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When it comes to the world of fashion, there are very few designers and icons that are as or more prolific than Ralph Lauren. The entrepreneur has been at the very heart of the fashion industry for some years now and his creations are just as in demand as they ever were. As such, he is undoubtedly one of the American fashion designers that every budding designer aspires to be. Ralph Lauren displayed an amazing awareness of fashion from a young age and had a real talent, so he is a shining example of what an individual can do.

The Young Designer

Born Ralph Rueben Lifshitz in The Bronx, New York on October 14, 1939, the young designer most definitely did not have the easiest of childhoods. As the son of a Belarus immigrant who painted housings for a living, the entrepreneur knew what it was to be poor. In fact, it is a safe assumption that the family struggled. This taught Lauren the value of money because it meant that he had to work for everything he wanted. On the whole, that was fashion. He would take any jobs that he could to earn a few dollars, which would ultimately then be spent on suits and other fashion items that made him appear to be more financially sound than he actually was.

Ralph Lauren actually embarked upon his fashion journey when he was at the Martha Stern Talmudical Academy. Before he was 16 years old, he was selling ties and other items that he had actually designed to his classmates. If this did not show his desire to make enough money to live comfortably and get out of the area he grew up in then the comment that the entrepreneur wrote in his yearbook most definitely did. Lauren stated that he wanted to be a millionaire.

From The Army To Fashion

Ralph Lauren did attend college for a time at the City University of New York, but he only studied his chosen field of business for two years before dropping out. He felt that he was not cut out for the business life, but he had never thought of studying fashion. Instead, the entrepreneur took the best route he thought he could to boost his chances of becoming a millionaire. When that did not work, he chose to enroll in the United States Army in 1962. It was only when he was discharged in 1964 that he thought about a career in fashion.

His first foray into the fashion world was working as a salesman for the Brooks Brothers in New York. Ever ambitious, Lauren was not happy to settle in that job and began to design his own line of clothes. The range was known as Polo. The entrepreneur continued to work his day job while designing in his spare time. He eventually opened the first Polo Ralph Lauren store in 1984. It was not long before his couture began to make waves in the fashion industry and his name soared to an iconic level.

Today, Ralph Lauren clothing is as much in demand as it ever was. Celebrities wear it on the red carpets of award ceremonies and premieres. The entrepreneur is also the toast of fashion week after fashion week. He has used his Polo label to great effect and his creations will no doubt live on after his death. Today he has 35 boutiques in America alone and people from all over the world head to them for the label. He also has lines in a number of department stores and designer stores throughout the United States. His jeans line sells particularly well and can be found in hundreds of stores. Lauren also has exclusive boutiques in a handful of international cities and department stores, which is why the label is so popular throughout the world. As such, Ralph Lauren has proved that childhood dreams can come true even if you have no formal training. As long as you have a talent and the desire to develop it, anything is possible.

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