The Preppy Handbook... Returns!

[reetpleat]

As a Senior in high school, that is what the word 'Prep' means in today's society. They disgust me.


just tossing in my two cents.

From what I know from young people, and things i pick up, prep generally means dressing nice, tucking in your shirt, wearing nice sweaters, wearing a dress shirt or slacks etc. In your school I guess it is different.

Mind you, what was or is called the prep look only has a slight resemblence to real preppie looks. I suppose on teh east coast, you might have people who actually get the look down well. As in, gray flannel slacks, blue school blazer, polo shirt under dress shirt etc.

It is not as simple as a polo shirt, sweater over the neck and ray bans up on your head.

 

[vinspired]

There is also a book called: I hate Preppies handbook : a guide for the rest of us / Ralph Schoenstein
This came out 1 year after the Preppy handbook.

 

[Yeps]

From what I know from young people, and things i pick up, prep generally means dressing nice, tucking in your shirt, wearing nice sweaters, wearing a dress shirt or slacks etc. In your school I guess it is different.

Mind you, what was or is called the prep look only has a slight resemblence to real preppie looks. I suppose on teh east coast, you might have people who actually get the look down well. As in, gray flannel slacks, blue school blazer, polo shirt under dress shirt etc.

It is not as simple as a polo shirt, sweater over the neck and ray bans up on your head.

speaking as 'young people' this is a nice idea, but a little rose-tinted. In my experience preppy is generally the highschool precursor to fratboy, meaning pink polos, distressed jeans, sandals all year, popped collars (plural). Shirts are almost never tucked in and gray slacks are not to be seen. Khakis yes, but slacks, no. They will wear blazers, but those blazers are as likely as not going to have the sleeves pushed up and the collars popped. Wayfarers are an acceptable substitute for aviators, but only if they are actually ray bans. Oh, and lots of plaid and/or madras, and ribbon belts. Generally the number of patterns and colors will make your eyes bleed (that last part was me in high school. Oops.)

 

[davestlouis]

Hey Quigley, I wish I remembered college...I had attended a Jesuit high school for boys then attended a Jesuit university and I was inebriated the whole time.

What I remember of the 80s preppiness was that the coolest kids always looked the most threadbare. Some of the guys would cut a hole in their Izod or Polo shirts so the gator or polo player were gone. They also wore grubby old Weejuns or Clarks suede desert boots.

I wish my kids would at least wear something other than too-tight t shirts and torn up jeans.

 

[Darhling]

Oooh I want a copy!

 

[Caity Lynn]

speaking as 'young people' this is a nice idea, but a little rose-tinted. In my experience preppy is generally the highschool precursor to fratboy, meaning pink polos, distressed jeans, sandals all year, popped collars (plural). Shirts are almost never tucked in and gray slacks are not to be seen. Khakis yes, but slacks, no. They will wear blazers, but those blazers are as likely as not going to have the sleeves pushed up and the collars popped. Wayfarers are an acceptable substitute for aviators, but only if they are actually ray bans. Oh, and lots of plaid and/or madras, and ribbon belts. Generally the number of patterns and colors will make your eyes bleed (that last part was me in high school. Oops.)

I agree, thats how the "prep" sterotype is today. The rose-tinted ideal expressed is the form of preppiness that I actually will dress in. I like that one much, much more !

 

[Chanfan]

I must admit I was not overly fond of preppies - the style or the associated attitudes - back in high school (when the book came out!).

But that was to be expected, as I was a punk rocker type in high school.

 

[The Good]

I suppose I might be something of a preppy, or young fogey, etc... I've been known to wear a tweed sport coat with an oxford dress shirt, tie, and khaki pants occasionally. More often these days though, I don't wear a sport coat (too large for me now). I do wear an oxford shirt, tie, and khakis or slacks every sunday, though, for church and/or lunch, often even with my fedora. Ultimately, most of my wardrobe within the past year, is rather traditional. Subcultures are an interesting thing. For a long time, I haven't actually associated myself as being a part of one, but looking at it now, I just might fit the bill of something of a pseudo-preppy, though I live in the West Coast, and this thing is much less common here than in say, New England.

 

[Foofoogal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preppy
http://www.wikihow.com/Look-Preppy

If you make these changes all at once, people may call you a fake. Better to take it one polo shirt at a time.

lol lol

 

[reetpleat]

Ironically, and sadly, the term has come to mean a certain kind of put on style, social climbing, and dressing up, while the original style had it's roots in wealthy people being low key, inconspicuous, and actually dressing down. Khakis, boat shoes, sweaters and polo shirts off the boat or tennis court, sport coats in the city, oxford cloth dress shirts over polo shirts, with the collars up as if you don;t notice, parkas over dress clothes, these are all youthful style elements that wealthy old money family kids adopted to create slight rebellion and an I don't care because I don't have to appearance.

These days, it has come to mean the opposite. poor kids dressing up and trying to appear upper class.

http://www.mensflair.com/style-advice/the-roots-of-american-preppy.php

http://www.theeastcarolinian.com/2.5280/the-prepster-s-uniform-1.812921

 

[LizzieMaine]

Ironically, and sadly, the term has come to mean a certain kind of put on style, social climbing, and dressing up, while the original style had it's roots in wealthy people being low key, inconspicuous, and actually dressing down. Khakis, boat shoes, sweaters and polo shirts off the boat or tennis court, sport coats in the city, oxford cloth dress shirts over polo shirts, with the collars up as if you don;t notice, parkas over dress clothes, these are all youthful style elements that wealthy old money family kids adopted to create slight rebellion and an I don't care because I don't have to appearance.

