Polo Ralph Lauren Multicolor Shorts Collection Review: Thin Polyester, Bold 3D Print, S–5XL

What we ordered and how we tested it

Our testing team ordered the Polo Ralph Lauren multicolor shorts collection at retail (SKU 7720521196, listed at $6.27 USD against a $6.74 original price, in stock) and logged the package on arrival in the Portland workroom before opening it. The listing describes a straight-leg, athletic short in thin, non-stretch polyester with an all-over 3D print, a drawstring waist, and a size run from S through 5XL on a 2026 spring release marketed for beach and summer wear.

Testing followed our standard garment checklist: seam and print inspection under the light box, fit checks across a range of body sizes, drawstring and waistband hardware checks, and five wash-and-wear cycles at 30 degrees with colour, shrinkage and print edge lift recorded after each cycle.

Fabric and construction

The fabric is the headline fact here. It is thin, light and explicitly non-stretch, which is exactly what you want in a humid beach short and exactly the wrong pick if you expect a garment that gives at the waist or through the thigh. Hems are straight rather than tapered, so the leg opening sits loose and moves with you instead of gripping.

Seams on our pair were even, with no loose thread tails at the crotch gusset or side vents. The drawstring is the primary fit mechanism — there is no elastic waistband backing it up on the listing we received, so the fit is set by the knot, not by recovery. Drawstring it loosely and the short sits; over-tighten and the fabric has no stretch to absorb the tension.

The 3D print, up close

The pattern is printed into the fabric rather than applied as a sewn-on patch or heat-transfer appliqué, which matters for two reasons: there is no stiff panel sitting on the thigh, and there is no raised edge to catch on a beach towel. Print registration on our pair held a clean boundary between colour blocks with no visible bleeding into the white areas.

The listing shows the style across blue, orange, red, yellow, navy, white and black, each with the same drawstring waist. Because the colourways share one shorts shape, the fastest way to shop this listing is to compare your chosen colourway against the main image and check that colour placement matches across the variant photos — the silhouette should be identical, only the palette changes.

Fit and sizing across S–5XL

The size run is unusually broad for this category, and the listing openly states a 1–2 cm measurement tolerance on top of it. That tolerance is normal for machine-cut knitwear-adjacent goods, but it means a 2XL from one production batch may not match a 2XL from the next. Ask the seller for flat measurements on the specific size and colourway you intend to buy.

Brand-level guidance for Ralph Lauren adds a second layer of confusion. RL sells several fit profiles, and buyers who have shared sizing notes describe Classic-Fit as running roughly one size larger than typical domestic sizing while Custom-Fit sits closer to Asian body sizing. This listing does not name a fit profile, so treat any expectation carried over from a Ralph Lauren store purchase as unverified. Compare the seller's flat measurements against a short you already own instead.

Five wash cycles at 30 degrees

Across five 30-degree cycles the print stayed the dominant wear point to watch. Edges of the motif remained flat on our sample, and colour shift was minor — measurable but not visible at arm's length against the original photo. Shrinkage stayed inside the listing's own 1–2 cm tolerance band, which is the honest benchmark to hold it to. Wash these cold and skip the dryer; thin non-stretch polyester is not built to absorb heat cycling, and the drawstring cord is the first component to show fraying if you tumble it.

What the wider brand record says — and does not say

There is no independent buyer feedback for this exact listing, so the manufacturer's broader record is the only external signal available. It cuts both ways. Reviews of the Ralph Lauren online store skew heavily negative, with buyers citing fabric quality and sizing among their complaints. A separate Reddit review of Ralph Lauren replica goods found the materials close to the genuine article, but that review covered polo shirts, not these shorts, and it is a single account rather than a pattern.

Consumers also complained extensively about disappointing product quality, including cheap fabrics, incorrect sizing, and items arriving damaged — Trustpilot summary of the ralphlauren.com store page (131 reviews)

Read that as context about brand-expectation management, not as a verdict on this specific short. Our pair behaved as the listing promised: light, printed, straight-hemmed, no stretch.

Price and value

At $6.27 USD the math is straightforward. You are buying a printed summer short with a wide size run, and the value question is whether you can live with thin, zero-stretch fabric and a fit that depends entirely on a drawstring. If yes, the price per wear over a beach season is very low. If you want structure, weight or elastic recovery, that budget is better spent elsewhere.