Rugby Ralph Lauren was an American clothing brand launched in 2004 under the management of parent company
Polo Ralph Lauren, the line has been retired. The brand specialised in
Preppy/
Rugby inspired lifestyle apparel for male and female clientele ages 16 through 25. Rugby also encompassed Rugby Food & Spirits, a small
café modeled after the brand and offering dining inspired by the Rugby theme. Rugby merchandise was available at twelve stores throughout the United States, as well as one in Covent Garden in London, UK. By August, 2008 merchandise was also available online at Rugby.com.
In November 2012, it was announced that Ralph Lauren would be ending the Rugby line by February 2013. On February 5, the Rugby.com website was closed with only links to Ralph Lauren.com remaining.
Brand history and identity
{{See also, Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren
Rugby Ralph Lauren was a concept created by
luxury lifestyle apparel
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natura ...
designer,
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his c ...
. The brand's first location opened at 342
Newbury Street in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
,
on October 23, 2004. Rugby's lower price point and edgier styling catered to a younger shopper than Lauren's other luxury clothing brands. Though the company experimented with logos, most of the clothing either carried a small embroidered
rugby player, "R.L.F.C", or a
skull and crossbones motif. Similarly, the brand adopted its signature colours of yellow and navy stripes on its shopping bags, tags and other promotional material.
The brand consisted of a line of rugby shirts, polos, jackets, suits, dresses, outerwear and accessories, all with a distressed or embellished flair, as well as Rugby Ralph Lauren signature
Rugby Football shirts that could be customized by buying patches in-store. Tying in with the brand name, the staple of the concept was the
rugby shirt. Originally, these rugby shirts were created in the school colors in the college towns that the Rugby stores resided. Rugby also had a full book of patches that customers could purchase to personalize their rugby shirt in-store. Typically, there were also multiple luxury items in each line such as leather jackets and blazers.
Store locations
Rugby was available through its network of stores or on its website RUGBY.com. The brand held eleven stores and one flagship. Stock was also available in limited quantities in Ralph Lauren Outlet stores.
Store locations
* 342
Newbury Street in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
,
- Rugby Ralph Lauren flagship.
* 43 King Street,
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
in
London, United Kingdom
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
—First European Rugby Ralph Lauren store (Opened September 3, 2011)
* 1065
Wisconsin Avenue
Wisconsin Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland suburbs. The southern terminus begins in Georgetown just north of the Potomac River, at an intersection with K Street under the elevated Whitehurst Freeway. The ...
in
Georgetown, Washington, D.C. - The only store to include Rugby Food & Spirits.
*
Stanford Shopping Center in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was ...
—Closed January 2010
* 2071 Union Street in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
* 115 Elm Street in
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census.
About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...
* 195 Greenwich Avenue in
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...
* 1000 West Armitage in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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* 1123 Emmet St N in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...
* 99 University Place in
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
* 380 & 390 Bleecker St. in
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
*
Highland Park Village
Highland Park Village is an upscale shopping plaza located at the southwest corner of Mockingbird Lane and Preston Road in Highland Park, Texas and was the first self-contained shopping center in America. The Highland Park Village was declared a ...
in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...
*
University Village in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
—Closed January 2009
* Main Street in
East Hampton, New York
*
Natick Collection
The Natick Mall (previously named the Natick Collection) is a shopping mall in Natick, Massachusetts. The original facility was the first enclosed shopping mall in Greater Boston upon opening in 1966; it was demolished and replaced by a larger ...
in
Natick, Massachusetts (now closed)
*
Omotesando, Shibuya-Ku in
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...
*
The Mall at Short Hills in
Short Hills, New Jersey
* Franklin Street in
Chapel Hill, NC
All of these locations were closed by February 2013, when the brand ceased trading.
A promotional rugby football was produced and used as a display in the stores. On it was written on the blue side, Ralph Lauren, the other blue side ESTABD 2004 and on both yellow sides of the football RUGBY. This football was located at the Boston store on Newbury Street, Boston, MA.
External links
www.rugby.com - Rugby Ralph Lauren official site
Clothing brands of the United States
Sportswear brands