A Ralph Lauren Polo Bear Obsessive Explains Himself

For people, or sometimes, things we love, we attempt the impossible. In my case, this meant that last Friday I obsessively tapped at my phone and reloaded the Ralph Lauren Polo app, and then refreshed the Palace site, and then back to Ralph, and back again to Palace, all in hopes of buying a sweater with a bear on it. Ralph’s Polo Bear, specifically on a navy blue sweater is mid-skate trick dressed in what amounts to business-casual: Palace-branded blazer, a striped tie, a light blue button-down, and chinos. The details are perfect: on the bear’s wrist is a sporty watch band, and he’s wearing argyle socks. The item sold out long before I got anywhere near buying it, like I knew it would. The inevitable was still infuriating—I described the app with words not appropriate for this website. Eventually my coworkers just stopped responding to my whining. I sent another colleague working remotely a one-word message: seething. And deep down? I know. I know it’s a stupid thing to get this mad about missing out on a bear sweater, even if the bear is doing a sick heelflip. So, lately, I’ve been searching for an answer. Why, in God’s name, do I love this bear so much? Read more at GQ.