April 24, 2019
Yesterday I swung by Ralph Lauren‘s Madison Avenue Rhinelander flagship on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and surreptitiouslysnapped the latest mannequins (which I believe are technically called “forms”). As always, take what you can use and discard the rest, and if you see any combos you like but they’re too Anglo-Hollywood-Continental, simply apply the same formula with the cut and collar of your choice.
As for the final image, it’s a whopper. The perfect example of how all fashion ends in excess. — CC
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22 Comments on "Ralph Lauren Rhinelander Mannequins, Spring 2019"
Roger Berg |April 24, 2019 at 12:57 pm |There must be a war within the RRL empire between the sensible retailers and the 11-year-old marketeers at corporate. There are some very nice looks here for actual grown-ups and few of the Please-beat-me-up-I-love-the-pain froufrou silliness of the Spring ’19 catalogue displayed here yesterday. I’d actually wear some of it if my gout would settle down!
- PhilipM |April 24, 2019 at 2:53 pm |
Some nice items. I see more than a few neckties that I fancy; I know that there are detractors here that scorn emblematic neckwear, but I like them. They mesh well with tweeds and such. What is infuriating to me, however, is that RL does not offer them in long / extra long. One size does not fit all –
- sacksuit |April 24, 2019 at 2:59 pm |
The serious clothes are very good.
Cheers,
Will
- Marc Chevalier |April 24, 2019 at 3:30 pm |
Strange that RL is pairing wide neckties with narrow lapels. It’s a jarring combination.
- Fred |April 24, 2019 at 3:36 pm |
A few of these looks remind me of hair metal rock music in the 1980’s when the music strayed so far from the roots and became of a parody of itself. On the other hand, you have to give these guys credit for advancing the style.
- Eric Twardzik |April 24, 2019 at 3:42 pm |
Shout-out to whichever employee found that ’67 button and what I assume is an old Ralph Nader campaign button and pinned both to the varisty-style cardigan for some nice serendipity.
- Hardbopper |April 24, 2019 at 4:26 pm |
Sometimes we mistake the art of merchandizing for what it is not. There’s only so much space to display everything, so they go artsy, which makes us crazy. For example, I don’t think anyone is seriously suggesting we wear five neckties like the statue in picture three, or a cable knit sweater over a sports-jacket or blazer. (and I do kinda like the sweaters…the colors are striking). Having said that, this display is not offensive. Some of the previous ones are offensive. There are those who do not understand this, so they take it seriously, go out in public that way, and it catches on with the lemmings. That is offensive.
- JJ |April 24, 2019 at 4:56 pm |
Some nice items but could never imagine paying rrp for any of it. RL / Polo has become an outlet /tj maxx brand. Wait and you’ll find these ties there in time, heavily marked down.
- Hardbopper |April 24, 2019 at 8:28 pm |
Except for one tie, the stripes run the American direction. Has this always been the case with RL?
- Jerome Kiger |April 24, 2019 at 9:45 pm |
Christian, I really enjoy the photos you post from the Polo RL Mansion. Thanks!
- elder prep |April 24, 2019 at 9:50 pm |
A comment on image #1: Too many patterns! Plaid jacket, stripe shirt and the tie with its own sub patterns! Its visually overwhelming. Two patterns per look, no more. Please. Comment on the last two images. As CC indicated, RR goes “around the bend” and looses control of the summer intern design youngsters with these decorated forms.
- Benjamin |April 24, 2019 at 11:32 pm |
Marc,
I don’t think he is. The mannequins are probably dressed in size 38s, which themselves have proportionately narrower lapels than larger sizes do. At the same time, since they are not actually being worn by humans, the ties are tied much shorter and therefor seem wider below the knot than they would look on a person who needs it to reach past their jacket button and hit the top of a belt buckle. Ralph’s standard ties are 3” which is a 1/4” narrow than the current industry standard.
- Fred |April 24, 2019 at 11:52 pm |
While many of these looks are a bit over the top – the overall style and quality is fantastic.
- I.T. |April 25, 2019 at 1:04 am |
Glad to see the return of a lower button stance!! Some very nice suits in the collection.
- René Lebenthal |April 25, 2019 at 3:54 am |
I believe that this is, with some exceptions, a very fine choice of dressing, not all 100% Ivy but tasteful and way above the average we see on the streets.
Thank you for posting them Christian. - ROI |April 25, 2019 at 5:40 am |
I’ve always liked the exploded glen plaids Ralph uses on sport coats and suits.
- Paul |April 25, 2019 at 8:21 am |
The glen plaids are beautiful, and some of these images even have me considering a double-breasted jacket. The fabrics look soft and drape-y, in a good way.
- George |April 25, 2019 at 8:28 am |
I like almost everything I see here. I even rather like the “jarring” juxtaposition of narrow lapel and wide tie.
- Charlottesville |April 25, 2019 at 11:24 am |
Most of this is great and reminds me somewhat of the 80s and 90s era offerings from Polo. I am especially pleased to see a number of good-looking suits in addition to the sport coats. I thought the suit offerings at the Rhinelander were a bit skimpy in recent years, at least on the few occasions when I happened by, so this is a welcome sight that I hope becomes a trend. Too bad someone let the kids spill ink all over the suit in the last photo. It looks very nice otherwise.
Also, while I know that it is not for everybody, the pinned club collars look great to me. I plan to break out my old brown and tan Brooks Brothers linen/silk/wool blend POW sport coat in the next few days and will likely wear it with a pinned collar like the combination in the photo at the top. The coat goes particularly well with cream-colored linen pants, but it’s a bit early for that and I will have to make do with khakis.
- Old School Tie |April 25, 2019 at 11:32 am |
Very good. You see? The jackets are of normal length – regardless of what RL say online, it is clear their very tall models frequently don 40S jackets to get that “shrunken” look. Yet again, Christian’s shots do a much better job of selling the collection than RL themselves, obviously those staff responsible for in-store merchandising and dressing the dummies have done a great job putting everything together. I also have to say that I prefer the neutrality of the shop dummies because one can focus on the clothes.
As for wide ties, I challenge anyone to obtain a wide tie from any recent RL collection. They run at a narrow 7.6 cm for Polo offerings and a slightly less narrow 8.2 cm for Purple Label (3 inches and 3.25 inches respectively). They do not do wide ties.
- NaturalShoulder |April 26, 2019 at 6:29 am |
Polo was my entry into the trad/ivy look back in the 80s and early 90s. The blue label offered some jackets and suits with wonderful fabrics with unpadded shoulders. I have moved away from RL except for bar stripe ties which I procure on eBay, but glad to see they are still turning out some impressive offerings.
- Trailer Trad |April 30, 2019 at 1:22 pm |
I’d be delighted to wear ninety percent of the offerings shown. Club ties + club collars = trad dressing gold.
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