<p>Vineyard vines is pretty east coast/ more new england exclusive.</p>
<p>Pretty new brand started by two young guys, its bright, pastel colored stuff for both men and women. As far as i know, ive never seen anyone beside my family or anyone know of it here in the mid-west.</p>
<p>I posted on this thread a while ago, but I forgot to ask, are Zara, H&M, and MNG (by Mango) seen in the top boarding schools? They’re all originally from Europe but there have been a lot of stores opened in the states now, especially in New York and California.
H&M is in the price range of Abercrombie, and Zara and MNG are closer to the price range of J.Crew.
I haven’t read any posts by people from boarding school mentioning these brands..but I want to know if they’ve been unheard of. I shop at Zara quite a lot and I don’t want to feel the odd one out! =)</p>
<p>cOllide: I didnt see much of these brands at boarding schools. I think that its just because not many people have heard of them. Zara, and Mango are both nice, probably just as nice as your typical boarding school brands. I think h&m is a level down though.</p>
<p>hate to break this to you
but for the first couple weeks clothes kind of does matter
a lot
not trying to scare you but people do make first impressions
its kindda life right?
i suggest polos
places like AE or a&f are good
dont really worry about jcrew
haha its mainly worrying for girl lol
and do get boxers</p>
<p>oh ya… just the 411 on the most “trendy” stuff
of course preppy is always on the list… madris, bright colors
zara, h&m, mng are all good… for girls at least
i dont think they’re at ALL popular for guys lol
i’d just say.. get clothes that have a brand on them haha</p>
<p>oh ya
and vineyard vines is SWEETness</p>
<p>vineyard vines - ho hum…boring… and so unoriginal</p>
<p>sure, you can be a conformist and hung up on labels and perhaps some kids will like you for that reason…but strong friendships are not based on clothes.</p>
<p>be yourself! If you’re a prepster naturally, then fine. But do not feel you have to conform. First impressions are just that - a first impression. Most of you will be at a BS for 4 years. The people you meet the first days will most often not be your longterm friends. You will be living with your classmates 24/7. For most kids, these first imressions and superficialty will go out the window when it comes to picking your true friends. </p>
<p>Be true to yourself. Not everyone wears the preppy styles. You don’t have to conform if that is not who you are.</p>
<p>good point
i am sorry for my previous post
it was rushed and thoughtless
i apologize</p>
<p>popular girls clothes</p>
<p>*madras shorts/skirt (not like a wardrobe of madras..just one thing)
*cable sweaters (J.Crew has good ones, Ralph Lauren does too but they’re more expensive and don’t come in as many colors)
*rainbow sandals (these are pretty popular now..but if you don’t know they’re leather flip flops that are supposed to mold to your foot and will run you about $50)
*fleece. people there wear a lot of fleece vests and jackets. not as much northface as you’d think though. people like patagonia, mountain hard wear, marmot. recently, really fuzzy ones are popular. example:</p>
<p>[Mountain</a> Hardwear: Fleece : Women’s Monkey Woman Jacket](<a href=“http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Product.aspx?top=1243&prod=2697&cat=1257&viewAll=False]Mountain”>http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Product.aspx?top=1243&prod=2697&cat=1257&viewAll=False)</p>
<p>*headbands
*hair ribbons
*pearls
*seven jeans
*seersucker shorts/skirts
*minnetonka moccasins (the beaded ones)
*ray ban wayfarers, aviators
*ralph lauren striped oxfords and polos</p>
<p>for guys…obviously I have less experience here.</p>
<p>Nantucket Reds, J.Crew, Polo, Vineyard Vines, Lacoste, Under Armour for sports…those are all pretty popular. they wear rainbow sandals too.</p>
<p>also: Topsiders, bow ties (they love ironic clothing…also consider a cheesy blazer or jacket,) rugby shirts</p>
<p>and yeah clothes matter. but if you’re totally not preppy now, and/or not from the northeast, people will probably be able to see through the preppy thing if you lay it on too thick. the above items are all common, and I like many of them myself, but not that many people there are the classic preppy icons you probably are thinking of. they know it’s sort of a caricature and many don’t like to play into it as much as they used to. i made the mistake of ordering hundreds of dollars worth of preppy clothing when i arrived at my school to find these fashion trends that I had never heard of before (I’m not from the east,) and I never wore them and didn’t like the look. prep school will probably affect the way you dress and your personal style, it did for me, but try not to get too sucked into it.</p>
<p>I’m from California, but am already fairly preppy. My family and friends are a large mix of hippies and preps, so most people I know pull from both notoriously preppy, and earthy, “green” clothes.</p>
<p>Is it overkill to wear something too nice? I have exactly one burberry polo, a hand-me-down from my mom (but still relatively new). I don’t want to look like I’m trying TOO hard, and Burberry is a bit of a step up from the usual, I think. It’s only one thing, but it would make a nice first day shirt. I just don’t want to look like “the Southerner who’s trying too hard”. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>risingjunior
I’m pretty sure many at boarding school wouldn’t know you were wearing Burberry unless they see the horse (is it a horse?) logo somewhere on your shirt [like the tag or something] or if they recognize the signature plaid design or something haha. As long as you don’t go around declaring “Hey, how are you? I just love this Burberry polo I’m wearing, don’t you?” I think it won’t be a problem.
Besides You’ll know you are wearing one of the top designers around the world =) and that should make you feel good inside. =D</p>
<p>thanks cOllide. 
I certainly would not go around declaring it, although it is fairly obvious because the plaid design is on it. Oh well, they can live with it. I like it, and I don’t constantly walk around in stuff of that caliber, which they’ll soon find out.</p>
<p>gosh this thread is making me soooooo nervous. There’s absolutely no way i could afford most of this stuff. I’m scrambling to afford Abercrombie. (and i’m only looking on clearance!) Are clothes honestly going to have that big of an effect? It seems to me that prep schools would be more for people who care about education and that kind of thing, not people who are obsessed with expensive clothes and stuff.</p>
<p>Nelly, don’t worry. The majority of the kids at boarding schools don’t judge you based on your clothes. Since you’re going to Andover, when I was at Summer Session people dressed in anything from clothes from Target to Gucci, Burberry, etc. Every type of person goes to Andover so don’t be nervous at all.</p>
<p>Thanks Jonathan. we haven’t talked in forever, by the way! how are u?</p>
<p>yeah, nelly, I thought that too, but unfortunately it’s not like that. people there aren’t obsessed with expensive clothes so much as they already have them. also, girls there aren’t actually that fashionable, they just wear the stuff I said because it’s natural. when I say clothes matter, I mean more that they identify you as being part of a certain group, not that everybody there really cares about them. you don’t need to buy a bunch of labels, in fact you could be considered kind of “gauche” if you did, so especially on jeans, t-shirts, dresses, skirts, etc., save money because they won’t be able to see the label anyway. i wasn’t that interested in clothes before I went to boarding school, but I’ve become horribly materialistic while I’ve been there, and I think everyone who isn’t already preppy goes through a phase of wanting all the preppy stuff they’ve been seeing on their classmates. my christmas presents in third form were all polos and pearls, and I wear none of it now.</p>
<p>During spring visit day to Andover, I really didn’t see such fancy clothes. True, it was only one day. But, I would try not to stress out about clothes too much. Enjoy your summer Nelly, and maybe I will see you in September at the dropping off days for Andover, as my niece will be a junior (9th grader) entering in the fall.</p>
<p>adsum where do you go? your school sounds kind of scary.</p>