Dear Ralph Lauren,

I’ve been a huge fan of Ralph Lauren clothes since before I could wear them. My childhood wasn’t spent decked out in name brand clothing, however, I always admired Ralph Lauren clothing. Ralph Lauren Polo, and Tommy Hilfiger, symbolized fly, yet at the same time, class. While other people my age idolized Iceberg, which had childish cartoon characters on them, yet very adult prices ($100+ for a T-shirt!), or other brands like Coogi (blame Biggie), to me, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger were brands that men wore. It only took the rumor of a racists comment made by Mr. Hilfiger himself to knock Tommy off my “respected brands” list, leaving only Ralph Lauren. I flirted with Ecko, due it’s embrace of my culture, Hip Hop, with it’s graffiti tags, which to me symbolized my rebellion against the pop culture (ironic, right?), but Polo was always the top dog.

As an adult, I have a pretty respectable wardrobe of Polo attire. I have at least 3 weeks worth of tops (Levis are my favorite brand of jean…sorry), with colors to match all my shoes. I have button ups, polos of different material, rugbys, even a sweater vest or two. My collection has been built from discount stores, high end stores, Ralph Lauren stores, but mainly RalphLauren.com. While I prefer to order from RalphLauren.com, (due to the fact you get the stuff when it’s new), I won’t hesitate to cop a Polo if I’m in Marshall’s and see one that would go right with something I already have.My closet is a collection of Polo tops, Levi jeans, and Jordan/Nike shoes.

As I’ve said earlier, what drew me to the brand of Polo was it’s class. The classiness of it’s design, and the classiness of those who wore it. The basic design of a Ralph Lauren Polo top is simple. Good material, with a small polo player on the left chest of the shirt. While polo isn’t  sport played in the neighborhoods I grew up in, or anyone like them for that matter, there have never been stories of Ralph Lauren talking down on people who didn’t grow up in upper class areas donning his clothing. While business men around the globe don polo in great numbers, in the hoods, Polo is also respected. Wu-Tang Clan, to me, always the freshest cats in the rap industry, always rocked Polo. For the average cat looking to look nice, Polo provides tops in the $50-$100 price range (we’re not talking about T-shirts either). For those looking to show out, you can buy Purple label clothing from Ralph Lauren for a decent amount more. Ralph Lauren has always provided choices, however, as of late, there is a choice available which, to me, doesn’t stick with the brand’s standard of class.

For I believe the past year and a half, maybe two, Ralph Lauren has provided what is referred to as the “Big Pony” tops. These are Ralph Lauren tops, similar to the normal ones, however, the small logo on the left side fo the chest, is now a HUGE logo. Part of what has kept me for the most part distant from brands like Roc-a-Wear are the huge logos present on the clothing. It’s almost as if the clothes shout “Hey, look at me, I got some name brand clothing on! You see me! I got money!” While I can easily choose not to rock the the “Big Pony” polo shirts, the newcomers to the brand, due to the “Big Pony” shirts, to me, depreciate the value of the brand. Since what I’m saying may sound a certain way, let me break it down. When people who are still rocking, say, Southpole shirts with cartoon characters on them, or, bootleg Coogi shirts, put on a Polo shirt the next day, it cheapens the brand. If someone wearing fake Louis Vatton shoes wears a “Big Pony”  Ralph Lauren shirt, it cheapens the brand. I’m not speaking on a racial group, i”m not speaking on a financial class, I’m speaking on the, dare I say it for the sake of not using the world class again, swag-less.

If somehow Ralph Lauren was to see this, or I was to run into him, I’m begging him, or I would if I ran in to him, to DROP the “Big Pony” tops. Polo has thrived before them, and I’m sure will continue to thrive without them.