MALE CALL : It’s not your imagination — logo sizes are growing
Posted on Sunday, May 4, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Northwest_Profiles/224736/
Q. I’ve been noticing that those little chest logos on polo shirts are not so little anymore. Some of them have recently become much closer to huge.
A. You are certainly correct. Those discreetly tasteful animals that for years were accepted emblems of preppy panache (Polo’s tiny polo player on horseback and Lacoste’s little green crocodile ) have lately grown to shockingly large proportions. Some of today’s embroidered logos are outsize versions of the originals (that is my polite way of saying that the logos are way too large. ) Still, tastes vary. And one woman’s “way too large” is another man’s boldly vivid “hot new style.”
Even so, I should point out that I have always advocated a somewhat freer approach to casual dressing for men. As I have written again and again, many men restrict their leisure wear to quietly styled clothing similar to the clothes they wear for business — unnecessarily. Stylish men have always been known to add a bit of swagger to their casual social attire. Therefore, I have to temper my remarks and say that for the guy who has the personality to pull it off, if that new look of “the Big Pony Polo” is appealing for weekend wear, then he should go for it. As long as he is aware that such a style is much more likely to be a fleeting fad than the more-traditional small pony (or small green crocodile ), it is his right to spend his money as he pleases.
This new exaggerated logo style is quite different from the old small logos we are familiar with — it is a much sportier, younger and more upscale look. While it is still somewhat preppy, it’s a showier fashion statement that is part of the new trend toward the luxury-goods market. It seems to correspond to the guy who wears Zegna or Brioni when he dresses up as opposed to the one who wears Brooks Brothers. A lot of fashionable European tourists who are visiting here with full pockets are in love with this new design. It is an idea that has been growing for the past few years — while none of the rest of us noticed.
What you may have noticed in recent years were young hip teenagers wearing T-shirts with truly enormous logos, so huge that they almost covered the whole shirt. What they seemed to be saying is “I have money and I can wear this kind of brand.” This newer-style logo is quite different. It is large (the Ralph Lauren pony is about five inches tall and the new Lacoste 75 th Anniversary crocodile is two to three times bigger than the traditional version ), but they both stop short of being ludicrous. They are tasteful (or, at any rate, nearly tasteful ) versions of that hip-hop style. In addition, the wearers are clearly very different sorts of dressers. Incidentally, men who still feel limited by the many color options available in the Polo Ralph Lauren sections in department stores can go to the Polo Web site www. polo. com (Ralph Lauren, men’s, create your own ) and pretty much fully customize their own shirts and logos. (However, this customizing is limited to the traditional small-pony polo shirt and the classic Oxford-cloth shirt; it is not yet available in the newer overscaled design. ) Men can select any number of combinations: they can choose their own corporate or team colors; they can use brightly contrasting colors; or they can even go in the opposite direction and order the logo in the very same color as the shirt. And you thought only women go to such hard-to-believe extremes to be individualistic. Dark-brown loafers (or less formal brown deck shoes ) and a brown belt are the perfect finishing touches. Send your questions for Male Call to:
lois. fenton@prodigy. net