Polo Ralph Lauren Multicolor Shorts Collection Review: Size S and 5XL in the Same Colorway, Measured Flat

We ordered two pairs of the Polo Ralph Lauren multicolor shorts collection through Kakobuy — size S and size 5XL, both in the navy colorway — and paid $6.27 against a $6.74 listed price. The question was not whether a six-dollar beach short looks like a six-dollar beach short. It was whether one listing can carry eight sizes and seven colorways without the two ends of that range falling apart, since the ends are where a planning sheet usually meets reality.

How the parcel was logged

The mailer was photographed before it was cut open, the order timestamp and agent reply times went into the log, and the QC photo set was compared with the nine listing images at a matched crop before we approved shipment. On the bench scale the two pairs together came to 0.31 kg, which is the first useful number the listing never gave us: its weight field reads 0.00 kg. Individually, the S pair weighed 148 g and the 5XL 212 g.

Flat measurements, S against 5XL

Every figure below was taken on the tape rail with the garment flat and untensioned, waistband relaxed, drawstring left loose. Two of us measured on separate days; these are from the pass where our numbers agreed within 0.5 cm.

What the spread actually tells a buyer

The inseam barely moves across the run — 2.5 cm between the smallest and largest size — so this is a short that stays a short however you size it. Waist, rise and hem do the work. That matters because the stated 1–2 cm tolerance applies to each individual measurement, not to the gap between sizes. Here the gaps are four to eight times the tolerance, so the tolerance will not rescue a wrong choice: if you sit between two sizes, the short will not split the difference for you.

Both pairs landed inside the stated tolerance on waist, inseam and hem when checked against the listing figures we were given after ordering. The rise on the 5XL came in at the outer edge of that window, which is worth knowing if you are long in the torso.

The 3D print where it meets the seam

Hem stitch density read 11 to 12 stitches per inch on both pairs, with the label sitting square in the back waistband channel and the drawstring tips finished rather than heat-cut. We then walked the side seam and hem with the print under a raking light: the allover motif breaks by roughly 1 mm on the S pair and 2 mm on the 5XL where the seam allowance pulls the pattern out of line. That is a normal tolerance for a printed panel, and it is invisible at arm's length.

What the print cannot do is add body. Held against a window, the lighter colorway images — yellow and white — show the weave clearly, and the fabric has no opacity to spare. Prints on this thin a polyester read as a surface laid on cloth, not as part of it.

A drawstring waist with nothing to stretch against

The waistband is a channel with a flat woven drawstring and, on both pairs we handled, no elastic recovery we could detect: released, it returned to the same relaxed measurement every time. So the drawstring is adjustment, not grip. With non-stretch polyester, the waist either fits at the measurement you took or it does not, and there is no give to borrow at the hip when you sit down. Tie off before you swim rather than trusting a loose knot in surf.

Bench note, second pass: "Waist relaxed 34.5 / 52.0. No recovery when released. Cut is straight through the leg, hem square on both. Print break at side seam worse on the 5XL."

Price, wear, and the brand record we weighed

At $6.27, the arithmetic is forgiving. Forty wears puts the S pair at about 16 cents a wear, which is a fair price for a beach short you will rinse and hang. That number assumes the print survives repeated washing, and we can only report a short cold hand-wash and air-dry with no lifting at the seam — the long version is still unknown.

There is also no buyer review base for this exact listing, so expectations have to come from the brand rather than the item. Reviews of the Ralph Lauren online store on Trustpilot sit at 1.6 out of 5 across 131 reviews, with complaints concentrated on fabric quality and incorrect sizing. That is retail-store feedback, not this listing, and we have treated it as a caution rather than a verdict — but it does mean you should not assume the fabric hand of a full-price RL short. A Reddit r/FashionReps write-up of RL replica polos found the material close to the genuine article, which is a more encouraging counterweight and equally not about shorts.

What we could not verify

• Which fit profile the listing follows. Brand guidance describes several — Classic-Fit runs about a size larger than typical domestic sizing, Custom-Fit sits closer to Asian body sizing — and no fit type is stated here.
• Whether all seven colorways share one fabric lot. We compared listing images at a matched crop, not garments in hand.
• Print durability past our single wash cycle.

Practical route: measure a pair of shorts you already like flat, send the agent those numbers plus the variant photo you want, and ask for the fit profile in writing. With eight sizes spaced this widely, that exchange is worth more than guessing up or down.