Dressing Like the Ralph Lauren Polo Bear Is the Latest TikTok Fashion Trend

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On TikTok, trend cycles move quickly. One moment everyone's dressing like a coastal grandmother, the next, creators are focusing on the "clean girl" look, channeling a mob wife, or embracing balletcore. But, we hope the latest sought-after aesthetic—dressing like Ralph Lauren's Polo Bear—is here to stay.

"Come to think of it, this lil dude is wearing a really freakin' cute outfit," Lindy Goodson says in a now-viral TikTok. "Look at the layering here! I want to dress like him." She then pulls items from her closet to channel the Polo Bear's look. After she gets dressed, she says, "I'm not messing around when I say the Polo Bears might be the key to inspiration, and testing out new things that I have needed."

Goodson—who posts on TikTok and Instagram under the handle @the_real_lin_shady, and usually shares content around home decor, fashion, and beauty, kicked off the #dressinglikepolobear trend, captioning her video "my best outfit in.... possibly years i fear."

"I had the Polo Bear sweater on and was turning my camera on to just film a regular 'get dressed with me' video based on the sweater," Goodson tells Town & Country about the genesis of her video. "As I looked in the viewfinder to make sure everything was set up right, I realized I had almost all of the elements that the bear was wearing, and decided to try recreating that outfit. I thought it might be a failure, though, so I fully expected to need to delete the footage and restart—but as it was coming together, I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked it all on."

In the past week, Goodson and other fashion creators on TikTok have been taking note of the stylish bear. It's the latest example of the emergence of Ralphcore. "The creative cool kid," Jessica Iredale writes in our March 2024 issue, wears "Polo in a kind of post-ironic way, finding the once ubiquitous rugby shirts, windbreakers, and American flag and Polo Bear sweaters on vintage or resale sites and folding them into their everyday wardrobes." Polo Bears somehow straddle the line of nostalgic and trendy—perhaps due to the timelessness of the brand.

The history of Ralph Lauren's iconic Polo Bear dates back to President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. As the story goes, Roosevelt was on a hunt in 1902, and failed to shoot a bear. So, his companions captured one and tied it to a tree for the president to kill. Roosevelt declined. A cartoon published in the Washington Post imagined this moment, and, as the paper later detailed, it soon "became part of Roosevelt’s larger than life persona, evidence of his benevolence, his principles, his kinship with nature. And, when a New York shop owner decided to name his signature stuffed bear after the animal-loving president, it fueled the production of a million toys and a new kind of relationship to wildlife." That New York shop owner was Richard Steiff, who soon made adorable stuffed bear toys—called Teddy bears, after the president.

Decades later, Jerry Lauren, Ralph Lauren's brother, who works at his brother's eponymous brand, is "a passionate collector of Steiff bears," per RL Mag. "He estimates his collection to be at 30 to 40 bears, including six that he keeps on his bed." In 1990, Jerry's colleagues "had a Steiff bear dressed in Jerry's likeness—blue oxford shirt, tartan tie, cable-knit sweater—and presented it to him for his birthday. At the same time, a Western-inspired bear was presented to Ralph." Creating these bears soon became an annual tradition for the brothers, and the Polo Bear was born.

The bear's whimsy, juxtaposed against classic Ralph Lauren style, is what makes the trend so appealing, Godson says. "The bear itself is so adorable, which makes it eye-catching. Also, he serves as a sort of neutral model for the outfits. When I put a Polo Bear on screen, people are able to imagine themselves in a similar outfit made up of their own pieces. The Polo Bear doesn't showcase a specific body type or look, just the outfit on an animal—making them universally inspiring."

While Goodson went viral last week, she was not the first to channel the Polo Bear; there are a few creators who have tried it out before. For example, last year, Elliot Duprey, who posts about vintage luxury fashion, made a video of an outfit inspired by the Polo Bear, captioning it, "the polo bear is owner of some of the hardest fits known to man."

"What makes the Bear so good is that Ralph Lauren is so good," Duprey tells Town & Country. "Ralph encapsulates a ton of different American styles; it's an aspirational brand in a lot of ways, and it's accessible at a lot of different levels."

He adds, "Most outfits that the Polo Bear wears can be emulated with what you already have in your closet. You don't need to go out and buy more things—I'm a big proponent of that in general." Goodson concurs, saying, "I rely heavily on my thrifted pieces for these looks (or my mom's, ha! I raided her closet for a couple outfits) and most of my favorite secondhand finds were from the men's section."

She adds, "While the Polo Bears serve as fabulous inspiration, we all should strive to make the looks our own using what we have and love—that's what makes it cool! If you're shopping and you find a cool belt or a jacket that speaks to you, I wouldn't think 'would the Polo Bear wear this?' but instead, if it speaks to you, it's a yes. You can integrate that into Polo Bear-inspired outfits, and it becomes personalized to you and your style."

If you feel like you're in a shopping mood, here's a quick guide on how to dress like the Polo Bear.

Here's how to dress like the Polo Bear:

Step one: Pick your Polo Bear inspiration

There are many Polo Bears to choose from, but here are four classic sweaters to start you off on your Polo Bear fashion journey:

Polo Bear Cotton Crewneck Sweater

Polo Bear Cotton-Linen Sweater

Polo Bear Sweater

Polo Bear Cotton-Linen Sweater

(You can browse Ralph Lauren's Polo Bear shop, here.)

Step two: The outfit

Most Polo Bear outfits, Duprey says, feature "pieces that people already have. Maybe not everyone has a cowboy hat or a suede fringe coat, but most people have a button down, or a blazer of some sort." The outfits all feature "color combinations that are easy to mimic" and even if you don't have the exact pieces, he notes, "the shapes and cuts of clothing" the bears wear, like pleated trousers, are easy to find.

For our purposes, we'll pick the "Iconic Polo Bear"—perhaps the most recognizable of all the Polo Bears. In this bear's 'fit, they are wearing a Ralph Lauren flag sweater over a light blue button-down, wide-legged jeans, loafers, and a fun belt—all very easy to replicate.

Flag Cotton Crewneck Sweater

Garçon Classic Shirt

Braided Vachetta Leather Belt

Le Slim Palazzo Raw After

Women's Gucci Jordaan loafer

Beadnell Quilted Jacket

Key to dressing like a Polo Bear is layering, Goodson says. "With spring and summer right around the corner, I know I can't layer sweaters, cardigans, and jackets anymore but that doesn't mean I have to give up the iconic layered looks," she explains. "I will be focusing on elements like bandanas and silk scarves (around the neck or in my hair), belts, sweaters over the shoulders, and sunglasses."

Step three: Accessorize

Many Polo Bears sport scarves, hats, and sunglasses. Take this one, for instance: They have a bandana tied around their neck, a sweater around their shoulders, and a pair of round sunglasses. For Goodson, leaning into the bear's accessories has definitely impacted her own style. "It seems obvious when I say it, but looking back at my outfits I definitely see moments when a belt or scarf would've leveled-up the look," she says.

Depending on the bear, you can always channel Taylor Swift, who is a noted fan of Ralph Lauren baseball caps—she opts for the cotton chino one. Or throw on a Panama hat (Meghan Markle loves Cuyana hats, pictured below) or a cowboy hat.

Wool-Silk Bandanna

Cotton Chino Baseball Cap

Pantos Sunglasses

Packable Ecuador Hat

Grande Unita fringed cashmere scarf

Natural Beaver Hat

And voilà! You're dressed like the Polo Bear.

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