Berlin – The preppy countdown is on: Ralph Lauren’s pop-up store in Mitte is open until July 7th. For fans of the brand, it’s time to go there quickly – because soon this store, where you can design your own copy of the textile classic with a button placket and collar, will be history again. The brand opened the world’s only shop of this kind on the occasion of its 50th birthday, including a dyeing and sewing station as well as a café on wheels with a plush bear and friendly barista Louise. The polo shirt itself is of course older. Lauren’s models are, so to speak, the descendants of the former sports shirt, which was introduced in its current form in the 1930s.
For only 10 euros extra (the regular price of a Ralph Lauren polo shirt is around 120 euros) you can get a shirt in a color of your choice, with a sewn-on logo in the desired size and initials, both also anywhere. Once everything has been selected, the shirt goes to the mini dye shop, which is located in the idyllic backyard. After dyeing, the embroideries are placed and after a maximum of one and a half hours the unique piece is ready. If you are a bit louder in terms of fashion, the shirt can be equipped with other large and small patches, from lettering to letters to coats of arms and bears. All symbols from the Ralph Lauren cosmos that should not be alien to the professional preppy. The patches cost between 20 and 50 euros. But if so, then yes.
Sabine Roethig
A cute cocktail bear on the back, that works too.
Store manager Araceli Rodriguez Alcaide praises the Berlin men in particular for their creativity and fetches an XL shirt that has just been finished from the back room. A huge bear in a cocktail suit with a champagne glass is sewn on the back. That’s really very cute, and now the ladies should do more. There’s still over a week left.
Sabine Roethig
If you don’t want to design it yourself, you can help yourself to the vintage corner. Hawaiian patterns, stripes and fruity colors are enticing here.
By the way: If you are lacking in creativity, you can also buy a vintage shirt from Ralph Lauren in the shop. Although the historical pieces are more expensive than the new shirts, they still tempt with spectacular, all-over patterned piquet. Just like the upcycled variants in the other corner, which have been reassembled from vintage fabrics. Every customer of this friendly adventure shop receives a voucher for the coffee truck in the backyard. Here Louise mixes an extraordinary espresso tonic on ice. This (alcohol-free) creation is really the best thing to chill with after creative work in the heat. A visit to Alte Schönhauser Straße 8 is worthwhile for this alone.
The pop-up store is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. except Sundays.