place.

Ralph also has a reputation for being particularly. This culminates in the clothes being incredibly well made. The really nice Polo I have is, effectively, RTW tailoring. The patterns are designed to be altered, the way they come from the factory serving as a start. There's extra fabric, the construction is obvious, even the labels are placed where they won't get it the way or have to be cut. I have actual designer clothes that look like fast fashion next to some of my Polo.

Fabrics are sturdy. Stitch counts are high. The buttons never pop off, even though you have plenty of spares. I have shirts older than me, worn by my father for decards, that just won't give up. Secondhand, this stuff's cheap (and accessible) too - go on eBay and you're paying $25-$50 for something that's in very good shape. You'll pay even less at thrift stores in the suburbs. Does it fit like shit? Go to the tailor. You end up with good-looking clothes that last a lifetime and cost under $100.

On the sentimental side...>

I'm a 3rd paternal generation Ralph-wearer. I'm swimming in hand-me-downs. The aforementioned shirts from my father are imbued with his spirit after decades of wear. There's frayed cuffs, snags, and stains from the both of us. When you put them on, you feel life on you. There's a mutual understanding between the three of us as to what we wear to everything. Gramps often does it better.

That's the beauty in designing timeless clothes that will timelessly endure. These clothes got to have a life before me, and will have a life after me.