Quite so. We have a *lot* of New England WASP Old Money around here -- this part of Maine is a favorite retirement community for the yachty crowd, and it's not at all uncommon to see an elderly gent schlepping around in a pair of rumpled khakis, a moth-eaten sport coat and worn-out Mr. Rogers sneakers who is rich enough to buy and sell the whole town with his pocket change. Their wives are always seen in fuschia sweaters from Bean's, white duck pants, canvas espadrilles, and have skin tanned to the consistency of an old first-baseman's mitt.

Around here, the trick is to look at the shoes: if they're boat shoes that don't look as though they were ever actually worn on a boat, you're dealing with a poseur.

 

[Foofoogal]

if they're boat shoes that don't look as though they were ever actually worn on a boat, you're dealing with a poseur.

lol lol lol :eusa_clap

 

[Wally_Hood]

In Love Story, doesn't Jennifer call Oliver preppy (or preppie) in a pejorative way since he's the son of old money?

 

[rlandrews3rd]

I skirted the edge of preppy while in high school (early 80's, same era as the Handbook). It started as a way to get preppy girls then kept going as I liked the clean look and didn't mind ironing my shirts and jeans! As with most sub-cultures there were good and bad people. The trick was to not take it too seriously, which was pretty hard at that young age. The book was humorous but many folks followed it pretty religiously. My copy is still up in my attic somewhere.

 

[Haversack]

One of the things I enjoyed about The Preppy Handbook was that it spawned a collection of similar written humorously handbooks about other subcultures. For example:

Genuine Texas Handbook by Rosemary Kent.

Jewish American Princess Handbook by Sandy Toback.

Sloane Ranger Handbook by Ann Barr.

Entertaining. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But not to be thought untrue because of that.

Growing up in Northern California, I did not encounter the term Preppy until the Handbook came out. Up till then it was more East Coast. Not that California didn't have its own Old Money, WASP, Upper Class. Terminology and signifiers were somewhat different.

From the way I have seen Yuppie used recently, it has become a pejorative term for anyone working full-time in a white-collar job with a dress code.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I've still got my copy and some of the stationery that came out in conjunction with the book. I thought about it a few weeks ago when my watchband broke and needed a quick fix - dug out one of the grosgrain ones I hadn't worn in ages, and ended up getting a lot of comments on it.

 

[Jerekson]

Well heck, I was called a prep in high school (and by some of friend's parents nonetheless) for wearing a seersucker shirt and khakis with a grey denim flight jacket and jump boots. I think it's meaning in the past decade has been somewhat loosely defined.

Then again I was also continuously labeled as "the future lawyer" by this idiot who ridiculed me for combing my hair, so I don't think the mind of a high schooler is the best model for this conversation. That still doesn't explain the parents, though [huh]

High school...it had it's moments, but on the whole it's not something I cherish nor would I want to repeat it.

When I think of "prep", I think of this, and only this:

 

[1961MJS]

Jewish American Princess Handbook by Sandy Toback...

GAWD, I didn't know they had one. The guy next door was a Jewish kid from Chicago, whose old man ran a deli. (Perfect Cliche) He told me JAP stories, loads of them. He didn't consider them to be jokes, just observations. One of my female bosses did the JAP thing when she I first met her, large gaudy rings on EVERY finger EXCEPT the wedding finger HINT HINT I guess...

Note that JAP isn't either a religious or ethnic label in this case, it's a way girls do things. (or don't).

Later

 

[rlandrews3rd]

Genuine Texas Handbook by Rosemary Kent.

Yep, rather humorous! There were some things in there that came in handy when meeting preppy Texas women, such as the info about Camp Waldemar. Many of their former campers did indeed wear the Waldemar ring, and having greater knowledge of that ring was a guaranteed ice breaker

 

[Adcurium]

This book circulated when I was in school. I was preppy only when, well... forced to be, I guess. Or, maybe when it was 'suggested' that I be a prep. What I mean is that when I was young and didn't really think for myself, I followed the suggestions my family gave me. Mom: "We are going to your cousin's engagement party on Friday." Me: "Really? Do I need to dress up?" Mom: "No, just wear a pair of khaki's and a sportcoat." Me: "OK."

Then, I kind of went my own way throughout college. But in law school, I came back around and wore my navy blue blazer b/c... well... everyone else did. I wasn't really being a sheep, per se, but I was a victim of the culture.

Now, I wear khaki pants, a polo and a blazer to the office or when I'm not in court. I feel the need to wear a collared shirt and jacket most days b/c people lose confidence if their lawyer doesn't look like what they expect a lawyer to look like. Again, it is about the culture. I heard Dave Navarro once say that he expected his lawyer to wear a tie. So if even HE expects us to look this way, then it must be THE way. That doesn't mean I don't sometimes come in wearing doc martins and a sweatshirt. But usually, I submit to the culture.

I have boat shoes but that's b/c I have a sail boat, and I won't even let my mother or wife aboard unless they wear non-marking soles! Although... I have two pairs (which I've had forever): a pair of Sperry's and a pair of black and white checkered vans. I'm "Fun Andy" when I wear my vans.

And we dress my 18 month old daughter 'preppy', I guess. We buy here some sort of Black Dog sweatshirt or jacket every time we go to the Vineyard and, when she is old enough to be walking around on deck, you can bet your a$$ she will be wearing non-marking soles. Which will most likely be Sperry's.
And the cycle continues.