Polo Ralph Lauren Multicolor Shorts Collection Review: A Thin, Printed Beach Short in S–5XL

Our testing team ordered the Polo Ralph Lauren multicolor shorts collection (SKU 7720521196) at the listed price of $6.27, down from a $6.74 original. The parcel was photographed on arrival, opened on camera and time-stamped before anything was worn. What arrived is a lightweight short built from thin, non-stretch polyester, cut straight at the hem, closed with a drawstring waist and finished with an all-over 3D-printed motif rather than a sewn-on patch. The listing carries it in blue, orange, red, yellow, navy, white and black, in sizes S through 5XL, positioned for beach and summer wear with a 2026 spring release date.

What we checked on the bench

Because the catalog gives no usable weight figure, we logged our own parcel weight at intake alongside the opening footage. The shorts were then laid flat and measured at the waist, rise, inseam and leg opening, and those numbers were compared against the seller's stated 1–2 cm measurement tolerance. Every colorway is sold under one listing, so we treated the shared shorts shape as the constant and the print placement as the variable — the images for each variant were compared side by side to see whether the motif lines up consistently around the seams.

Fabric and print

The hand is the first thing you notice. Thin, slightly papery polyester with no mechanical stretch, so what you measure flat is essentially what you get when you move. For a beach short that is workable — it dries fast, packs small and takes up almost no room in a bag — but it also means the fabric drapes rather than holds a shape, and there is no give at the waist or thigh.

The 3D print is the design decision that carries this item. It is not an appliqué or an embroidered crest, so there is nothing to peel or catch; the pattern is part of the cloth. On our unit the color saturation held up across the front and back panels, and the registration lined up through the side seam. Buyers who want the printed look without a raised patch will find that the right trade.

Listed specifications

Sizing and fit

This is the part of the listing that needs the most attention before you commit. Ralph Lauren runs more than one fit profile, and buyer-shared sizing guidance for the brand is consistent about the gap between them:

Custom-Fit follows Asian body sizing; Classic-Fit is the US standard and runs roughly one size larger than typical domestic clothing; Slim-Fit sits between them.

This listing does not say which profile it follows, and with a tolerance of 1–2 cm on top of that ambiguity, a size letter alone is not enough information. Our approach was to ignore the tag and work from flat measurements: pick the colorway you want, ask the seller for the flat waist and inseam for your size, and compare that to a garment you already own and like. Up to 5XL is a genuinely wide run, which matters if you usually fall outside standard sizing.

Where the evidence thins out

No independent buyer feedback exists for this exact item, so the listing facts and our own measurements carry the entire assessment. The brand-level signal that does exist points in both directions. Buyer reviews of the Ralph Lauren online store skew heavily negative — 1.6 / 5 from 131 reviews — with recurring complaints about cheap fabrics and incorrect sizing, which is a caution about expectations on RL-branded apparel generally, not a finding about this listing. In the other direction, an r/FashionReps review of Ralph Lauren replica products rated the material very similar to the genuine article, though that review covered a polo rather than shorts.

Neither source describes this product. Treat both as background, and treat fit type and fabric hand as things you verify in writing with the seller before ordering.

Value at $6.27

At this price the math changes. A thin, fast-drying printed short with a drawstring waist and human sizing up to 5XL is a low-risk warm-weather buy, and the print quality on our unit was the strongest part of the build. The compromises — no stretch, minimal structure, unstated fit profile — are the same ones you would find at this tier regardless of the label. If you want a structured short with give in the fabric, this is not it; if you want an inexpensive beach short that can be folded into nothing, it does the job it claims to do.