Challenge on Polo Ralph Lauren: Different Kind Of Suit As Dress Code

Advertisements for Polo Ralph Lauren show a world populated by beautiful trust-fund families on their leafy estates. But how far should a company go to propel that image into the public consciousness? A few current and former employees say Polo crossed the line. Two onetime sales associates joined a class-action lawsuit this week alleging that image was, in part, crafted illegally, by forcing salespeople to spend thousands of dollars a year on the company’s latest outfits to project a “lifestyle image.” The hired help, in other words, struggled to keep the shirt on their backs, even with the in-house 65% discount. Accusations against the posh clothing company ring true for many salespeople, but few have taken their case to court, said Dean Friar, spokesman for California’s Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The law says employers who require workers to wear uniforms must provide that wardrobe at no cost. “But we see, instead, discounts given out,” Friar said. “That’s very common.” Industry experts, including representatives of the National Retail Federation, the largest retail trade organization in the world, have never heard of a lawsuit similar to the one filed against Polo. They say salespeople are traditionally expected to look presentable and sport some of the designer’s product, but no one reached by The Times had heard of an employer forcing its staff to invest heavily in wardrobe. “This strikes me as a unique lawsuit,” said Peter Arnold, executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. The complaint against Polo was initially filed in federal court last month in San Francisco by Toni Young, a 31-year-old sales associate. Attorneys for Polo have until Nov. 4 to respond to the complaint. When contacted for this story, Polo spokeswoman Ellen Maguire said that the company does not comment on pending litigation. Plaintiff attorney Patrick R. Kitchin says Young, who earned $22,000 last year, has receipts that show she was required to spend more than $6,000 a year on Polo purchases since she began working at the store in 1997. “It’s a ton of money,” he said by phone from his office near the Polo store where Young still works. Young’s lawsuit also alleges that Polo managers conducted “strip searches to ensure that all of their clothing is from the defendants’ product lines.” “They would ask Ms. Young to take off her sweaters – she had a shirt on underneath – or take off her shoes, so they could check the labels,” Kitchin said. “In late August, all employees in the San Francisco store were told they needed five new outfits from the fall collection. They had to come in wearing the outfits so they could be photographed and those photographs could be kept in a file sent on to headquarters in New York.” Kitchin has posted the Web to attract additional plaintiffs. One of the newest plaintiffs is 26-year-old Janika Goff, who worked at the same store as Young, where both Ralph Lauren Designer Clothes and Polo clothes are sold. Over five years, she sold shoes and clothes full time and made about $24,000 a year. Each season, she was entitled to an 80% discount off two pairs of shoes and a 65% discount off everything else, including the Polo clothes she was expected to wear every day. “They wanted you to be in current season and wanted the shoes to look nice and not scuffed, but I was running up and down stairs, doing stock work sometimes, so I would buy comfortable shoes,” said Goff, who now works at a bank in San Diego. Goff estimates that after five years at Polo, she had accumulated 65 pairs of shoes, most of which she considers in great condition but that were too scuffed for store’s management to consider acceptable. When Goff showed up in sandals one day, a manager made her choose a pair of loafers to wear. “The price of $50 was deducted from my paycheck,” Goff said. For Young, the store’s expectations were clearly out of line with what she knew about retail. She had previously worked at the mid-range clothing chain Bebe while she worked toward a court stenographer’s degree. “I did have to buy Bebe clothes, but they were a lot more lax about how current you had to be,” she said. “You could actually go to a secondhand store and buy a Bebe outfit for work and not be questioned.” Another former employee who confirmed he has joined Young’s class-action lawsuit is Troy Greene, a former sales associate for eight years at Polo on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Greene was earning $87,000 by the time he resigned last month over a dispute about new payment structures. He was immediately hired by Prada, also on Rodeo Drive, which provides its employees with uniforms – at no charge – that must be returned at the end of each season. “We get two pairs of trousers, four dress shirts, four knit tops, two pairs of shoes and a belt. All paid for,” said Greene, 40. “Gucci does the same thing.” According to Young, Polo management received commissions on the “sales” they made to their staffs. Young, who is black, also filed a racial discrimination suit against Polo in San Francisco Superior Court last month. Kitchin says that in addition to being subject to cruel racial remarks by superiors, Young has not been promoted during her five-year career at the store, despite glowing reviews from managers. “She was told her hair was too nappy, and she needed to straighten her hair,” Kitchin said. “Managers call out to her with an exaggerated African American urban accent. They call her ‘Ms. Thang.’ ” This is not the first tussle Polo has had with its staff. In February, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Polo Ralph Lauren Clothing Corp. denied minorities the same pay and opportunities as whites even as it promoted a “blond hair and blue eyes” image. The commission’s conclusion was related to another lawsuit pending in federal court by two former Polo employees.
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How's Ralph Lauren At Early Age?

Ralph Lauren was working as a sales crew for Brooks Brothers in New York when he decided to be in a new career. He was going to start designing his own ties. After hearing the news, Ralph Lauren’s boss told him, “The world isn’t ready for Ralph Lauren.” Today, with over $4 billion in revenue, Lauren has taken the fashion world by his great works and styles. But his newfound fortune is a long way from where he started off.

