The shopping experience at a spacious Ralph Lauren outlet (aka “factory”) is equally as enjoyable, if not sometimes better, than that of the department store. A quintessential and ubiquitous aspect of the brand, hitting an RL outlet means the possibility of finding some major deals. And if you’re not in search of a full-look, a smart shopper would stock up on Polo socks and underwear at the very least. At an RL factory store you can get the Hamptons look just by hitting the highway. “I don’t design clothes, I design dreams,” said Ralph Lauren, apparently.
; born Lifshitz; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his collection of rare automobiles, some of which have been displayed in museum exhibits. Lauren stepped down as CEO of the company in September 2015 but remains executive chairman and chief creative officer. As of 2019, Forbes estimates his wealth at $6.3 billion, which makes Ralph Lauren the 102nd richest person in America. The Lauren Ralph Lauren style is inspired by an idealized vision of the fashions worn at elite universities. The look is always sharp, with an emphasis on clean lines, slim tailoring and natural fabrics.
In 1977, Diane Keaton and Woody Allen wore Lauren’s clothes throughout their Oscar-winning film, Annie Hall. Lauren attended day school followed by the Manhattan Talmudical Academy, before eventually ralph lauren t shirt graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957. He went to Baruch College, at the City University of New York where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years.
The brand he established, Polo, is now one part of an international empire that includes fragrances, home furnishings, luxury clothing and dining based on a fantasy aesthetic of upper-crust life. Lauren, a funder of cancer research initiatives, has also used his personal fortune to amass a collection of rare and classic cars as well as a massive Colorado ranch. The Lauren Ralph Lauren collection offers elegantly designed women’s clothing. The established brand has a collection that features sophisticated dresses, blouses and denim for day or work. The line also has dressy evening gowns, accessories, handbags and shoes.
As his peers in New York retire or leave the main stage, Ralph Lauren looms large. At the age of 16, Ralph and his brother Jerry changed their last name to Lauren after having been teased consistently at school. Ralph was known for his distinctive fashion sense as a teen, finding inspiration in screen icons like Fred Astaire and Cary Grant while having a taste for both classic preppy wear and vintage looks.
In 2014, the Ralph Lauren Corporation partnered with the Royal Marsden, the largest and most comprehensive cancer center in Europe, to develop a world-class breast cancer research facility. They opened the Royal Marsden Ralph Lauren Center for Breast Cancer Research in 2016. While navy, white, khaki and crimson are dominant colors, you find plenty of pink, coral, emerald and bright blue as accent colors. Stripes and plaids are found throughout the line, adding classic appeal and energy to any outfit. Ralph Lauren designs and makes products in the apparel, home, accessories, and fragrance categories. He was preparing, he explained, for an event at Yankee Stadium in late September at which he was scheduled to throw out the first pitch, one of the many public commemorations of the 50th anniversary of his business.
Two major new ventures begun in 1995 took Lauren into the highly competitive blue jean and mass-market women’s clothing categories. Both took the Lauren name to a new ralph lauren t shirt customer at lower prices and were instant hits. In 1996 Lauren’s Home Collection contributed about $535 million in sales world-wide—more than any other designer.
Paints were launched the same year, along with instruction videos and all the tools needed to create the living environment of one’s choice. By 1997 investment bankers were fighting for the opportunity to help Lauren put his company on the stock market. In 1970, Lauren was awarded the Coty Award for his men’s designs.
Anybody who has ever swung at a golf ball and missed might be inclined to believe that what they’re doing wrong is maybe not wearing enough Ralph Lauren. As integral to golf as the putting green is to the game, Ralph Lauren’s Golf line features enough golf gear options to outfit a pebble beach. The riding jackets, the jodhpurs, the saddle-shaped bag, the stirrup-shaped watch collections, the Gia Carangi ad, the embroidered crests and wool training vests. The story goes that Ralph and his wife Ricky (an original horse-girl muse?) were shopping in a riding store one day. Ralph bought Ricky an authentic boy’s tweed hacking jacket, and whenever she’d wear it, women would compliment.
Ralph Lauren Polo partnered with L’oreal to introduce fragrances, beginning with iconic men’s scent Polo and classic women’s fragrance Lauren in 1978. The next two scents in the line, Chaps for Men and Tuxedo for Women, both introduced in 1979, also became beloved classics. Lauren designed costumes for the films The Great Gatsby and Annie Hall that influenced the way millions dressed. Lauren is also paterfamilias of a unit that is part and parcel of his legacy. His wife Ricky and his three children, Andrew, David, and Dylan, have long appeared in his advertising, and David, 48, is now chief innovation officer and vice chairman of the Ralph Lauren Corporation. At the 50th anniversary fashion show in Central Park, amid such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton, all the Laurens stood up when he took his bows, as they do at every one of his shows.