Pure Elegance!

Equestrian style is often the inspiration of many designer collections, but the leader is Polo Ralph Lauren, a label that immediately evokes images of posh riding clubs and aristocratic leisure.

But here’s how it really all began…

“After we were married, Ricky and I were shopping in one of those authentic riding stores, and I bought her a boy’s tweed hacking jacket. Whenever she’d wear it, other women would say, ‘Oh, I love that jacket,’” recalls Ralph Lauren. “That’s when I decided to do women’s clothes. I started with tweed hacking jackets, then shirts and riding pants. I’ve always thought they had real style.”

From his first women’s jodhpurs in 1976 to those legendary polo shirts, touches of equestrian style are a permanent part of Lauren’s vernacular.

His Ricky bag was inspired by a vintage saddle carrier, and his timepiece collection includes watches shaped like stirrups.

Romance Of The West

“There is an attitude and allure that goes beyond fashion,” the designer muses about the equestrian aesthetic, exalting the freedom of riding in the wide-open spaces of his Colorado ranch. “Its history and elegance are very much in keeping with the things that I’ve always loved.”

Polo Western was foremost a denim brand, founded in the traditions of American workwear—real, comfortable, timeless denim designed within an entire world of Western iconography: leather vests, roper boots, and pearl-snap shirts with contrast piping; Western blazers, bandannas, bib-front overalls, and eagle-buckle belts.

Ralph Lauren harnessed the ideal image of an American cowboy and reinterpreted it in the most authentic way possible. He even appeared in the advertising campaigns himself, wearing vintage pieces from his wardrobe that had inspired the collection rather than the line itself. “I think the spirit of Western style has a rugged elegance and authenticity that people want to relate to,” Mr. Lauren once said. “There’s both a sensibility and honesty to the clothing that gives it an enduring appeal.”

“There is the style of the cowboy, and there is the style of the English rider. The cowboy is a hardworking horseman, whereas English riding has an aristocratic sensibility, yet they are both part of my world.”