Ralph Lauren
American Style
Style Icons (Male) category pick for the week of 6/30/08
Even though the Ralph Lauren look has never been one I adopt verbatim, there is no denying the ingenuity of the brand in re-imagining and selling a truly American sensibility. It's the ultimate paradox of appreciating our hard working and rugged past then making it only accessible to the elite.
Growing up I was struck by the enviable images of wealth and sport: menacingly gorgeous elite families that played cricket together somewhere in New England. Men who owned private jets but put on cowboy hats when they landed, their severe hot wives wearing paisley like it was her only job (aside from hiring and firing help). Perfect Anglo Americans swathed in Native American ponchos (and blood?)
|
