The actual title of this blog post was going to be, “Will This Be My Ralph Lauren Story?”. However that title was way too long and not nearly as catchy. This Ralph Lauren story is actually a story within a story about a flannel shirt.
It all started with an errand. My wife needed me to pick up some contacts for her at the eye doctor. I’m always up for an errand that gets me out of the house. As I was walking up to the doctor’s office I noticed that it was right next door to a Plato’s closet. Now I haven’t been in a Plato’s closet in years, but I thought I might as well stroll through. I even had something in mind that I was looking for, a country flannel.
What is a country flannel you ask? I am not quite sure how to describe what I mean, but I will give it a shot. I wanted a plaid flannel shirt that wasn’t a tartan. Something that didn’t read preppy with colors a bit more rustic. Perhaps in an ombre or shadow plaid with 2 chest pockets of some configuration and I wanted the material to be nice and thick. The type of flannel that you might see a man on a tractor wearing or an employee at RRL or Wythe. Hopefully I can score one under RRL and Wythe prices.
To my surprise I found exactly what I wanted. I tried it on and it fit. It was $10. I was sold. I headed to the counter and then noticed that it was missing 1 button, nope 2 buttons, and after a final closer examination it was missing 3 buttons in total. I was still going to buy it, but as I go to checkout there is no one to check me out. After standing around for a few minutes I left as my time was running out thinking it must not be in the cards for me.
Now here is where I think that my OCD having menswear friends will all be able to really relate. When I got home all I could think about was that shirt. I kicked myself for not sticking around and buying the shirt. I found myself looking at the pictures that I took of the flannel multiple times over the weekend. On Sunday I decided that I would trek back over there at some point next week on my lunch. That’s exactly what I did and luckily for me it was still there.
Now we’ve got to the end of the story and I bet you are wondering how this is a Ralph Lauren story. Well here’s how it ties in with Uncle Ralph. This American Eagle flannel shirt had reminded me of his infamous Kmart flannel shirt that he wore on the CBS Sunday Morning show (here). I hope that it turns out exactly the same. I hope that it becomes full of memories, that I treasure it, and that like Ralph I look good in it. This might just be my Ralph Lauren story. Happy belated birthday Uncle Ralph!
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I got your Ralph Lauren story right here. Four or five years ago, I bought two RL corduroy sport jackets (with elbow patches); one navy blue, the other caramel brown. I’ve been wearing them with khakis, a blue OCBD, a knit tie and oxblood penny loafers. Two months ago, an idea popped into my head (a rare occurrence) – buy two pairs of RL cord pants to match the jackets, and you’ll have two casual suits.
I Ebayed RL cord pants, and one of the first items to pop up was a navy pair. I bought it. I got it. An almost perfect match (maybe 95 percent). In anything other than direct sunlight, you can’t tell the difference.
Then I bought (and bought, and bought, and bought) a pair of caramel cords to match my other jacket, and learned an important lesson – cell phones take lousy pictures.The colors can be WAY off. The last pair I bought was the closest match (maybe 90 percent), so I kept that one. I’ll wear it on cloudy days. And evenings. Happy birthday Ralph!
Michael, nice score on the 95% match. That’s closer than I’d thought you could get. I really need a tan cord jacket in my life.
When I saw Wythe’s latest Fall collection a few weeks ago with green plaid, I thought ‘that’s a really nice knock-off of Ralph Lauren’s Kmart shirt!’ 🙂 I think RRL has a similar one….heck of a mark up over the OG Blue Light Special
I thought the same thing, JJ! You aren’t wrong about the mark up either.