<p>jym: lol…the greek life at some Northern schools could not be more different than preppy…another word comes to mind that I will keep to myself (and not to confuse this thread)</p>
<p>I am a member of an old southern money “preppy family”. They are traditional, republican and Episcopalians. Surprisingly, to some posters here, they are extremely generous toward charities and volunteer many hours of time each year. They work hard, long hours and pay a lot in taxes. They tend to save and invest regularly. Several generations have attended the same oos University and generously support it. They love this country and it’s military. They have served it proudly in every generation and in every war since colonial times. If they were so “snobby” they would never have allowed me entree. I married in with college debt and no pedigree. In the 33 years I have known them every child went to college, all provide for themselves, no drugs, all taxpayers and fair and generous employers. What more could you want from an American family? I don’t understand the disdain.</p>
<p>Preppy is less about fashion than it used to be; I think it’s all about comfort with the status quo.</p>
<p>What an interesting discussion! The true Northeastern old money blue bloods that my children went to school with were more “shabby chic” and are appalled by nouveauricheness. No flashy cars, pink and green clothes, talking of money or ostentatious spending- that would be considered very low class. More Democrats than Republicans. Maybe it varies by area of the country? Agree with thecheckbook above- mostly upstanding citizens and fair and generous employers.</p>
<p>“–very bigoted—whether directly to your face or behind your back.” oh please! Some of the most liberal people I know - including some African Americans - are preppies.</p>
<p>thecheckbook - And what makes your familly preppy as you understand the word to mean? Is it the first three qualities you listed? I personally don’t have a positive connotation of the word but that doesn’t mean I’d lump all people who self identify as preppy into that negative sterotype that I have. And none of the charactersitics that you listed for your family play a part in my personal definition. So, what does preppy mean to you?</p>
<p>And I’ll admit that my idea of preppy has been heavily influenced by the John Hughes movies that I watched as a child.</p>
<p>Wearing lots of white and pastels; using the phrase ‘work hard, play hard’ unironically; a lifestyle of cruises, ski vacations and invasive but implicit family expectations; never dating a non-white person on principle while never saying so outright; benignly enforcing a rigid class structure; thinking women shouldn’t play certain sports, but having too much ‘class’ to mention it; making token efforts to keep the token middle-class friend from feeling out of place; etc. etc. etc.</p>
<p>My personal definition of ‘preppy’ is only loosely tied to wardrobe and physical appearance. It’s more of an amalgamation of all the most ridiculed qualities the British upper class has been trying to get rid of over the last several decades, only seen through the distorted lens of America’s wannabe nobility, which still hasn’t realized that a. it can never be this posh, and b. if it could, it would only ever be mocked for it.</p>
<p>When I think of “preppy”, I think of a Hahvahd man.</p>
<p>someone trying too hard to look perfect</p>
<p>The difference here is between people who actually are or know preppies and those who only know media representations of preppiness. John Hughes? Give me a break! There wasn’t a single preppie worthy of the name in any John Hughes movie. Granted, the James Spader character in Pretty In Pink was supposed to have some of that air, but he looked, and acted, like a suburban nouveau riche, not a preppie.</p>
<p>Holden Caulfield was a preppie. Oliver Barret III was a preppie.</p>
<p>Preppy? Thats J.Press, not J. Crew. Summers on Fishers Island. Definitely conservative. Definitely white. Note though, Im working off 1970s Harvard vocabulary. And here in the UK, it translates to Sloaney or a Rah …</p>
<p>For further discussion of preppy and High WASP (which are related, but not the same), I recommend Cheerful Money by Tad Friend, as well as Alumother’s blog which can be found in her profile. </p>
<p>J Crew channels preppy, but isn’t actual preppy. Same with Ralph Lauren. Preppy is grandmother’s cashmere cardigan that your older sister used before you.</p>
<p>[Let</a> me google that for you](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/3cpjuma]Let”>LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You)</p>
<p>The Fly at Harvard is preppy. Nothing about MIT is preppy at all.</p>
<p>My DS is the poster child of preppy. His “uniform” is Ralph Lauren or Brooks Brothers polo shirts, oxford button down shirts worn untucked, khaki pants (never jeans), khaki fabric shorts in bright colors, madras, or seer sucker (no cargo shorts). Sperry shoes. </p>
<p>He is comfortable and confident in his own skin so he always looks great. He is also one of the nicest people you’ll ever want to meet. </p>
<p>I am also comfortable in preppy clothing. I love Lilly Pulitzer, Ralph Lauren, J Crew, and all tennis clothes! I’m also a nice person and love my friends who dress edgy and trendy, it’s all about feeling good in your clothes. </p>
<p>Republican does not equate to preppy. The Kennedy family is preppy and they’re democrats.</p>
<p>I find true preps some of the nicest and most gracious people you’ll ever meet. Big practitioners of noblesse oblige.</p>
<p>^^^perfect description…that’s exactly how I would describe preppy here in the South, and my family and I can identify with this description. This would also describe most of the Greek culture in the SEC and Big 12…I would venture to guess that this might not be true in other areas of the country…Preppy and Proud :)</p>
<p>I would echo SWTCAT’s description. </p>
<p>I also love how parents describe their kids as preppy, but then throw in (without any bias, I’m sure) how amazing, generous people they are.</p>
<p>I think it’s ambiguous; it has multiple connotations. In one usage, probably now the most common, it’s simply a style of dress, the details of which may vary a bit from one part of the country to another. But in another, and I believe the original meaning from which the other is derived, a “preppy” is simply someone who attended a “prep school,” i.e., a fancy private boarding or day school, principally in the Northeast, and has adopted certain styles of clothing and speech and certain cultural attitudes and assumptions widely shared in those circles. Back in my day, a preppy was someone who, upon meeting you, would ask “Where did you prep?” That’s a question that never occurred to most public HS grads. JHS mentioned Holden Caulfield and Oliver Barret III; absolutely right, quintessential preppies.</p>
<p>I think prep school culture has evolved to the point where the people attending prep school are no longer that much like Holden Caulfield or Oliver Barret III, and they probably don’t dress much like the styles conventionally labeled “preppy” anymore, either. So when someone says “preppy” you need to ask in which sense they’re using that term. Lots of my D1’s classmates at her Northeastern LAC are preppy in the original, prep school sense, but they don’t dress “preppy.” Still, there are certain cultural conventions and expectations. “Summering” on the Vineyard (but if you need to say which one it’s a dead giveaway you’re not part of this crowd), Nantucket, or the Maine coast is one. Non-preppies don’t “summer”; to us it’s only and always been a noun.</p>