Ralph Lauren's fashion empire has sold an old-fashioned Anglo American style of clothing to an adoring public since 1967. In fact, the flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York City sells far more than just clothes. The "Polo" brand offers its devotees the dream of an upper middle-class past. The tweeds, tartans, polo shirts, and boat shoes that feature the brand name all belong to a more comfortable, leisured life than most Americans can afford. Fittingly, the peak of Lauren's fame came when he designed the wardrobe for Robert Redford (1937–) in the role of Gatsby in The Great Gatsby (1974).

To make his enduring American style, Lauren (born Ralph Lipschitz) combines images of "new-world" adventure with "old-world" aristocracy. He is revered and sometimes mocked for his conservative designs, but Lauren has proved adept at creating clothes that express America's fantasies about itself. He also showed...