You are not logged in.
#1 2007-11-14 07:12:10
- Marc Grayson
- Member
- Posts: 8860
Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/09/lauren200709
"‘The sense of being perfectly well dressed gives a feeling of inner tranquility which even religion is powerless to bestow." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Looking good and dressing well is a necessity. Having a purpose in life is not." Oscar Wilde
#2 2007-11-14 09:08:22
- Tony Ventresca
- Member
- Posts: 5132
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Intriguing article, not least because it's written by an architectural critic.
He did make the point that Our Ralph cleans up the WASP reality, for his customers.
#3 2007-11-17 20:04:13
- Marc Grayson
- Member
- Posts: 8860
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
"‘The sense of being perfectly well dressed gives a feeling of inner tranquility which even religion is powerless to bestow." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Looking good and dressing well is a necessity. Having a purpose in life is not." Oscar Wilde
#4 2007-11-18 00:22:24
- Incroyable
- Member
- Posts: 2310
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Would American Schemer be more appropriate?
Jukebox Babe
#5 2007-11-18 01:21:08
- Jack_The_Lad
- Member
- Posts: 730
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Was he the first Trad troll?
"I like a bit of a cavort..."
#6 2007-11-18 02:48:11
- Horace
- Member
- Posts: 6433
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
""This is probably the last Deb season...because of the stock market, the economy, Everything..." - W. Stillman.
#7 2007-11-18 05:11:24
- Jack_The_Lad
- Member
- Posts: 730
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Being a troll isn't a bad thing...
It can be quite creative.
Maybe all Trad is fake by now anyway?
"I like a bit of a cavort..."
#8 2007-11-18 05:19:57
- Horace
- Member
- Posts: 6433
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
""This is probably the last Deb season...because of the stock market, the economy, Everything..." - W. Stillman.
#9 2007-11-18 05:32:24
- Jack_The_Lad
- Member
- Posts: 730
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
^ Perfect illustration.
It's Trad, Dad!
"I like a bit of a cavort..."
#10 2007-11-18 09:06:45
- Tony Ventresca
- Member
- Posts: 5132
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Flusser, if he is to be believed, has clearly stated that Our Ralphie almost single-handedly popularized the Paul Stuart Variation and became more Brooks than Brooks.
Press always seems to have been a small peripheral player.
But then "I wasn't there".
#11 2007-11-18 09:09:25
- Jack_The_Lad
- Member
- Posts: 730
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
In England we liked Press because it was little know...
Nothing obvious.
Last edited by Jack_The_Lad (2007-11-18 11:10:49)
"I like a bit of a cavort..."
#12 2007-11-18 14:40:36
- Tony Ventresca
- Member
- Posts: 5132
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
What I meant about Press, despite their claim to be "first" with Ivy League clothing, was they apparently had no impact on the History Of Men's Clothing In America (if I can use such a pompous phrase), unlike Brooks and Paul Stuart (and a few others).
But as I said, I wasn't there to know firsthand.
#13 2007-11-18 15:10:21
- Incroyable
- Member
- Posts: 2310
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
If I recall, most of Ralph's taste was "procured" from Roland Meledandri.
Jukebox Babe
#15 2007-11-19 01:56:24
- Jack_The_Lad
- Member
- Posts: 730
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Ramble...
In the beginning were these clothes.
Just stuff.
American copies of, & imported items from, England. Or new American stuff inspired by the Old World like the BD.
Stuff you'd see in Brooks and places like that.
This stuff got popular with the college crowd.
Items were popularised as fads - The button-down collar is a gimmick isn't it?
Youthful fun which would in time give way to proper 'grown up' clothes on the whole.
World War II. ... ... ... ...
Post-War this stuff is totemic of more than it was pre-war.
Now it's 'A LOOK' & one you can keep on wearing to the grave.
It's factory made in volume and sold to death.
The advertising of this look becomes so ingrained in the American mind that it becomes some kind of touchstone/tallisman/whatever.
The fashion booms & busts, but the imagery of the marketing men lingers on...
Ralph Lauren taps into aspects of all this and makes a few bucks.
Preppy follows.
AndyTrad follows Preppy.
... ... ... ... ... ...
Things I'd like to know:
1) When was it first self-consciously called The Ivy League Look?
etc.
Ran out of time - I'll return to this.
j.
"I like a bit of a cavort..."
#18 2007-11-20 09:20:31
- tripchauncey
- Member
- Posts: 568
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Last edited by tripchauncey (2007-11-20 09:21:32)
#20 2007-11-21 07:48:04
- tripchauncey
- Member
- Posts: 568
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Ol Sports,,
When did the ivy look become "The Look"????
According to this, it was roundabout 1955 that Ivy became for Everyone!
The Look. Because the new single-breasted suits closely resemble those peddled for years to Eastern college students by Brooks Brothers, retailers refer to the new styles as the Ivy League Look. They have become such a widespread trademark that natural reaction has already set in. In Broadway's newest comedy The Grand Prize (see THEATER), a harassed Manhattanite shouts: "I'm tired of wearing Brooks Brothers suits!"
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,823778,00.html
Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends,
Trip
#21 2007-11-21 09:15:58
- Jack_The_Lad
- Member
- Posts: 730
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
A great find and wonderful social history - Thanks.
I love The Look.
j.
"I like a bit of a cavort..."
#22 2007-11-21 20:43:57
- Horace
- Member
- Posts: 6433
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Some excellent info chums. Cheers, 'Orace.
""This is probably the last Deb season...because of the stock market, the economy, Everything..." - W. Stillman.
#23 2007-11-21 22:51:35
- Gomez
- Member
- From: old trolls home
- Posts: 500
Re: Ralph Lauren: American Dreamer
Pure class:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Outdoors-Hunting-Sportsman-T-Shirt-Lg-southern-trad_W0QQitemZ8318482732QQihZ006QQcategoryZ15687QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
