The Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation was launched in 1967 by a 28 year-old Ralph Lauren, born to a family of Jewish immigrants in the Bronx. Originally only selling ties, making deliveries to department stores himself, and operating out of a single drawer in the Empire State Building, his brand saw quick success and soon expanded to full lines of men’s and women’s clothing.
By the early ‘80s, Polo garments and the heavy price tags they carried were seen as an indicator of sophistication, and were worn largely by affluent upper-class white families. Coming from a working-class background himself, Ralph Lauren’s clothing earned its status not only through the quality and timelessness of his designs, but through his own personal story. To dress in Ralph Lauren was to put on an aspirational projection of the American dream – a declaration of a lifestyle represented by a Polo tag.
Back in the neighborhoods of Ed Koch’s New York during the city’s crack epidemic, youth from a different background began to take notice of the flashiness of Ralph’s designs. Once Polo hit the streets, the brands that were already popular such as Kangol and Lacoste took an immediate backseat in their collective minds. In the burgeoning cultures of hip-hop and graffiti, where acts of boosting for financial gain, getting fly, and getting up with stolen paint were already becoming commonplace, Polo became the ultimate prize.
As Polo rose in popularity within the street culture, two boosting crews emerged in the city: Ralphie’s Kids from Crown Heights, and United Shoplifters Association in Brownsville. The crews would go on boosting sprees hitting department stores across Manhattan, and flexing their outfits of head-to-toe Polo in hip-hop clubs, city streets, and train lines. Rather than culminating in a rivalry, their shoplifting skills and dedication to being Lo-down earned each other’s mutual respect. The crews eventually united in 1988, becoming known throughout the city as the Lo-Lifes – a name coined by Thirstin Howl the 3rd, a co-founding member of the crew.
With greater numbers, the now-united crews became an unstoppable boosting force. Their tactics graduated from the skillful, calculated methods of shoplifting with knapsacks and boost bags, and they began to employ more straightforward methods of racking. A tactic known as the “million man rush” was pioneered by Lo-Life co-founder Rack-Lo, where dozens of their associates would walk into department stores and overwhelm the employees with their sheer numbers, grabbing entire racks of clothing and walking out with as much gear as they could carry. Some Lo Lifes would also make trips upstate and out of state in order to boost from unsuspecting stores that were hit less frequently, and often carried pieces that were harder to find within the limits of the city.
To the Lo-Lifes, wearing Polo head to toe was not only a way of dressing for the lifestyle they aspired towards, but a way to achieve it. Through boosting Polo, they entered by force into the life of luxury marketed alongside the clothes, and elevated themselves from the financial constraints of low-paying jobs, budget-conscious wardrobes, and cyclical poverty. To dress fly was a challenge to the hand dealt to them by society, and a way to be seen as somebody of status in the neighborhood – dressing aspirationally for a life the world said was not meant for them.
Over a short few years, the Lo Lifes established themselves as a permanent part of the legacy of Ralph Lauren clothing and embedded Polo into hip-hop, graffiti culture, and the lifeblood of New York City as a whole. To many, names like Thirstin Howl the 3rd and Rack-Lo are as vital to the brand’s history as Ralph himself. Through their impact and efforts, Ralph Lauren ascended the status of being merely a brand or a label, and rocking Polo as a lifestyle became a subculture that went worldwide.
As the ‘80s came to a close and the ‘90s rolled along, many of the Lo Lifes had either moved on, wound up dead or in jail, or left their youthful past of criminal exploits behind them in exchange for more legitimate hustles. Though their presence had dwindled, the Lo Lifes had laid the groundwork for the evolving landscape of the downtown scene where the fanaticism surrounding Polo only grew, while graffiti crews like RFC and IRAK rose to prominence and defined a new era of culture and style.
In a time that coincided with the era of stick up kids, wearing the most sought-after gear came with an inherent risk, and served as a declaration of status and respect. Being caught outside your neighborhood or taking a train alone with certain pieces on was dangerous, and it wasn’t uncommon to be robbed, shot or even killed over Polo.
This period from 1987 up to 1994 is looked back on as the golden era of Ralph Lauren clothing, marked by the releases of many pieces and collections which are revered and reminisced upon to this day.
Many of these items, often referred to as ‘power pieces’, are known better by the nicknames they earned in the streets, rather than the titles on their price tags. Some releases were so coveted that they rarely made it to the hands of the average shopper, with entire collections being cleared off shelves by boosters almost as quickly as they hit the floor. More than simply a statement of style and status, rocking these pieces was a testament to one’s skill as a booster. The cultural weight these garments carried during this era of New York City has cemented their place in streetwear history, and elevated the designs to a legendary status amongst Polo collectors. Among the first of such was the ‘cookie logo’ from the late ‘80s, a circular patch embroidered onto a number of items favored by the Lo Lifes, as well as the ‘circle ski man’ design from the same line.
Considered by many to be the best year in the brand’s history, the year 1992 saw the releases of the first Polo Bear knit, the 92 Ski Polo Active goose and matching longsleeve, the Stadium collection and P-Wing logo, and the infamous ‘suicide’ ski jacket. The suicide ski jacket earned this name and reputation due to its flashy design and desirability, which immediately turned the wearer into a potential target. Wearing the jacket on certain train lines was symbolic of either a death wish, or of the weight your name carried in order to safely wear the jacket outside.
In 1993, Ralph Lauren released their Snow Beach capsule collection, which would be popularized and forever immortalized when Raekwon the Chef wore the “Snow Beach” pullover in Wu Tang Clan’s music video for “Can It Be All So Simple”. Through the jacket’s appearance in this video, its eye-catching colors, and the reverence in which it was held throughout the ‘90s and to this day, this pullover often referred to simply as “the Raekwon” has become one of the most iconic pieces in streetwear history.
As the city moved into the mid-90s, graffiti and skateboarding grew into their own independent subcultures, taking with them the traditions of boosting and obsessions with gear. While other brands grew in relevancy and became part of the city in their own right, no label could dethrone Ralph when it comes to timelessness, legacy, and influence.
To look back on the street styles and outfits present during this time is to look back on history written in fabric – the blueprints of a style now deeply ingrained into New York culture. The legacy lives on not only in the streets today, but through photographs, oral histories, and the enduring legacies of prominent downtown figures and the early architects of style.
This story was written by Eden DaSilva for the release of Outfit Architecture 2.0, a book by Living Proof that documents the culture surrounding Polo Ralph Lauren gear during the late 1990s in New York City. Now available on our Patreon.
Story: Eden DaSilva.
Photos: Tommy Rebel and WILD