To all you Ralph Lauren Polo Fans...

[Wixy]

Greetings!

This came across my mind just then - dont know why, but wanted this curiousity fulfilled...so I referred to TOCAU! lols

Those who own the famous and overly consumed, overly popular RL Polos, I've got a few questions:

1. How do you wash your polos? Machine or hand wash?
   
2. How long have your polos lasted?
   
3. Do you buy at retail level? (including the sales where polos have been seen for dirt cheap i.e. 60% off genuine stores)
   

The reason for these questions are cuz I find RL Polos to be OVERLY delicate, and have 10,000% increased wear and tear when compared to other companies making polo shirts.

In short, it seems you pay overly too much for something that wears out too easily = crap house. I should just stick with the cool shirts from JayJays.

Example A - The Wixy Polo Ownership...

Nautica:

I'm more of a Nautica fan because I do sailing every now and then.

I own around 13 Nautica Athletic Fit polos of varying colours.

I machine wash the ba$tard$ after all the grime and sweat in a days play for the last 3-4 years.

Although they have minor wear and tear, to my surprise they are still in great condition.

The cotton on the polo does not show any signs of pilling (cotton fibres leaving the stitching), being Pima Cotton as written on the shirts.

Ralph Lauren:

I purchased 2 from the RL department store in Singapore.

I purchased 3 from ebay, and upon receival, confirmed they were authentic.

All 5 are combination Made in China, SriLanka or India. They are all Custom Fit.

The total of 5 polos purchased were at low low prices when compared to the Aust. retail market.

I have washed 1 polo TWICE in the machine (from Singapore), and it is pilling like crazy - had to resort to fabric shavers to remove pilling.

I have worn another 2 on various occasions, and the stitching is starting to pill, and I reckon I will have to handwash these to prevent...crap house. I can visibly see the stitching being worn from.

All RL Polos were worn on non physical activity days.

End of Example lols.

So is it just me or do people find RL Polo's wear out too easily?

I somehow feel sorry for those who saved up their cash and paid the retail price for these only to realise they have been short changed with a non durable, highly delicate, polo.

It seems Nautica is still the way to go.

[flopper]

nautica...eshays adlay

[SuperDave]

I just realise I don't own any Ralph Lauren polos. All brand name polos I have are Lacoste and Tommy, but that 'all' is only 4.

[Foss]

You're doing better than me SD, I just realised that I don't own any 'designer label' polos at all! I usually buy sporting brands (Nike, Adidas, etc) which I find wear fairly well, or if I'm only wearing it to lift, then cheapies off the department store racks. I've tempted to grab a couple of RLs, figured they must be good given their popularity, but if they wear that poorly, perhaps I'll just take my cash to Kmart. Perhaps this is one of those examples that people will pay a premium for branding and perceived quality over actual quality.

Anyway, the more important question - collar up or collar down? ;)

[SecaBoy]

i've only ever bought RL polo's... i have been given tommy and nautica as presents but never liked how they sat on my body.

i haven't found that the are 'delicate'...

i've machine washed mine a LOT of times... and nothing wrong with them.

i do find that my shirts lose their color quite quickly though! but i think thats just the harsh qld sun as its the same on all my shirts. :(

[Ozzcaddy]

When I was in the USA for 6 years, I bought Ralph Loren Polo shirts from factory outlets. I traveled week in week out, so used laundromats, which i machined wash and dried in clothes drier. Not a problem at all with shrinkage, fading or damage from the machines. I found that Dockers were susceptible to problems.

My preference was Izod clothing in shirts and pants/shorts.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Ozzcaddy

[Lawz]

I've got 2 Ralph Lauren polos. 1 bright red and 1 light blue. Bought mine when I was in Hong Kong at a factory outlet in 2008. I machine wash mine in a top loader washing machine on normal cycle at medium speed in cold water only. I hang them in the sun inside out to decrease colour fade.

Ralph Lauren is good quality. It doesn't crease, material is still good like new and the colour hasn't faded.

