When I heard that Ralph Lauren was going to launch a new perfume in a jewel-studded bottle for some $2000+, I thought: why not — every other brand is jumping on the luxe bandwagon despite these tough economic times, why not Ralph Lauren? A week or so after I first heard about it, I spied a tester of something I didn't recognize hiding behind the tissue box on a Neiman Marcus perfume counter (always peek around the back, you never know what you'll find) and asked what it was. The sales associate told me it was to be the new Ralph Lauren, that it wouldn't launch until later in the year, and that it would be very expensive. She let me spray some on a card. I sniffed, giggled at the audacity of charging so very much for such a thing, and then promptly forgot all about it — easy enough, since Love, Ralph Lauren is not a particularly memorable fragrance.
Later, I realized that it wasn't really so expensive, or at least, it needn't be…