Fashion Designer Ralph Lauren has become the epitome of classic fashion. With product lines such as Polo/Ralph Lauren for Men, Ralph Lauren for Women, Double RL, Ralph Lauren Home, and even Ralph Lauren paint, it makes us wonder who the man behind the label really is.

The Polo brand known today as the preppy English-tweed look it conveys did not get to be a million dollar empire because Lauren was lucky, nor because Lauren had an immaculate sense of style. Lauren not only had an innovative mind, but he also knew that packaging and presentation were of utmost importance -- something he didn't need to learn while studying for his business degree.

In the late 60's, while Lauren was trying to develop his line of wide ties, Bloomingdale's insisted Lauren remove his name from the ties' label, and make his ties narrower. Not giving into the retail giant Bloomingdale's, Lauren stuck to his guns and refused to sell to the department store under such circumstances. Suffice it to say, the retailer came back crawling to Lauren and his ties under his terms, after having seen the brand's success. The rest as they say, is history.

While Polo was considered the "power suit" of the early 80's, Armani had brought the Italian power suit back in style later on in the decade, which pushed aside Polo's preppy look. Lauren had fought back with his sophisticated line of men's shirts and suits, made of fine fabrics. He successfully catered to the office worker who wanted to look stylish, while looking powerful in the office. Next came Lauren's line of women's clothing, followed by his home collection line consisting of sheets, towels and furniture in the early 80's.

Not only was he the first fashion designer to have his own store, but he was the first to sell the whole lifestyle image that consumers flock to worldwide. Lauren sells much more than clothes and home furnishings; he sells a lifestyle image of sophistication, class and taste.

To date, the firm operates about 275 retail and outlet stores in the US and licenses more than 100 others worldwide.