Many people mock those who spend all of their money on designer clothing - I should know - I'm one of them! However despite thinking that frittering your cash away on the "must have" pair of Armani jeans, I do have a bit of a thing about Polo Ralph Lauren.

Ralph Lauren has a very preppy american edge to it's design. Ralph the man probably comes no closer to the design process than you or I, but the overwhelming values of the brand are classic design, good quality, and great fit.

I like the fact that Polo Ralph Lauren clothing lasts very well. I still wear Ralph Lauren shirts which were bought about 5 years ago, and they are still as good as new - despite being worn at least once every couple of weeks.

The cut of the clothing is good as well - being american, its available in all sizes from small to, ahem, very large!

Polo Ralph Lauren can be expensive - £80 for a shirt is not uncommon.... But - watch out for the sales when shirts can be had for £30 to £40, and trousers for the same. Most department stores stock Ralph Lauren, as well as the Flagship store in Londons Bond Street.

Alternatively, if you want to save some cash, you have two options. One - head to Gretna (no not so people give you PRL as wedding presents!) to the Ralph Lauren Outlet store. This is the biggest Ralph Lauren outlet in Europe and is great for cheap ralph. So it may be last season, but who cares! (There is a smaller outlet store at Bicester).

Second - catch a plane to the US and visit any department store or outlet mall. Polo Ralph Lauren is a mid market brand in the US, so its not as expensive over there. Even the Madison Avenue store has great discounts on stock.