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Are the decorations in the Ralph Lauren stores authentic?

post #1 of 58
7/28/08 at 6:56pm
Thread Starter 
I was just in the Ralph Lauren store in Chicago this weekend and noticed a beautiful chesterfield sofa made of worn brown leather. My friend and I started to wonder whether all the vintage decorations they have in their stores are fabricated to look old or are actually antiques. If they are real I'd love to know where they get them because I love that esthetic.
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post #2 of 58
7/28/08 at 8:19pm
I think they are authentic, at least to me they look like they are. I was in the Chicago store today and noticed once again some of the fine pieces they have.
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post #3 of 58
7/28/08 at 8:53pm
I think they are too.
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post #4 of 58
7/28/08 at 9:06pm
I have read of Ralph Lauren employees going to antique shops and clearing out all their equestrian-related pieces.
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post #5 of 58
7/28/08 at 9:43pm
Many of the antique dealers in London, especially along Portobello Road, have stories of selling to Ralph or "his people". There are two dealers in particular who specialize in sports related items and leather goods that like to point out what "Ralph likes".
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post #6 of 58
7/28/08 at 10:09pm
No, they are faked like Ralph Lipshitz, I mean Lauren.
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post #7 of 58
7/29/08 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 
I guess they are real I just can't believe the number of pieces they have. The leather in the sofa seemed too rough and old not to have ANY cracks which made me wonder about its authenticity. It sure would be a fun job to be one of Ralph's "people".
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post #8 of 58
7/29/08 at 6:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nate10184 View Post
I guess they are real I just can't believe the number of pieces they have. The leather in the sofa seemed too rough and old not to have ANY cracks which made me wonder about its authenticity. It sure would be a fun job to be one of Ralph's "people".

The guy is a billionaire, his company is one of the most successful American brands in history. They have boat loads of money to throw at image accessories.
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post #9 of 58
7/29/08 at 6:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artisan Fan View Post
No, they are faked like Ralph Lipshitz, I mean Lauren.



As posted above, RL's minions are infamous for buying up old lifestyle accessories from flea markets and antique markets, driving the price for old trunks, sports equipment, etc. way, way, up.
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post #10 of 58
7/31/08 at 10:43am
Some of the old shoes they have as decoration are really nice.
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post #11 of 58
7/31/08 at 11:25am
There is an office dedicated to acquiring these types of items for Ralph Lauren called the Vintage and Antiques Department based off of Madison Avenue in NYC.
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post #12 of 58
7/31/08 at 6:38pm
How does someone get a job like this? Who determines the qualifications for a position of this nature? Do these people start as regular employees, and then at some point POW! It becomes known they have good taste and should be buying things up? I would love to have a job where I scoured Garage Sales,antique malls,flea markets, and thrift stores 40-60 hours a week.
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post #13 of 58
8/5/08 at 1:13pm
Quote:
No, they are faked like Ralph Lipshitz, I mean Lauren.
A working class Jewish boy from the Bronx, dreamed of being an aristocratic, Edwardian WASP. And now he is. Good for him (I guess). I'm just not a big fan of "The American Dream".
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post #14 of 58
8/5/08 at 1:19pm
A friend of mine worked for RL for a few years buying vintage items. Some of it was for display, and some was for sale (I guess they have vintage departments at the Beverly Hills and NYC stores?)
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post #15 of 58
8/5/08 at 2:12pm
There's an old guy who is the "head buyer" of vintage items for RL. The Sartorialist photographed him a few times.
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