Some might say I wasted an entire Friday afternoon customising a few (dozen) Polo Ralph Lauren baseball caps at the brand's online shop. To them I say: You're really missing out. The day I discovered you can design your own Ralph Lauren cotton chino hat online was borderline life-changing. And that was before I realised how many features there are to play around with.
Sure, you could buy any classic PRL baseball cap and call it a day, but where's the specialness in that? Where's the personalisation, the style that represents you and only you? For only USD50 (and maybe an extra USD15, depending on the options you choose as you customise), getting a designer hat that's this unique to you is a steal.
You start out by picking the colour hat you want. There are no bad options, either. Polo Ralph Lauren manages to make even a deep, rich purple look classy as hell. When you've got the colour of your hat picked out, the fun part really begins. Detail time, baby.
There are a bunch of iconic PRL logos and graphics to choose from. That includes the classic pony, a big pony, two different styles of monogram, a flag, a crest, a dog, and, of course, the iconic Ralph Lauren teddy bear. You can pick your colour pony, if that's what you select, or a flag representing anywhere from Japan to Brazil. If you pick the dog option, it's time to choose what kind—a German Shepherd, perhaps? Or a King Charles Spaniel?
My personal favourite is the Polo Bear, though. You can have your pick of which version of that little guy you want on your hat. Golf Bear or Basketball Bear, Gentleman Bear or Martini Bear (my style icon, by the way), Sweater Bear or Trench Coat Bear. Oh, and who could forget Polo Player Bear?
Now that the front's taken care of, it's time for you to decorate the back. Here, you have your pick of what colour embroidery you want the pony logo to be. You even have the option of adding a name embroidered.
Think of all the colours! All the designs! All the possibilities! There are endless formulas to experiment with on the site, and once you start making one hat, it's impossible to not make a few. They make damn great gifts, being a personalised touch on a timelessly classy accessory, so feel free to go crazy and start handing out custom PRL hats like candy. This little tool is more addicting than all of my social media feeds combined—I already cleared my weekend to make time for playing with the custom scarves and bags, too. And don't even get me started with the customisable sweaters...
