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It's Exactly the Right Time to Buy Ralph Lauren's Iconic Flag Sweater

Photo credit: Elaine Chung - Hearst Owned
Photo credit: Elaine Chung - Hearst Owned

From Esquire

SHOP $248, ralphlauren.com


Unbridled patriotic enthusiasm hasn't exactly been en vogue as of late. If the first image that comes to mind when you think of the term is of a half-naked white supremacist in a viking hat storming the Capitol, you're probably not alone. So it might be time to reconsider your relationship with your long-lost sense of national pride. Today, Joe Biden will begin his term as the 46th President of the United States. For many Americans, his inauguration represents a welcome respite from the everyday horrors his predecessor wantonly courted—or, at the very least, a return to some semblance of pre-Trump normalcy. (Even if "normalcy" just means four years of deeply frustrating political gridlock.)

In the midst of all this—gestures vaguely at wildly unkempt apartment, styrofoam takeout boxes littered across the floorit can be hard making out any silver linings. And yet, a resounding repudiation of Trump at the polls is undoubtedly good news. So if you want to indulge in expressing a little national pride for once, I won't judge you. (Hell, I might even join you.)

And if you're jonesing to get in on the spirit of the day without impulse buying the sort of saccharine political merchandise that looks dated the moment it arrives, there are few better options than Ralph Lauren's Iconic Flag sweater, a fixture of the designer's collections for decades and a purchase you won't regret making come this time next year.

If it's good enough for Joe...

Rumor has it, the President-elect himself will turn to the brand to dress him for the swearing-in ceremony later today, and for good reason. Lauren is a designer who tends to see the best in America (even when the country doesn't deserve it), and if you're looking for an invigorating jolt of patriotism injected straight into your veins, there's no one better to administer the dose than him, the most famous American designer on the whole damn planet and a tireless ambassador of the American aesthetic—y'know, the one he helped make a bona fide thing in the first place.

It just so happens to be a great sweater.

Sure, the sweater's timely. But more importantly, it's timeless. Ralph Lauren's been cranking out these bad boys for years now (making 'em in the good ol' USA the whole while) and likely isn't stopping any time soon. It's a design inextricably associated with the brand, one you should feel free to bust out not only on every Inauguration Day (and/or July 4th) going forward, but on regular days too. Lauren's perspective is an unabashedly optimistic one, and wearing one of his most popular designs might be the easiest way to borrow some of his unfailingly good cheer.

*Extremely Kamala Harris voice* We did it, Joe. Now it's time to dress the part.

SHOP $248, ralphlauren.com

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