I've got other polos that I have noticed colour fade, crease easily and material degrades over time due to machine washing and sun drying.

Other brands I've got are Tweed River, Baleno, Slazenger and Original Polo Co.

[Wixy]

i've only ever bought RL polo's... i have been given tommy and nautica as presents but never liked how they sat on my body.

i haven't found that the are 'delicate'...

i've machine washed mine a LOT of times... and nothing wrong with them.

i do find that my shirts lose their color quite quickly though! but i think thats just the harsh qld sun as its the same on all my shirts. :(

I've got 2 Ralph Lauren polos. 1 bright red and 1 light blue. Bought mine when I was in Hong Kong at a factory outlet in 2008. I machine wash mine in a top loader washing machine on normal cycle at medium speed in cold water only. I hang them in the sun inside out to decrease colour fade.

Ralph Lauren is good quality. It doesn't crease, material is still good like new and the colour hasn't faded.

I've got other polos that I have noticed colour fade, crease easily and material degrades over time due to machine washing and sun drying.

Other brands I've got are Tweed River, Baleno, Slazenger and Original Polo Co.

More importantly for you 2 folks, do you see your polo's pilling?

As in, when looking at the stitching, do fine cotton hairs start to pull away from the shirt, or stand out from the main stitching.

I've noticed this across all RL polos, even new ones in stores, whereas Pima Cotton will never pill, they just stain easily - sigh I'll just make my own stupid pony sign - lols

Edited January 23, 2012 by Wixy

[Lawz]

i've only ever bought RL polo's... i have been given tommy and nautica as presents but never liked how they sat on my body.

i haven't found that the are 'delicate'...

i've machine washed mine a LOT of times... and nothing wrong with them.

i do find that my shirts lose their color quite quickly though! but i think thats just the harsh qld sun as its the same on all my shirts. :(

I've got 2 Ralph Lauren polos. 1 bright red and 1 light blue. Bought mine when I was in Hong Kong at a factory outlet in 2008. I machine wash mine in a top loader washing machine on normal cycle at medium speed in cold water only. I hang them in the sun inside out to decrease colour fade.

Ralph Lauren is good quality. It doesn't crease, material is still good like new and the colour hasn't faded.

I've got other polos that I have noticed colour fade, crease easily and material degrades over time due to machine washing and sun drying.

Other brands I've got are Tweed River, Baleno, Slazenger and Original Polo Co.

More importantly for you 2 folks, do you see your polo's pilling?

As in, when looking at the stitching, do fine cotton hairs start to pull away from the shirt, or stand out from the main stitching.

I've noticed this across all RL polos, even new ones in stores, whereas Pima Cotton will never pill, they just stain easily - sigh I'll just make my own stupid pony sign - lols

Nope mine hasn't pilled and hasn't lost much colour in wash. I know my blue one is showing some signs of wear in the material. I've washed them good 20 or so times. Also on medium or slow wash cycle and also cold water and i hang them inside out in the sun or under cover. So maybe it could be something to do with how you wash your clothes?

Tumble try will wear them out quicker obviously too.

[Wixy]

Nope mine hasn't pilled and hasn't lost much colour in wash. I know my blue one is showing some signs of wear in the material. I've washed them good 20 or so times. Also on medium or slow wash cycle and also cold water and i hang them inside out in the sun or under cover. So maybe it could be something to do with how you wash your clothes?

Tumble try will wear them out quicker obviously too.

yea putting it for slow cycle for me would mean it would be delicate piece of clothing, as my nautica ones and all of my other clothing dont pill on a normal cycle. i dont tumble dry them though.

Anyway did my homework and found out that the Brits/UK market has RL Polo's derived from Pima Cotton, as supposed to the very fragile cotton we have here. Looking on ebay, found that a normal Pima Cotton RL Polo from the UK market can be had for less than the stupid retail price here in Aust - delivered with tracking and insurance, so go figure - and its no wonder why people resort to online shopping rather than shopping at pathetic retail stores with these price comparisons. Dont get me wrong, I'd pay anything for Aust. Made, but this is far from it - they are all from China.