Reviewed: Valley Dreams "Lives Forever" Vale Sport Polo
There is more construction in this polo than in most jackets. It is worth going through piece by piece, because the price only makes sense once you see how much is actually on it.
The build
Washed piqué cotton, three-button placket, navy ribbed collar and cuffs tipped in white. Garment-washed, so it arrives with a broken-in hand rather than the board-stiff feel of new piqué.
Then the decoration, and there is a lot of it:
- A cream sash running corner to corner across the body
- A crowned gold 14 crest pinned high on the sash near the shoulder
- A VALLEYDREAMS 2000 patch low on the sash near the hem
- Two mounted polo players appliquéd through the middle of it, the lead rider with his mallet raised
- Lives Forever embroidered in white script above VALE SPORT
- An EVERYONE LIVES FOREVER / VALLEY DREAMS ATHLETIC DEPT. roundel on the chest, two riders with mallets crossed above five interlocking rings
Appliqué and embroidery, not print. That is the distinction that justifies the ticket — printed graphics sit on the surface and crack with age, stitched and appliquéd ones are part of the garment.
How it wears
Piqué has structure, and the garment wash takes the edge off it without making it limp. The ribbed collar holds its stand rather than flopping, which is what separates a polo that looks intentional from one that looks like it has been through a dryer too many times.
What it goes with
Nothing else that talks. This is about as loud as a top gets in this shop, and it is carrying five or six separate design elements already. Plain bottoms — a clean dark denim or a solid pant — and let it be the whole outfit.
The cream and gold give you a warm palette to work with. If you want to pick anything up, pick up the cream rather than the gold; gold-on-gold gets costume very fast.
A note on the crest
The roundel includes five interlocking rings. That is a design reference on the garment, and it is worth being aware of if you plan to feature it heavily in advertising — those marks are policed hard by their rights holders.
Who it's for
Someone buying a statement piece and treating it as one. Available in black and in a sun-faded brick red with the same build.
$139.99.
Shop the Valley Dreams "Lives Forever" Vale Sport Polo — Black — free US shipping over $150.