***An Open Letter to Express about the strange disappearance of their Signature Polo***
August 20th, 2010
Dear Express:
I’ll spare you the deserved compliments on your affordable suits, the 1MX shirt, and some of your winter coats in order to get straight to the point.
Where the hell did the Express Signature Polo go?
Y’know. The plain ones. With the stretch in the fabric. Solid colors, sometimes stripes, but nothing too over the top. These were one of the few articles of clothing in your stores without the Express lion logo on them. Not even a tiny one. Maybe there was one on the tag, but I haven’t ever noticed. I was too busy pulling the best damn polo in existence over my head to look for any branding.
And now all of your available polos have some weird shield, or strange epaulets, or the lion. Look, I understand the need to self promote. But on everything? What about a little subtlety? A touch of humility? The logo is enormous on some of them. MGM Lion big. Hakuna Matata Big. Frighteningly large.
The fit on the Signature was perfect. The stretch gave just enough, and the sleeves were the exact right length. They’re durable, easy to dress up or down, and are (or were?) one of the best things you have going. I used to pay full price for those things. And coming from me? That’s saying a lot.
But they’re gone. And not a peep. Say it ain’t so Express. Say it ain’t so.
Sincerely,
P.S. If the Express Signature really is dead, could you pass on the stretch formula/secret to Target’s Mossimo polos? Because they’re 100% jersey cotton, and the only thing that’s missing is that slight bit of give.
If not the Express Signature what’s your go-to polo shirt? Because I now need some suggestions. Leave those in the comments section below.