A few weeks ago I was asked by Ralph Lauren to do some styling work in London. At a high-net-worth evening held at the Bond Street store, I gave a short talk on separates, materials and formality, using pieces from the collection on the models.

It was a fun and interesting experience, and it especially got me thinking about time.

Everyone I spoke to at the event knew Ralph Lauren, but some had never been to the store. The most common reason was lack of time, but some also said they rarely shopped.

When we are young, time is often plentiful and cash is scarce. That balance gradually shifts as we get older (and at some point randomly assign children) and our priorities change.

This dynamic is one of the reasons why young men can be embarrassed by people buying clothes they don’t think are worth it, such as paying for expensive stores, expensive employees, and expensive marketing costs efficiently.

But for anyone with little time on their hands, having a well-informed and sophisticated staff is invaluable. It is even more valuable than the clothes themselves. Because without clothes, you might not enjoy wearing clothes because you might buy the wrong things, the wrong size, or not be able to figure out how to wear them. How well the clothes are made has little to do with it.

This also applies to marketing. Lookbooks and social media can help customers suggest ways to put together outfits using specific pieces they already own or like. We all know how much you learn about style by trying, trying, experimenting, experimenting. Not everyone has that time.

I spoke with several personal shoppers and stylists recently, and they all said interest has increased. Because often times people don’t get the advice they used to get in stores.

This also comes from consulting I do with my readers. So people who read Permanent Style find the same thing.

I think we’ll see more brands moving in this direction in the coming years. A bit like what Saman Amel served. Brands know that as good service in general becomes increasingly rare, customers are willing to pay for more personalized treatment.

Aside from these thoughts, I have really enjoyed working with the Ralph team and the current collection. Nothing can evaluate the value of clothes differently than looking at the inside of the brand.

For example, as a consumer I typically focus on individual items rather than looking at the collection as a whole. Partly this is because most brands I know don’t do large collections, but it’s also because I’m more focused on whether a particular piece is right for me.

Seeing how the RL collections are presented internally made me appreciate how each collection is organized around a theme, especially color.

For example, the Purple Label Pre-Spring collection, which we primarily worked on, was divided into two main sections: the brown and gray story, and then the navy and champagne.

Brown and gray, with lots of cashmere, suede, and flannel (above), were perfect colors for winter.

Navy and Champagne (below) were the same tone, but what I found interesting here were the tones used. It was a similar tone with quite a bit of yellow (‘champagne’) rather than being lighter or browner.

As I looked at the looks lined up, I realized how much the Purple Label was all about keeping the color range strictly limited – either a jacket and a knit, or a knit and trousers in the same color.

These two themes were eventually transitioned into a smaller ‘Sage’ theme, with the distinctive Ralph shade of green mixed with pure white and burgundy added as an accent.

It made me really consider the thought that went into each mini collection. The reason I say mini is because a few weeks later Pre-Spring was complemented by Spring Unique, a completely different color story.

What I highlight most is the different ways RL mixes beige and black. This means it is used for evening wear, leather jackets and overshirts (below).

Thank you to everyone who attended the event and to Violet, Jonathan, Matthew and everyone else at RL.