It’s that time of the year, and it’s Ralph Lauren’s annual Lunar New Year Polo Bear sweater release.
The new Ralph Lauren Polo Bear Lunar New Year Sweaters (2022-2023) are out and for this post, I will focus on the standard version (about $400), not the Purple Label ($800) or the women’s sweater ($1500).
So, for those who are wondering what is Ralph Lauren Polo Bear?, I do have an article that you can read here. So, please check that article out!
But Ralph Lauren Polo Bear unlike the Ralph Lauren pony, it’s seen more of a luxury type of item, especially when it comes to the knit sweaters. The Polo Bear can be seen on various Ralph Lauren brands, so may it be Polo Ralph Lauren or Purple Label, you can see Polo Bear in a variety of fashion.
Many who want affordable, can get hats, socks, t-shirts and other merchandise but for the hardcore collector and those who don’t mind spending several hundred dollars or thousands of dollars, the Ralph Lauren Polo Bear sweaters are popular, may they be collectible, worn or resold (even the used sweaters still fetch several hundred dollars per sweater).
So, for this Lunar New Year sweater, what we have is a Polo Bear similar to Coco Bear. First, let me show the Coco Bear sweater I own.
Now comparing it to the Lunar New Year for 2022->2023, there are noticeable differences aside from color.
This latest Lunar New Year sweater is on RL 2000 red featuring the yellow RL logo.
The Polo Bear is wearing a similar suit, loafers and also plaid socks. But the main difference is that he is wearing a normal sized dark blue/green striped tie as opposed to the thinner plaid tie that the previous Coco Bear wore.
Also, the big difference is the scarf, where as Coco Beart wore a red/white scarf. This time he wears a red/black scarf.
But the biggest element is instead of holding a cup of hot chocolate, the Polo Bear is holding a cup of Ralph’s Coffee.
While Ralph Lauren pretty much sells coffee, in December they do a few limited short time events where they do hot chocolate.
The sweater is regular fit, long sleeve with rib-knit cuffs. Ralph Lauren partnered with Better Cotton™ to improve cotton farming globally. Better Cotton trains farmers to use water efficiently, care for the health of the soil and natural habitats, reduce use of the most harmful chemicals, and implement the principles of decent work.
Although it is noted that “This product is sourced via a system of mass balance and therefore may not contain Better Cotton”.
Shell: 67% cotton, 33% linen. Design: 95% cotton, 5% other fibers.
And as always with Polo Bear sweaters…Hand wash or dry clean.
I really do like this year’s Ralph Lauren Lunar New Year sweater but I must admit that I primarily wear Polo Bear sweaters which are in black, blues, dark grays and greens. I do own one red, but only one, so this is one I will consider, considering I really do enjoy Ralph’s Coffee and of course, Polo Ralph Lauren.
