Ralph Lauren sunglasses - the history of Polo style

Does Ralph Lauren make sunglasses?

Ralph Lauren’s website – Ralph Lauren Sunglasses

Ralph Lauren, also trading under the brand name of Polo, is one of the market leaders in the design, the marketing and the distribution of premium apparel, accessories, home and fragrances and other lifestyle products. This includes Ralph Lauren Sunglasses, which are one of the top sunglasses brands in the world in terms of style. For over 35 years now, Ralph Lauren’s distinctive image and reputation have been developed constantly across an expanding range of products. As well as the Ralph Lauren and Polo brands the other brand names connected to the Ralph Lauren corporation include “Polo by Ralph Lauren”, “Polo Sport”, “Blue Label”, “Lauren”, “Ralph Lauren Purple Label”, “RL”, “Polo Jeans Company”, “Chaps” and “Club Monaco” – and these constitute an extremely widely recognised consumer brand family.

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Ralph Lauren established the Polo label in 1967 with a line of ties that was instantly successful. Instead of the narrow ties that were conventional at the time, Ralph Lauren designed wide and handmade ties with flamboyant and opulent materials, quickly making them a menswear status item. Ralph Lauren himself was quoted as saying that the idea of his ties was to be a way for men to express themselves rather than look like they were working for IBM. Lauren comes up with the Polo brand name to represent the lifestyle that he wanted to embody with products being of classic style and discreet elegance.

Lauren merged classic American style with tailoring, refinement and sensibility of European fashion – expanding his range to provide a total look. The first shop-within-a-shop was set up by Lauren in 1969 in New York’s famous Bloomingdale’s store. This was followed in 1970 with a Coty Award for Menswear – which eventually became the CDFA Awards.

In 1971, Ralph Lauren launched a womenswear collection, creating a daring men’s tailored shirt line for women – helping to re-invent the classic men’s look for women’s style. On the cuff of these shirts, the Polo player emblem made its debut, and that ubiquitous designer logo has been there ever since. 1972 saw the introduction of Polo’s original mesh shirt in 24 colours. The brand became even more famous when it was used in the Hollywood movie The Great Gatsby to dress the males.

In 1976 Ralph Lauren won the Coty award for both Menswear and Womenswear, the first ever to do so. His Westernwear range was launched in 1978 to popular acclaim, followed by the Santa Fe collection in 1981 – thus showing Lauren could clothe both cowboys and Indians.

The 1980s saw the development of stand alone Ralph Lauren stores in New York and other locations. The 1990s saw the introduction of Polo Sport, which reflects the growing popularity of health and fitness. The RL restaurant opened in 1999.

© The Pink Fridge Online Magazine 2008 - Ralph Lauren Sunglasses

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