Born Ralph Lifshitz on October 14, 1939 in the Bronx, New York, Lauren’s family was your average middle class Jewish family. As a teenager, Lauren’s father, a house painter, decided to change the family’s last name from Lifshitz to Lauren; London had been the close second choice. Lauren was the youngest of four children and had to share a bedroom with his two older brothers. But he was determined to make himself stand out from them – and all the other neighbourhood boys – so he started working after school as soon as he was old enough. During the day, Ralph Lauren went to DeWitt Clinton High School, but by night, he worked at Alexander as a stock boy and salesman. Lauren wanted to save up enough money to buy expensive and stylish suits for himself. In his high school yearbook, Lauren stated that he wanted to be a millionaire. He began taking his business skills back to the classroom, selling quality ties to his classmates. “Those ties were handmade, by the way,” he says proudly. “Back then, ties, even designer ones, didn’t sell for more than $5 apiece. Mine were $12 to $15. Such luxury in something so simple was revolutionary.” It was not long before he had established a reputation for himself throughout the neighbourhood. After high school, Lauren enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Reserves for two years. In 1964, he began taking night classes in business at the City College of New York, although he never got a degree, and joined Brooks Brothers as a neckwear salesman. Soon, however, Lauren was longing to design his own ties. “I was working for a tie manufacturer doing private label for stores such as Brooks Brothers and Paul Stuart,” he recalls. “I tried to convince them to do their own brand but they weren’t interested. So I approached another tie maker from Cincinnati and they got it.” Ralph Lauren quit his job and went to work for Beau Brummell Neckwear. Although lesser known, the company allowed him to sell his own designs in their showroom in the Empire State building. Lauren began to create wide, hand-made, and expensive ties, qualities which would soon become his trademark. He tried to branch out and sell his ties to Bloomingdales. They, however, refused to sell them unless he met certain conditions. Ralph Lauren, in turn, refused. Bloomingdales’ competitors, however, were not as reluctant. Within months, Lauren’s ties – now under the brand name of Polo – were selling fast. With their tail behind their legs, Bloomingdales soon came back to him to ask for a deal. Ralph Lauren was fast created a big noise in the fashion industry and he began to wonder what he had to do to make that buzz last. Soon, he found the answer.

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Ralph Lauren Clothing Company - A Side Of Polo Sport Today

Ralph Lauren is one of the great designer for all time and being a sponsor of a sport called "Polo", now joined as a team of companies. We all know that Polo Ralph Lauren gathers more sponsor to promote their products but blending with the sport of "Polo", biggest sponsor ever had. “It’s the sport of kings,” said David Lauren, a marketing and communications executive for Polo Ralph Lauren and a son of Ralph Lauren. When founding the company with a line of neckties 40 years ago, “I think my dad flirted with calling it ‘Baseball’ or ‘Football,’ but he landed on ‘Polo.’ ” Mr. Lauren said. “Polo the sport has an international sensibility, and it’s glamorous.” Polo Association answers from the news of joining with the Ralph Lauren Clothing Company. “Ralph Lauren is a large corporation with many legal resources at its disposal,” said Gerald J. Ferguson, a lawyer with the firm of Baker Hostetler who represents the polo association. “The polo association has had to spend a significant amount of money to defend itself and the right to use its name and the images of the sport.”It's good to hear that another door has open to Ralph Lauren and we will see the improvement of that relationship to the industry of designer clothing.
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Ways On How to Have A Budgeted Designer Clothes

Try designer clothing consignment stores. These stores carry designer clothes most of them having Ralph Lauren clothes that the owner no longer wants to wear but would like to get a little bit of money for. The owner of the store sometimes owning some of the purchase price and the seller gets the rest. The buyer, often get a cheaper selling price regarding on having a cheaper designer clothes. Many times the clothing in these stores has been barely worn. Be prepared for last season's fashion sometimes but if the clothing is designer, it should withstand radical fashion changes and will be well tailored, well fitting and of good quality fabric.Shop at thrift stores in wealthy areas. You will have to rummage a fair amount, so be prepared for some hard work but amazing bargains can be uncovered.Try market stalls. Some market sellers specialize in selling used designer wear. You can search online. Wait for factory outlet sales. For lower level designers, these stores are around in most major cities. For more high-end, expensive designer clothes, the outlet stores are fewer except in fashion mecca cities, such as Montreal. If you are near them, you will score some amazing bargains that didn't get sold for one reason or another to the stores and designers that were meant to take them. These are usually advertised in newspapers and by way of flyers or wall posters. Visit rag trade districts. Again, this works only in cities that specialize in making the clothing but they will often have some streets lined with boutiques that are so competitive, their designer label prices are kept much lower than in other parts of the world. Shop online. Try designer clothes online sites. Sellers do the walking, rummaging and stocking for you. All you need to do is sit there with your mouse hovering over the clothes that interest you. Ask questions if the photos are unclear or there isn't enough information supplied.Have a fashion swap party. Get your friends together and ask them to bring at least one piece each of designer gear they no longer want and start swapping. Don't forget to include jewelry, scarves and hats as part of the swap party.