Polo Rugby In East Hampton- A Little Bit Too Ironic?

[Image via NYT]

Polo Rugby is setting up shop in East Hampton, and while we couldn't be more pleased at the prospect of easy access to skull shorts and jaunty badges, we can't help but smirk a bit. While Ralph Lauren's other lines strive to encapsulate the allure of the American aristocracy (for $12.99 at JC Penny!), Rugby mocks it. Everything is hyperbolized, oversized, hammered with embroidery. Subtlety, considered, apart from the pink and green obsession, a tenet of true preppy style, is M.I.A. in Ralph's newest line. For those of us on the outside looking in, Rugby provides a tongue-in-cheek way to indulge our upper crust fantasies; but what about those already inside? A store whose success hinges on its customers' self-deprecation might not have the likeliest survival odds.