As exciting as mass customization is, I’m not quite sure it’s exactly the right fit for Ralph Lauren. Because these sizes may differ from the shirt sizes of other brands, its important to ensure you take the correct measurements and choose the corresponding size when shopping on eBay. To measure the chest, wrap a fabric tape measure around the fullest part of your chest, underneath your arms, and around your shoulder blades. The neck should be measure around the middle, where the Adams apple is located. To determine sleeve length, measure from the point of your shoulder to the point where youd like the sleeve to end, keeping your arm bent with your hand on your hip. Be distinctive in cool, classic style with Polo Ralph Lauren t-shirts and shirts.
At a preview event today in New York City, the lifestyle brand revealed pricing and availability for its long-in-the-works PoloTech apparel, made in collaboration with Montreal-based tech startup OmSignal. Fortunately, compared to other smart shirts I’ve tried, the cut and design has passed by several pairs of fashionable eyes. It’s a crew-neck tee, with flattened seams that don’t chafe and a cut that somehow made me look more athletic.
It is a feeling that you are investing in and a class that sets you apart from others. This mass customization effort is a targeted marketing focus that has a limited appeal since any customization will increase costs compared to a properly marketed mass model. An immovable fixture in the gamut of athletically-informed casual wear, Polo Ralph Lauren’s enduring reputation as the epitomization of off-duty luxe has taken on many different shapes since the label’s 1967 debut. Initially emerging as an emblem of clean-cut American preppiness, the brand was reappropriated as a staple of 90’s hip-hop culture, and now enjoys a reputation that amalgamates the many peaks of its illustrious history.
If Ralph Lauren can pull this off and keep it cost effective, they have an opportunity to “own their customer.” Once the brand delivers the custom product that the customer wants, they will buy it again and again. Technology is making mass customization a reality and brands like Ralph Lauren are wise to explore it if not embrace it. This is a curious move for Ralph Lauren who has historically told their consumers what is cool and fashionable. No doubt some of the customizations customers may love would offend the fashion sensibilities of Mr. Lauren himself.
While personalization initiatives are scattered across the CPG spectrum, personalization-at-scale remains the Holy Grail. Amazon’s Made For You, Walmart’s recent acquisition of Zeekit, StitchFix’s curated wardrobe model, and now Ralph Lauren’s mass customized polo shirts are all leading to that goal but from different angles. Through personalization initiatives, polo dress shirts consumers are not only sharing their preferences directly with CPG companies, but they are also putting skin in the game by purchasing the product. I’m only suggesting that the range of customization might want to have some boundaries. If I’m a high profile brand there are words, logos, emojis, etc. that I would not want stitched next to my own logo.
Revisiting staple styles that showcase a sustained relevance, the label’s latest output is defined by logo-brandished rugby shirts and stately knits, catering to classicists and deadstock-chasing affoncionatos in equal measure. Whether by way of clean-cut oxford shirts, staple t-shirts, or classic baseball caps, unfussy statements continue to be vital facets of the label’s identity. At once playful, sporty, and versatile, Polo’s straightforward Polo Ralph Lauren t shirt sartorial vision effortlessly translates to contemporary outfitting, blurring the line between unironic preppiness and streetwear-inflected minimalism. A testament to the merits of unwavering consistency, Polo Ralph Lauren’s rich history is as much a product of its own design as it is the product of the myriad cultural movements by whom it has been embraced. The pony emblem on Ralph Lauren mens shirts is the brands signature logo.