LayarHijau – The newly released workplace drama The Early Spring (《早春晴朗》) has sparked an unexpected conversation over a seemingly minor costume detail. In the first episode, Sun Qian (孙千), who plays Shang Zhi Tao (尚之桃), wears a striped polo shirt with a small horse logo on the chest during a job interview. Sharp-eyed viewers quickly noticed that the logo appeared to be an imitation of Ralph Lauren’s iconic Polo logo rather than the real thing.
The discovery initially drew criticism, with some viewers questioning whether the drama’s costume department had made a mistake. Some even wondered why a major urban drama could not get an authentic branded shirt for its lead character.
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But the reaction soon took a different turn. Instead of seeing the fake polo as a production blunder, many viewers began praising the choice for making Shang Zhi Tao feel more like a real young job seeker.
Shang Zhi Tao is a 22-year-old recent college graduate who leaves her hometown for Beijing in search of work. For her first job interview, she deliberately picks the polo shirt because she believes it will make her look presentable and help her make a good impression.
That detail resonated with viewers. A young graduate with limited financial resources may not be able to afford an authentic Ralph Lauren polo, but she could still want to dress well for an important job interview. The imitation shirt therefore fits both her financial situation and her mindset as someone just entering the workforce.
And an authentic Ralph Lauren polo is far from cheap. On Ralph Lauren’s official China website, some Polo shirts are priced at around ¥1,290 to ¥1,790, or roughly $180 to $250. For a recent college graduate who has yet to establish a stable income, spending several hundred dollars on a single polo shirt would be a significant expense.
That price difference is part of what made the costume choice feel so believable to viewers. Rather than dressing Shang Zhi Tao in an expensive branded shirt simply because she works in a major city, the drama gives her something much closer to what an ordinary young person with a limited budget might actually wear to an important interview.
Viewers contrasted this with the way young professionals are often portrayed in urban dramas, where even characters supposedly struggling financially seem to have wardrobes full of expensive designer brands.
One sentiment that emerged from the discussion was essentially that the drama had finally shown what ordinary young people actually look like when they are trying to appear presentable without having much money to spend.
The controversy also became more meaningful after the production addressed the story behind the shirt. The social media account for the character, “Shang Zhi Tao_Flora,” explained that the shirt was bought for her by her mother at a shopping mall in their hometown.
“My mom bought this for me at a shopping mall back home. It really brought me good luck,” the account wrote.
That explanation shifted the focus away from whether the shirt was authentic and toward the sentiment behind it. Rather than simply being a fake branded item, the shirt became a small reminder of a mother trying to help her daughter make a good impression as she sets out to build a career in Beijing.
The Early Spring follows Shang Zhi Tao as she leaves her hometown after college and unexpectedly lands a job at a prestigious advertising agency in Beijing. As a newcomer to the industry, she has to navigate the pressures of a competitive workplace while trying to establish herself in the city.
In the end, the imitation Ralph Lauren polo became more than a costume detail. What initially looked like a wardrobe mistake ended up being praised as one of the drama’s more grounded touches, giving Shang Zhi Tao a financial reality and everyday awkwardness that many viewers found much more relatable.
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