In the coverage of the opening of the first Polo store in Russia near Moscow’s Red Square in Friday’s Women’s Wear Daily, Ralph Lauren‘s son David Lauren is quoted saying his family had visited a genealogist there, because “my dad really wanted to trace his roots here.” Funny, as that job has already been done in Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren, my biography of the designer (which Lauren asked me to write before refusing to cooperate and has long claimed he’s never read. David Lauren apparently has, as he’s publicly upbraided people who are quoted in the book, but never mind.) I betcha the paperback, which is still available at $13.95, costs less than that Russian roots-tracer. I’m also willing to bet my next Ralph royalty check that my research —which traced Lauren’s mother’s family back to the 1600s and proved Lauren — née Ralphie Lifshitz — actually is an aristocrat, albeit not an English one —proves to be accurate.