Inside the "Penitentiary Polo" Era of Ralph's Biggest Fans (EXCLUSIVE)

Double Tap to ZoomStyleThe Lo Lifes’ ‘Penitentiary Polo’ Era Finally Got Its DueHow hard do the Lo Lifes ride for Polo Ralph Lauren? As hard as humanly possible. The brand's most dedicated superfans first came to be in the 1980s, when the Lo Life subculture was born in Brooklyn. Their goal: procure as much Polo as possible, no matter the cost or risk. That made them the best-dressed crew of department store shoplifters in the five boroughs, whose Polo wardrobes became a street-level remix of Lauren’s romanticized American Dream.In the four decades since, the OG fashion fandom has become an international movement, as we saw at last week’s PoloFest Tokyo, an inaugural three-day celebration of all things Polo. The Lo Life subculture was immortalized in 2016 with Bury Me With the Lo On, a highly coveted coffee-table tome by photographer Tom Gould and Lo Life cofounder Thirstin Howl the 3rd that quickly sold out and has spent the last decade as a secondhand-market grail. It was a fitting tribute, but the book never quite told the full story. That’s changed with the extended 10th anniversary edition’s new chapter: “Polo in the Penitentiary.” As the name suggests, this exploration of Polo's very real grip on the American prison system adds a new dimension to the lore, with archival photos of steezed-up inmates dripping in Polo even behind bars. Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.“The deeper we went back into the archive, the more we realized the story was much bigger than the book we made ten years ago,” Gould says in the press release. With the book set to release in December for $99, fashion’s most devoted fanbase is finally getting the definitive history it deserves, prison yards and all.Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase. Want to shop the products our editors actually love? Visit our SHOPPER page and subscribe to the newsletter for recs on all things fashion, footwear, and beauty.We RecommendFinally, It’s Time to Lean Into the Whole Countryside Heartthrob ThingJapanese Artisans Reimagined Old Ralph Fits For PoloFest TokyoDenim Chinos Are Better Than JeansRalph Lauren Turned the Loafer Into a SlipperState of the Art: 210 Years of Black Handcraft Went Into Ralph Lauren's QuiltsWhat To Read NextInside the "Penitentiary Polo" Era of Ralph's Biggest Fans (EXCLUSIVE)Burton Is Dumping 50 Years of Wearable Snowboard History on DepopBottega Just Broke Its Vow Of Instagram SilenceBeauty Freak: Good Head Is Beauty’s Next ObsessionHow Germany Wears Dr. MartensNike’s Angular Air Force 1 Is a Stylish Square