The Preppy Polo Logo Problem, Part Two (or, ‘Just Say No’)

While reading the contents of this morning’s In-bin (in a cyber sort of way) The Princess was well aware she planned to publish Part Two of her near hysterical rant little dissertation on “The Issue” as it has come to be known. For those who missed Part One, it involves our concern about the use of logos on apparel and accessories. To be more accurate, it’s mostly about the size and placement of these items. In fact, the household staff do their very best to avoid usage of ‘The L Word.’ It’s a matter of self-preservation.

But back to Her Highness reading email: a shriek is heard, something akin to a cackle and she chortles, “Chic? C-H-I-C? They call this CHIC?!” Of course, you are now asking “What the h???” Well, we opened an email from the good folks in marketing at Ralph Lauren Polo. The title on said email referred to the items pictured immediately above and below as “chic.” To be fair and accurate (heh-heh-heh) the full email title was “Our New Chic City Tees Have Arrived.” It’s their word, not ours. Chic? We think not. But you be the judge.

The new line of tee shirts promote several different locales of Ralph Lauren Polo stores, including East Hampton, Soho, Georgetown, Aspen, Las Vegas, South Beach, Malibu, etc. The Princess has no quarrel with the locations or the stores; she’s a chest-thumping capitalist for goodness sake! (And sadly, she has been to a Polo store in almost every single one of those locations.) Now, call her crazy, but she feels no need to publicly proclaim the fact that the stores do, in fact exist, and she is even less inclined to share the news that she had the good taste to pop in for a quick look. The point is simply this: when we’re blasting through Chatham and we bump into you in one of these tees, we don’t look at you first and then the shirt, of course not. It is the other way around; we see the shirt first, and then you, whilst simultaneously asking ourselves, “Now why on earth is Celeste out in public promoting Ralph Lauren’s Soho store?” You get the drift.

Which brings us to the specific portion of the conversation we teased at the end of yesterday’s post. It seems that while believing the ever-growing logo to be “more of a fleeting fad,” writer Lois Fenton of The Memphis Commercial Appeal also says:

“This new exaggerated logo style is quite different from the old small logos we are familiar with; it is a much sportier, younger and more upscale look. While it is still somewhat preppy, it’s a showier fashion statement that is part of the new trend toward the luxury goods market. It seems to correspond to the guy who wears Zegna or Brioni when he dresses up as opposed to the one who wears Brooks Brothers. A lot of fashionable Europeans who are visiting here with full pockets love this new design.”

And lest anyone think that we are unfairly targeting poor Mr. Lauren, we offer two thoughts: 1) It would be Mr. Lauren’s apparel that has achieved the most egregious violations of the unwritten logo laws, and; 2) It is primarily Mr. Lauren’s apparel under discussion in Ms. Fenton’s column, as is obvious below:

“What you may have noticed in recent years were young, hip teenagers wearing T-shirts with logos so oversized that they almost covered the whole shirt. What they seemed to be saying is “I have money and I can wear this kind of brand.” This newer style logo is quite different. It is large (the Ralph Lauren pony is about 5 inches tall, and the new Lacoste 75th Anniversary crocodile is two to three times bigger than the traditional version), but they both stop short of being ludicrous. They are tasteful (or, nearly tasteful) versions of that hip-hop style. In addition, the wearers are clearly very different sorts of dressers.”

“…different sorts of dressers.” Different? You don’t say. To read the column in its entirety simply click here. Some of the clothing in question is just below. For example, ponder the Gold Lame pony on the bathing suit and tell me why in God’s name I should want a pony galloping upon my, ah, my… well…well, galloping upon my left breasticle? Now keep in mind, this is a bonus only if the goods come from the Big Pony Women’s Collection. (If you feel the need to get to The Big Pony Men’s Collection right this very minute, click here to be transported to the Land ‘O the Big Ponies, in a manly sort of way.) If the lone pony isn’t your thing as they say, fear not, for you can have an entire army of horses running all over your swimsuit, in a smaller, and slightly less nouveau-gauche manner.

And if you would like everyone to know of your fondness for all things horsey, here is the answer. The last example from the poor-put upon-pitiful-Polo-people is just below also, the Ralph Lauren Slim Fit Black Watch may be viewed in a number of ways. You might perceive it as a whimsical reference to the uniform worn in a sport Mr. Lauren is fond of. The man does, after all, officially sponsor the Black Watch Polo team, and this is merely a reflection of that fact, yes?

Whoops, there *was* one more we couldn’t in all fairness leave out as it speaks most directly to the issue at hand. In this case, it’s the issue at foot, as seen below. If one were going to embellish their posh, plush bedroom slippers, wouldn’t it be their own initials they would most prefer seeing when looking down? We rest our case.