Ralph Lauren Was a Bronx Kid Named LIFSHITZ

A poor kid from the Bronx named Ralph Lifshitz would sell the world an aristocrat's dream.

Son of immigrants, he shared a room with his brothers, dreaming bigger.

As a teenager, tired of the teasing, he changed his name to Lauren.

He dropped out of college and, with no design training, sold gloves and ties behind a counter.

In 1967 he talked a maker into wide, bold ties under one word: Polo.

The ties sold out, and Polo grew into a full world of clothes.

He was not selling shirts. He was selling a fantasy of old American wealth.

His clothes dressed The Great Gatsby on film, and the whole country bought the dream.

The Bronx kid became a billionaire selling the elegance he was never born into.

He had not just made clothing. He had built an American dream you could wear.

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