BOLO TRENDS
Weekly Newsletter · Issue 014 · Thursday, September 24 2026
New here? Welcome! A lot of you joined this week. Every Thursday you get what buyers are searching for right now before it hits the feed. One Lead. A Board of sourcing calls and “Receipts” on the calls we already made, the ones that worked and the ones that did not.
THE LEAD · WATCHING CLOSELY
Vintage Polo Ralph Lauren jumped 4x in one month. This is not a trend. Yet.
If you have vintage Polo sitting in your closet or your death pile, read this before you do anything else.
Google search data shows vintage polo ralph lauren at 27,100 searches in August. In July it was 6,600. For the two years before that, it never left a range of 2,400 to 4,400. August was the highest demand in four years of data.
Here is what makes it strange. The rest of the brand did not move. Google search data shows polo ralph lauren shirt men at 12,100 in August, exactly where it sat last August. The jump is on one phrase. Buyers are typing vintage.
Now the rule, and it comes from getting one call wrong months ago. In July we called a Patagonia windbreaker spike after two months of climbing. Google search data showed it fall from 14,800 straight back to 1,900 the next month. Since then, a spike needs three straight months before we call it. This one has one. But it’s enough of a spike to put it on your radar.
That is how we work. We would rather tell you what we are watching than sell you a spike that doesn’t last.
THE MOVE
If you already have vintage Polo Ralph Lauren, list it now. Put the full phrase first in the title, vintage Polo Ralph Lauren, then the item. Check the neck tag. Older pieces read Polo by Ralph Lauren. Let the spike find what you already own. Do not go buy a rack of it on one month of data. We will report back when the September numbers land.
The Board
Four signals. Google search data, August 2026. Subscribers only.
BOLO 01 · Skirts
Midi caught maxi. It is the only skirt that grew this year.
Google search data shows midi skirt at 74,000 searches in August, up from 49,500 a year ago. That is up 49%, and back at its highest level in four years of data. It has held 74,000 every month since May.
Now the rest of the rack. Google search data shows maxi skirt at 74,000, down from 90,500. Pencil skirt at 49,500, down from 74,000. Denim skirt women at 33,100, down from 49,500. A-line skirt at 22,200, down from 33,100. Five skirt terms. One is up.
For twelve straight months, maxi out-searched midi. In July and August they tied. Buyers did not leave skirts. They moved to the middle length.
One honest flag. Last fall, Google search data shows midi skirt dipped to 33,100 by October. This fall is the test. If it holds 74,000 through October, the shift is locked in.
The move: Anything that hits mid calf goes in the title as midi skirt. Slip, knit, satin, wrap.
BOLO 02 · Tops
The bandage top is following the dress.
In August we called the bandage dress revival. Google search data shows bandage dress hit 135,000 searches in August, a new high. The top is moving the same way.
Google search data shows bandage top at 12,100 searches in August. A year ago it was 1,000. It stepped up to 6,600 in January, held 8,100 from February through June, then climbed again. 9,900 in July. 12,100 in August. The highest in four years of data.
Smaller volume than the dress. Far fewer sellers putting it in a title. This is the same buyer, one piece over. She found the dress. Now she wants the top.
The move. Pull stretch tops built from horizontal banded panels. That construction is the tell. Put bandage top in the title. That is the phrase buyers are typing.
BOLO 03 · Menswear
Charles Tyrwhitt dress shirts are up 50%. The generic term is not.
Google search data shows charles tyrwhitt dress shirt at 27,100 searches in August, up from 18,100 a year ago. It stepped up in March and has held above 22,000 for six straight months. Last spring it sat between 9,900 and 12,100.
Now the generic. Google search data shows dress shirt men at 3,600 in August. Brooks brothers dress shirt at 9,900, down from 18,100. The brand name is pulling 7x the demand of the generic search.
These buyers know their collar size and their fit. They are typing the label.
The move. Pull Charles Tyrwhitt from the men's shirt rack. Check the neck label for the fit name and the collar size. Title it Charles Tyrwhitt dress shirt, then the fit and the size.
BOLO 04 · Winter Accessories
Carhartt beanies: the brand does the work, not the beanie.
This is not a big ticket flip. It is a volume and timing play.
Google search data shows carhartt beanie hit 450,000 searches last December. North face beanie hit 49,500. Nike beanie, 40,500. Beanie women, 33,100. Carhartt was 9x the next closest brand we track.
And it repeats. Google search data shows carhartt beanie cleared 246,000 every December for four straight years. Right now it sits at 22,200, its summer floor. Last year it went from 27,100 in August to 450,000 in December.
Buyers are not shopping for a beanie. They are shopping for the iconic patch.
The move. Pull every Carhartt beanie you find while nobody is looking for them. Title it Carhartt beanie, brand first. List in late October, ahead of the November jump.
The Receipts:
Read More In The Newsletter Archive
Issue 001 set a bar for Longchamp. It cleared it.
In our very first issue we put the Longchamp Le Pliage tote on watch at 6,600 searches a month. We said if it broke 10,000, it becomes a video. Google search data shows it broke 10,000 in June at 12,100. August came in at 27,100, up from 14,800 a year ago. The highest in four years of data.
Scored: CONFIRMED. By our own rule, it has earned a video.
"One guy bought 3 items off me yesterday."
Neil, aka Thrift Scout, after a round of retitles: "One guy bought 3 items off me yesterday bc I added some of your keywords from your newsletter." No new sourcing. Keywords out of this email, added to listings he already had.
"I literally can't keep them in stock!"
frenchie.meli started sourcing women's hiking clothes after our hiking season call: "I started picking up these items and I literally can't keep them in stock! Big fan!" Google search data shows hiking pants at 49,500 searches in August, up from 33,100 a year ago. The demand is still there.
Got a win from one of our calls? Reply to this email. Every sale we have logged started with somebody telling us.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT · FREE DOWNLOAD
The September Keyword List is still free.
Last week we sent the September BOLO Keyword List. Thirty keywords across six categories, each one ranked by Google search volume and marked with where the demand is going. Data through August 2026. If you are new, or it got buried, grab it now.
Page 9 is the Quick Reference Sheet. All thirty on one page. Screenshot it and keep it handy.
List your vintage Polo, do not chase it. Source midis, and bandage tops. BOLO Charles Tyrwhitt source Carhartt beanies by name.
And now you know.
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