Polo Ralph Lauren outlet has poor quality?

[Nicola]

Outlets are the sort of thing you need to go into fairly often. Expect nothing 99% of the time. The other 1% of the time you might hit a goldmine. Get to know the staff.

But if it's a long drive then the hassle can out weight the benefits.

 

[foxpar]

Even though this thread is old (again), I would like to add my perspective: My experience is that there are huge differences in between stores and especially geographically: All American Polo outlets I went to had obviously a lot of crap, but some good stuff as well, though nothing worth hunting down. Yet, when I went to one of the very few polo outlets here in Germany and one in Hong Kong I saw RLPL and RLBL among the polo products and some high quality Polo items as well. The prices were obviously higher, but especially the black and purple label items were incredibly cheap if you look at retail prices. Another example is Burberry: Their outlet in Hong Kong is rather expensive and stocks mostly crap, but here I picked up a packable trench for something around 200USD and I know it was from the "normal" London collection, so not even Brit. I also picked up a Veronique Branquinho knit at an outlet in Hong Kong, which was down 70percent and the label had rather limited numbers, even when they were still operating. You can also get the CDG and JW for CDG lines at those places. At OFF 5th in the US I also got some quite nice cashmere turtleneck for 35USD. At a PRL factory outlet in Hong Kong I got stuff from their Japanese line, which is of much higher quality and has different cuts as well.
I guess some of the more "simple" outlets like the usual PRL factory is fine for getting basics like solid coloured t-shirts or some buttown-down shirt. Yet there are very good places, you simply gotta know where and be ready to pay a premium, after all you usually get what you pay for.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

For what it's worth, the PRL factory outlet in Las Vegas seems to have a decent selection from time to time. I'll admit that I'm not much of an outlet hunter, so I have no idea if that one is any better or worse than Polo outlets countrywide. But I usually stop by the place every time I'm leaving LV, and I'd say I've encountered about a 3:1 junk-to-gold ratio. Which seems better than the ratio you'd expect at most outlets.

 

[sportin_life]

From my experience, you have to be careful at the PRL outlet stores. I went to a couple in so. california and some of their PRL stuff seemed to be factory specific but very difficult to tell from the label, which was only slightly different. In particular, I noticed that their dress and sport shirts are factory specific but not labeled as such. It isn't clearly marked like the BB 346 stuff. It was frustrating b/c it seemed to be mixed in with the regular PRL stuff.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

From my experience, you have to be careful at the PRL outlet stores. I went to a couple in so. california and some of their PRL stuff seemed to be factory specific but very difficult to tell from the label, which was only slightly different. In particular, I noticed that their dress and sport shirts are factory specific but not labeled as such. It isn't clearly marked like the BB 346 stuff. It was frustrating b/c it seemed to be mixed in with the regular PRL stuff.

I pretty much assume that most (all?) PRL / Blue Label items in the PRL outlet will be store-specific, so I avoid them.

Occasionally -- if, admittedly, that occasion isn't frequent enough -- you can find some real gems from RLPL or RLBL. We're not talking wardrobe staples and holy grails. You're not getting an RLPL navy suit in smooth worsted. But you might get a really nice RLPL tie, or scarf, or gloves, or what have you. Little items that might fill very specific niches in an otherwise well-rounded wardrobe.

These things can be found, but they're well hidden amid a sea of ghetto-fabulous Big Pony shlock and Green Label crap.

As with any outlet shopping, a good rule of thumb is to take careful stock of the neighborhood in which the outlet is situated. Retail managers aren't stupid, and they've got a very specific science informing which items get stocked in which outlets. All outlets are not alike.

The reason I like the Vegas outlet is that it caters to a lot of disposable money from uninhibited impulse shoppers. This certainly means there will be a lot of cheesy, big-logoed horseshit. But it also means some higher-end merch.

 

[sportin_life]

I haven't bought anything from the RL stores myself b/c the ones near me never seem to carry RLBL or RLPL, although I suspect it might be b/c some of the forum members in SD grab most of it whenever they get a shipment

I noticed the different lines when I bought a custom-fit regent PRL shirt from B&S on these forums, and the fit/cut/fabric were much cheaper than my other RL stuff and didn't even resemble the same line. I thought it was fake at first but then saw the same label/cut/etc. at an outlet store and realized it must be a made-for-outlet item.

 

[mr monty]

Woodbury Commons (NY) and Desert Hills (Cabazon, CA) usually have RLPL. RLPL does not make "made-for-the-outlet" goods.

 

[MasonTMorris]

Hi y'all, I just found this thread through Google and even though it's old I'd like to throw my two cents in. About three weeks ago I made my first visit to the Factory outlet in Mebane, NC, and I have to say that I was quite impressed. They had a fairly good selection (Oxfords, polos, t-shirts, winter coats, etc), and most of the stuff there seemed to be the same quality that you'd find at a place like Belk.

