The Official RRL Thread

[oynag]



Damn, indigo dyed leather jacket.  Not a cotton shirt, not trousers...leather.

http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/...576&ab=ln_men_cs_shopallrrl&parentPage=family

I saw that. I thought I liked it. Put it on the wish list. Then I said, what am I doing?

 

[oceansaway]

The stuff seems to be getting more expensive. $260 cargo pants I can do (and have done). But $390 cargo pants?

 

[boxdok]

I don't even pay attention to RRL prices that much anymore. 99 percent of the stuff sits and can be had for atleast 60 percent off.

 

[ispace]

Has anyone got the Bennett Striped Chambray Shirt? Is it selvedge? The lookbook described it as such but no mention on the website.

 

[Bethany Heck]

Has anyone got the Bennett Striped Chambray Shirt? Is it selvedge? The lookbook described it as such but no mention on the website.

I have it and like it a lot, but I'm not sure how to tell if it's selvedge. It's lightweight and has a bit of stretch.

 

[aquila49]

My mom sent me this picture of my grandfather a while back. I posted it to my Instagram, but thought I'd share it here also since it seems vaguely Americana/workwear inspired before workwear was a thing.. Love those pants he's wearing..

No, shortly after he returned home from WWII, so late 1940s..

Your Dad's picture inspired me to dig up some photos of my Dad. He was definitely into the military look.


The jaunty radioman. (South San Francisco, 1951)



Smooth dude. (Ethiopia, 1949)


Liking the leather jacket with gloves. DiCaprio before there was DiCaprio. (Germany, 1950)

A belated Father's Day, Dad. I miss you.

 

[aquila49]

Has anyone got the Bennett Striped Chambray Shirt? Is it selvedge? The lookbook described it as such but no mention on the website.

I bought the shirt, but returned it. It was nice, but I didn't care for the direction of the stripes on the collar. (The contrast between the stripes is more pronounced than what you see on the web site.)

I honestly couldn't tell you if the shirt is selvedge.

 

[subdivide]

Super helpful - thanks a lot!

Comparisons between
Olive LE 32 / East West 32x32 / Fairmont 32x32
Waist 17.5 / 17.5 / 17.5
Front rise 10.5 / 10 / 10.5
Back rise 15 / 15 / 15
Thigh 11 / 11 / 11
Knee 8.5 / 8.5 / 8.5
Leg opening 8 / 7.5 / 7.5
Inseam 36.5 / 33.5 / 34.5

The Olive LE denim feels thinner/lighter than the others so that slightly affects the fit also.

 

[dieworkwear]



It seems as if this is a potential hole in the market.  Not to get too off-topic here, but is anyone aware of any women's lines that mimic the quality of some of the finer menswear lines?  I too often find that the women's iterations of the menswear lines that I like (RRL, LVC, etc) seem to be lacking in the quality department.

A lot of the popular workwear men's lines have women's divisions. Kapital, Orslow, Blue Blue Japan, Chimala (actually, that one is primarily a women's line), Barena, Folk, LVC, imogene + willie, etc.

Not sure why the women's stuff would be of lesser quality. If you mean it's less "hefty," that might be -- but that's different from a quality issue. They may use lighter fabrics, but that's not so much about qulaity as it is about just design. Like the difference between red and blue, rather than good and bad stitching.

 

[DJ Quaaludes]

A lot of the popular workwear men's lines have women's divisions. Kapital, Orslow, Blue Blue Japan, Chimala (actually, that one is primarily a women's line), Barena, Folk, LVC, imogene + willie, etc.

Not sure why the women's stuff would be of lesser quality. If you mean it's less "hefty," that might be -- but that's different from a quality issue. They may use lighter fabrics, but that's not so much about qulaity as it is about just design. Like the difference between red and blue, rather than good and bad stitching.

True, and perhaps I should have clarified that. When I'm thinking of quality in this sense you are right, I am often thinking of durability and heft of fabric/stitching etc. You are right that this is less of a quality issue and more of a design issue, but this presented an 'issue' from my perspective nonetheless.

It just seemed the women's items were more of an afterthought, and besides seemingly sharing some fabric here and there, the fabrics and washes used appeared less interesting then those used in the men's line. I more or less was wondering if there were corresponding women's lines that represented mostly a difference in cut rather than design.

 

[gnatty8]



I would think the implication in your assessment is that women's RRL just didn't sell very well compared to men's, probably for the reasons you describe.  I remember the selection being quite limited compared to the men's line, too.

Yeah, my wife loved a lot of the RRL when it steered more towards feminized versions of the classic men's workwear, but just couldn't get into the frilly shirts, rodeo skirts and prairie dresses enough to actually buy them. She did manage to get some really great denim, a leather jacket, and several of the more classic western shirts before they shut the line down..

 

[gnatty8]



A lot of the popular workwear men's lines have women's divisions. Kapital, Orslow, Blue Blue Japan, Chimala (actually, that one is primarily a women's line), Barena, Folk, LVC, imogene + willie, etc.

Not sure why the women's stuff would be of lesser quality. If you mean it's less "hefty," that might be -- but that's different from a quality issue. They may use lighter fabrics, but that's not so much about qulaity as it is about just design. Like the difference between red and blue, rather than good and bad stitching.

FWIW, my wife blew out one of the knees in a pair of RRL denim the day she got them (she knelt down to pick something up and bam, knee split from seam to seam). We sent those off to be repaired and the day she got them back, the other knee went in a similar fashion! Now I know it was not a sizing issue (my wife is 5'7" and about 101 pounds) but seriously, I guess the moral of the story is don't actually live in some of the women's cuts.. That said, having been repaired, they are one of her favorite pairs of jeans now..

 

[BaronFizzwell]

Quote:
We forget that for a lot of people that aren't into this, the Men's RRL is also quite "Costumey". I've read articles (possibly written by BB types) on various mainstream sites about how guys wearing this kind of vintage workwear all look like they're extras from a Depression Era period film.

 

[Bethany Heck]

A lot of the popular workwear men's lines have women's divisions. Kapital, Orslow, Blue Blue Japan, Chimala (actually, that one is primarily a women's line), Barena, Folk, LVC, imogene + willie, etc.

Not sure why the women's stuff would be of lesser quality. If you mean it's less "hefty," that might be -- but that's different from a quality issue. They may use lighter fabrics, but that's not so much about qulaity as it is about just design. Like the difference between red and blue, rather than good and bad stitching.

Those brands have women's lines, but the selection is much smaller and yes, the lack of heft bothers me. Most of the women's lines are even boxier than the menswear!There is definitely a hole in the market for making slimmer versions of the styles these brands make for menswear, but there are few people interested in filing it. If Mister freedom offered an XS that fit me I'd be broke right now. The menswear in these brands often stray into costume as well, but it's costume based around patterns that were utilitarian and functional. The womenswear is (for the most part) just ridiculous.

Tangentially related, but I've been trying to get a leather jacket made that's similar to the RRL Wodehouse that came out many years ago, and out of the five custom jacket makers I've contacted that make one in that style only one was even willing to talk about making one in my dimensions. Most shrug, say "too bad" and point me to moto jackets that are "better for women".

 

[badeggcat]



I more or less was wondering if there were corresponding women's lines that represented mostly a difference in cut rather than design.

FWK Engineered Garments and Nigel Cabourn Women comes to mind. The range is not as extensive as the Men's line but that's probably due to the smaller demand.