<p>Just curious, b/c I feel like a lot of students just look at how someone dresses and what music they listen to, and determines whether or not they're preppy. I guess a political position could also be a big factor. Yet I consider preppy to be more of an economic thing and whether or not someone attended a prep school. If you looked at this last bit, Wesleyan, often cited as a "not preppy" place, is very preppy indeed compared to the more midwestern schools like Carleton. So you people who throw around "well, I prefer this schools b/c it's not preppy" what do you /mean/ by that?</p>
<p>well ecape, and this is just me.. I feel like the word "preppy" originated as merely an adjective to describe a particular way of dress. J.Crew-esque, let's say. But it seems that in recent years, its definition (and scope) has broadened, and with that, it now often carries some negative connotations. Particularly when labeling (stereotyping.. <em>shudder</em>) certain universities. People hear preppy and trigger words like 'elitism', 'arrogant', 'stuffy', 'WASP' appear. </p>
<p>I agree that preppy is/should be applicable to one's personal style.. nothing more, nothing less. But I am one person. And to the next, an all-encompassing take on the word may be.. let's say.. favorable? (for an utter lack of words).</p>
<p>Are the trigger words a coincidence? Eh, course not. I'm sure there exists many a collar-popping lad who helped give these words both validity (to a degree) and popularity.. and thus they stick. But I hate when I hear kids generalize an entire campus b/c they saw a current student in searsucker pants on a weekend visit. Just like there's more to a "hippie", "goth", or "[insert irritating middle school slang term here]" than the clothes they wear.. so too is there more to a "prep" than mere egocentricity.</p>
<p>Hope that helps?</p>
<p>agree with zooey. for me, its popped collars, pastel pants on guys, j.crew.</p>
<p>Whats J-crew? Is that some Abercrombie-type stuff? Do they even have that in Miami?</p>
<p>ambercrombie and fitch, american eagle, hollister, aeropostale are NOT preppy fast27. and of course theres a j crew in miami. those mall brands are wanna-be preppy--desperate attempts to sell "fatigue" or "vintage" polo shirts, jeans, etc. using half naked bodybuilders on a beach with a surf board in hand to market it. these brands go hand in hand with spiked hair, puka shells, and cheesiness. the people who frequently support these pathetic companies often want to give off a preppy look, but do so unsuccessfully. real "preppiness" encompasses more than apparel anyway.</p>
<p>J.Crew is much classier than Abercrombie. </p>
<p>Preppy is not simply a way of dressing, it's a life style. Think about Exeter Academy, country clubs, golf, cocktail parties with girls in sundresses, guys in bowties..............</p>
<p>The true prep guys wear jackets and ties on daily basis, shop at Andover Shop and J.Press... there aren't too many of them nowadays.</p>
<p>Most preps now shop at J.Crew and Polo, etc. They dress in a more casual style.</p>
<p>well, alot of ghetto folks shop at Polo and J.Crew as well, so they are prep as well?</p>
<p>think costa del mar sunglasses with croakies, madras pants, topsiders, vineyard vines, searsucker, raquetball, grey goose, parted hair, confidence, an active social life, republican, new orleans, snow skiing, boston club, never a t-shirt.</p>
<p>"well, alot of ghetto folks shop at Polo and J.Crew as well, so they are prep as well?"</p>
<p>No. Like what I said, it's a lifestyle. Do those ghetto folks go to cocktail parties in bowties/sundresses? if not, they are not preps.</p>
<p>Honestly, I've never seen a ghetto person in an oxford, a vineyard vines tie, a pair of chino, a ribbon belt, rainbow flip-flops...</p>
<p>When I think of Preppy, I think of summers on Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod. I think of J. Press and the Andover Shop, and seersucker and madras. Sperry Topsiders and grosgrain belts. I think of Andover, Exeter and Groton. I think of squash, golf and lacrosse. In a historical sense, preppy is not a way of dress, it's a lifestyle.</p>
<p>preppy = expensive clothing worn on a daily basis...usually consists of a collared shirt with a popped collar for guys and short skirts and Abercrombie or JCrew or Hollister shirts for either girls or boys. Girls also normally have expensive bags and both seem to always wear large sunglasses now. thats pretty much the normal here.</p>
<p>Preppy is the rich white yuppies who have the holier than thou attitude who will never get in trouble for anything because their daddies are powerful. Examples of schools were this is found is most private highschools along with Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Duke... just off the top of my head.</p>
<p>I think that with the demise of actual fraternities and sororities over the years, eastern and New England colleges in particular, have been at a loss for a word to describe the gal or guy in the middle of the pack who didn't have any obvious hooks -- except that they came from a good suburban feeder high school -- but, who nevertheless form the bulk of any selective college population. I've lost count of the number of times on this board I've seen the term "preppy" paired with the adjective "nice". It seems to be an all encompassing term, meaning someone safe, not too challenging, politically adept without being pushy, not too religious, somewhat fun, somewhat vain. Other adjectives might include "well-rounded", "pre-professional", "straight-edge".</p>
<p>maybe it's just me...but I don't see the problem with being preppy and don't understand why people hate it so much.</p>
<p>Edit: and as for k314sig09, I am going to Duke next year and I know a lot of people that definitely do NOT fit what you are talking about. For the record, I am most certaintly no better than anyone else and my dad is a claims manager for a healthcare company, definitely not a power position.</p>
<p>well johnwesley, i like your conceptualization. but then what is "non-preppy" in the sense of wesleyan? rich but not safe? wanna-be not-from-a-preppy-family? I guess if you look at % of students not on financial aid, and it's so similar from top college to top college, I have difficulty believing there's actually so much difference between the students beyond how they dress. I've met a crazy-liberal-socialist at Amherst who often dressed preppy, for instance, but he also wore t-shirts on some days. I guess I'm tempted to think the line between preppy and not-preppy at top schools is a lot blurrier than people on these boards sometimes give it credit for. At least I like to believe you can't tell very much about someone's personality from the way they dress. But what do more people think?</p>
<p>What exactly are "ghetto" people? That term really ****es me off...do you live in a ghetto? Do you know what people are wearing there?</p>
<p>I stand behind you, Harlem. I'm from what I like to call a "redneck white ghetto" in the sense that it's poor, ethnically uniform and isolated (basically technical definition of "ghetto"). All the popular kids their wear Abercrombie and American Eagle, and we have very few people who attend private colleges. Sometimes I feel frustrated that so many people who've gone to prep schools and rich suburban schools since they were quite young have no concept how the majority of Americans actually live. Then again, I'm going to a private college, so I feel kind of like a hypocritical egalitarian. I guess I have to work within the system for improvements...</p>
<p>Abercrombie is preppy for those of us who don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on pants, even if we wish we could.</p>
<p>Preppie to me is rich and usually white Anglosaxon, possessing, intellectually, a worldview but nonetheless sedate.</p>
<p>thats not true white rabbit. i consider myself to be fairly preppy and have been so since i was born when my parents dressed me so. yet i see no excuse to support abercrombie for any reason. you act as if abercrombie and fitch is hundreds of dollars cheaper than polo or brooks brothers, when in actuality it now costs nearly the same to buy a torn, "pre-washed vintage" abercrombie (moose) polo as it does to buy the traditional ralph lauren (horse) polo. why would one pay the same amount of money to buy a collared shirt that looks used when one could buy the traditional, original from which the knock off was conceived? why would one support a company who uses naked models and fake cali-surfing facades to sell its superficial, unoriginal product? and the cost cannot be an excuse; an abercrombie polo is only ten dollars less than a real one.</p>