I ended up getting a basic white oxford for about $50, and I'm pretty satisfied with it so far. The one quirk that I did notice was that Custom Fit oxfords came in general sizes (Large and medium), while Classic Fit came in neck/sleeve sizes.

There was unfortunately no Purple Label and the like as far as I saw, but I'll check again when I visit again on Sunday

 

[All ViPbrands]

Ralph Lauren Hong Kong Flagship Store on Causeway Bay - http://richieast.com/ralph-lauren-hong-kong-first-store-causeway-bay/

 

[stfugbtw]

While this is an old thread, I just had a conversation with a manager via the Polo support line who stated that there are no PRL clothes manufactured specifically for the outlet or factory stores. I was prompted to call after my wife came home with a stack of lightweight wool sweaters in a variety of colors that she's scored for $30/each. According to the person I spoke with, PRL does manufacture clothing in volume to account for stocking the factory stores, but she was insistent that every PRL item available at a factory store is also sold through their normal sales channels. Obviously there are many items that are not available at factory stores, but the person I spoke with specifically stated that PRL does not engage in the practice of selling outlet-specific clothing. I also asked about Green Label (Lauren) and Chaps, and she was not nearly as adamant about the quality, sourcing, and availability of those garments. But I think everyone pretty much knew that was garbage already. I'm curious if anyone has any real information that would contradict the statements that were made by the rep I spoke with.

It was interesting and refreshing to hear that there is a major manufacturer of slightly-above-average clothing that hasn't decided to cash in on the $50 dress shirt market.

On a different, but related note - I managed to bust out the Brooks Brothers outlet in Denver West a couple of weeks ago. Went to the one rack of real BB clothing in the back of the store and found a BrooksStorm top coat for $190. It had a little water mark on the back that rubbed right out. Score!

 

[brokencycle]



While this is an old thread, I just had a conversation with a manager via the Polo support line who stated that there are no PRL clothes manufactured specifically for the outlet or factory stores.  I was prompted to call after my wife came home with a stack of lightweight wool sweaters in a variety of colors that she's scored for $30/each.   According to the person I spoke with, PRL does manufacture clothing in volume to account for stocking the factory stores, but she was insistent that every PRL item available at a factory store is also sold through their normal sales channels.  Obviously there are many items that are not available at factory stores, but the person I spoke with specifically stated that PRL does not engage in the practice of selling outlet-specific clothing.  I also asked about Green Label (Lauren) and Chaps, and she was not nearly as adamant about the quality, sourcing, and availability of those garments.  But I think everyone pretty much knew that was garbage already.  I'm curious if anyone has any real information that would contradict the statements that were made by the rep I spoke with. 

It was interesting and refreshing to hear that there is a major manufacturer of slightly-above-average clothing that hasn't decided to cash in on the $50 dress shirt market.  

On a different, but related note - I managed to bust out the Brooks Brothers outlet in Denver West a couple of weeks ago.  Went to the one rack of real BB clothing in the back of the store and found a BrooksStorm top coat for $190.  It had a little water mark on the back that rubbed right out.  Score!

If it was actual blue label stuff, it wasn't made for the outlet. If it was green label or something, they can indeed say it is true because they sell that at cheap department stores like Kohl's.

I did notice they have a new label for outlet made stuff too.

 

[stfugbtw]

If it was actual blue label stuff, it wasn't made for the outlet. If it was green label or something, they can indeed say it is true because they sell that at cheap department stores like Kohl's.

I did notice they have a new label for outlet made stuff too.

The blue label with the gold lettering is just their new label. It's all over their new stuff. The green label is the Lauren line and it's garbage, but at least they're not being sneaky about it.

 

[brokencycle]



The blue label with the gold lettering is just their new label.  It's all over their new stuff.  The green label is the Lauren line and it's garbage, but at least they're not being sneaky about it.

There is a new outlet line label too. I was just at the outlets before Christmas.

 

[MrAndersen]

I was today at Bicester Village PLR store and there were plenty of RLPL and RLBL (also Polo RL) suits available. Most were marked 400-500 pounds. Also I saw atleast 2 purple label knits marked ~100 pounds each.

I wish I hadn't just capped my budget at the Burberry store before that. I would have definitely taken one RLPL suit home with me.

I am not that experienced in this but I guess PL suits/knits are preetty good value for that price.

 

[stfugbtw]



There is a new outlet line label too. I was just at the outlets before Christmas.

Interesting... Any chance you have a pic? Curious about what it looks like and what sort of clothing they're selling that way.. I gather you're not talking about the green Lauren label.