Is Ralph Lauren—the Man Himself—My New Style Inspiration?

There are a few fixtures on the internet’s perpetually rotating moodboard: ’90s Gwyneth Paltrow on the red carpet, Naomi Campbell at the airport, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy on a walk with the dog. But lately, I’ve noticed another person slowly making their way into the mix: Ralph Lauren. This past week, I came across the account @ralphshowfits, which focuses not on what Lauren produces on the runway but rather, what the 83-year-old designer wears to take his bow.

The Instagram, which boasts a modest 106 followers including a handful of fashion industry professionals, was created by stylist Marcus Allen of The Society Archive, a hub of rare pieces from Americana labels like Banana Republic, GAP, Abercrombie & Fitch, and yes, Ralph Lauren. In addition to working retail at Abercrombie & Fitch, Allen also worked in Boston’s Copley Plaza at Ralph Lauren during college. “I saw firsthand how Ralph could take completely opposing ideas and mesh them together to create something fresh, all the while staying true to an idea of classic, American style,” he says. “Eclectic, never trendy, yet never boring.” The tagline of Allen’s @ralphshowfits account says it all: “who really closed the show?”

Well, Ralph does, and he always looks great. Allen describes Lauren’s look as “rugged refinement.” In 1995, strutting ahead of two towering supermodels, the 5”6’ designer wore a tight black shirt, a pair of faded denim jeans, and a belt with a massive silver buckle. Fast forward to fall 2000, Lauren opted for a black torso-hugging turtleneck and pleated trousers with a thin belt and a silver buckle that reads “RL”. A season later for spring 2000, Lauren closed the runway in a pair of simple black jeans and an unbuttoned white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. These are luxurious yet worn-in ensembles.

Part of my fascination with Lauren’s looks is that they are so crisp, quality-minded, and classic American. His perfectly faded jeans make it seem as if Lauren had spent years in them, herding cattle in the midwest. (In reality, Lauren was born to a poor Jewish family in the Bronx, born with the surname Lifshitz.) Whenever Ralph dresses up, it’s as if his ancestors had been roughing it in the plains of Montana or Minnesota for generations. (They weren’t; there’s no cattle-herding to be done uptown).

That ease trickles into Lauren’s look, even and especially when pieces shouldn’t go together but they do. One of those standout get-ups is from spring 2006, when he walked the runway in a chambray shirt layered over a blue and white striped top, paired with a pair of baggy jeans cinched at the waist with a thick brown belt, and a pair of Salomon sneakers.

Another stroke of genius was a DIY three-piece suit: a gray jacket on top of a suede vest and button-down shirt with a tie, all of which he wore with cowboy boots, jeans, and a pinky ring. In a way, the looks are theatrical. It’s hammed-up Western chic, and yet it feels so natural for Lauren. The comedy-cultural account @OldJewishMen—who reposted one of these looks from @ralphshowfits and is the creator of the comical Ralph Lifshitz branded baseball cap—notes that Lauren being able to pull off these combinations has to do with Lauren simply being Lauren. “He doesn’t overdo it,” says founder Noah Rinsky. “Ralph is compact, tan, and keeps it simple and classic. You either have taste or you don’t. Ralphie’s got it made. You can’t teach that.”

The thing is, Lauren—in all of his 10-gallon hats and turquoise jewelry—embodies the sartorial vision he presents on the runway. His personal style and his designs are genuine. He’s celebrating, and maybe even cosplaying, that concept of good ole weather-beaten American clothes. One of my favorite of these looks hails from spring 2002, when a taut and sunbaked Lauren opted for a knit American flag sweater, those cattle-herding faded jeans, a thick weathered brown belt, and a pinky ring. It’s a classic outfit that lives beyond trends or cores. I tip my cowboy hat to him.