Purple Label (R.L.)

[kirsch]

Please share your opinions on Ralph's purple label...

[sam]

Nice stuff, but WAY overpriced.

[Connemara]

Suits are fantastic, in terms of cut and fabric (from what I hear). I believe they used to be made by Chester Barrie, but are now manufactured by St. Andrews. Might be vice-versa.

In my experience, the ties aren't all that great. If you can get one for under $50, it's probably a good deal, but anything more is iffy. The ties I have by PL don't hang well at all. Curiously, a lot of my Altea ties don't have this problem, and they make the RLPL neckwear.

I've heard nothing but gushing sentiment regarding their outerwear. It's often WAY underpriced on eBay. Someone on StyleForum snagged a shearling coat for like $350. Retail is $2,000+ I think.

[dopey]

Suits are fantastic, in terms of cut and fabric (from what I hear). I believe they used to be made by Chester Barrie, but are now manufactured by St. Andrews. Might be vice-versa.

In my experience, the ties aren't all that great. If you can get one for under $50, it's probably a good deal, but anything more is iffy. The ties I have by PL don't hang well at all. Curiously, a lot of my Altea ties don't have this problem, and they make the RLPL neckwear.

I've heard nothing but gushing sentiment regarding their outerwear. It's often WAY underpriced on eBay. Someone on StyleForum snagged a shearling coat for like $350. Retail is $2,000+ I think.

Connemara has the order right. Chester Barrie was first and now suits are made by St. Andrews. I have an old Chester Barrie DB suit in navy and I really love the overall cut and the lapel shape in particular. The quality is very good, although I made the mistake of getting the working buttonholes cut by machine (I bought it Syms or the Polo outlet more than ten years ago and have no idea where I took it for alterations). I have not paid close attention to RLPL suits since so I can't say how the style or make has changed, but my general impression from their ads and store windows is that I like the style enough to buy it if the make is good and if it was cheap enough and I was looking at RTW.

I have some RLPL ties as well, and the newer, Italian ones are a bit stiff, but there are so many variables that I don't want to generalize. The ones I am thinking of are ancient madder paisley silk. I have a beautifully made, ice pink very very light and airy silk, made-in-England tie that is also about ten years old but the very fragile silk is fraying at the corners. I would love to replace it. By coincidence, today I am wearing a made-in-USA RLPL tie of "imported" fabric that is a woven black and burgundy grenadine with woven white pindots that is fantastic quality. It is probably six or seven years old. All my RLPL ties were bought at Syms over the years.

I recently bought an RLPL made-in-Italy polo shirt that is nicely made and a couple of Italian/Lido collar shirts (Kabbaz/Dege nomenaclature) to see if I liked the style and those are also nicely done.

I hope that is helpful.

[Will]

Some of the Purple Label knitwear is great stuff. I have a couple of his linen sleeveless fair isle sweaters, and am wearing one of his white cashmere and cotton sleeveless sweaters under an odd jacket today.

[The Doctor]

It's suppose to have been an A&S copy.

[dopey]

It's suppose to have been an A&S copy.

I thought it was supposed to be a copy of Douglas Hayward's general style. Mine certainly does not evoke A&S in any way.

[aportnoy]

Nor mine, whether produced by Saint Andrews or Chester Barrie.

[The Doctor]

It just shows that many have tried and failed to mass produce an A&S coat

[kirsch]

If it's of interest to anyone...

Polo.com (the U.S. site) is running a sale on purple label.

[Mark Seitelman]

I had a chance to visit the Polo Mansion yesterday.

My general impression is that Polo and its Purple Label line in particular have raised the standards of upper level commerical clothing. It's available in markets which do not have the variety and custom makers found in NYC and other major cities. Therefore, PL has had a positive effect on the public's "clothing IQ."

At full price PL can be rather expensive, such as $4,000 for a suit. However, there are many opportunities to buy it on sale even at the Mansion and other tony precincts, such as Barneys and Saks. E.g., at the Mansion there was a good selection of PL suits 50%+ off.

It is ironic that PL (and Polo in general) is widely available in discount markets, such as Syms and Centruy 21. To some degree this has devalued the Ralph Lauren name. Of course, it is widely available on eBay.

It's also a little ironic that tailored PL, which originally billed itself as "made in England," is now made in Italy. I understand that PL moved its production to Italy in part due to the irregularity of Chester Barrie and English makers. I have a hunch that the Italians were able to undercut the English on price. I also heard a rumor that Chester Barrie ended the relationship due to unreasonable demands by Polo. In any event, the suits and ties are made in Italy.

The PL RTW doesn't fit me. The gorge and peak label tips are rather high. It's a suit for a thin person. I also tried the "intermediate" label, the Blue Label, made by Conreliani. It also did not fit me well.

The PL is made by St. Andrews, and it appears to be a handmade suit. Is it as handmade as Oxxford? I don't know. I had a salesman hovering over me, therefore I couldn't open-up the lining to look inside.

I was told that the Blue Label is a full canvas suit with more machine work. I noticed that the pick stitching was by machine. (PL was by hand.) The PL is a softer garment. The Blue Label is cut a little fuller, but not by much.

The PL shoes are excellent. They are made by Edward Green, and I understand that the Green shoes are made exclusively for PL. There is a line of PL shoes which are special order which are $1,100. I believe that the RTW are $950 and come with a shoe tree made from the last. These prices are in line with Green prices.

The ties are nice, but nothing special. $145 full price. You can do better elsewhere on Madison Avenue.

I cannot comment on the shirts since RTW shirts do not interest me.

In conclusion I would say that the ultimate value of PL is whether it fits. The tailored clothes don't fit me, and I have no reason to venture into its MTM. The shoes fit me, and I have two pairs of PL and four pairs of Polo.

[masterfred]

It is my understanding that the SA-made PL line is almost entirely machined, even though fully canvassed; I assume they are hand-cut, and hand-finished. I have not seen any of these up close, but do have an older Chester Barrie-era suit, which I bought second hand.

[Khnelben]

The suits look great.

The whole slim, 2 button thing is great. Of course you have to buy the whole set, i.e. the suit, tie and the shirt, along with slim thin soled shoes.

Actually, the whole RL line with Black, Blue and Purple seem to be on the slim, North by North West side or English cut.

BUT they are very overpriced.

Is there any place in DC (I am visiting from Europe) where one can buy a RL suit below 1,000?

I do not particulary care of the line.

Andrey

[kirsch]

Andrey,

There's a Ralph store in D.C. on Wisconsin Ave. Not all of them carry purple label suits, though. Last time I was in the store in Atlanta (2 weeks ago), there was a sale on all purple label stuff. But, to be honest, I don't think you're going to find a PL suit for <1000 USD. Probably the cheapest on sale is going to be about 1700 USD.


There's also a Saks in the Chevy Chase area, which is a neighborhood of D.C. (to my understanding, at least).

--Chris