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{{short description|Modern, widespread subculture in the United States}}
{{other uses}}
{{redirect|Preps|the singular|prep (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Survivalism|Prepper]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

[[File:Columbiaman.jpg|thumb|A 1902 illustration of a [[Columbia University]] student, containing many of the attributes stereotypically associated with the preppy subculture]]

'''Preppy''' (also spelled as '''preppie''', or '''prep''') is an American [[subculture]] associated with the alumni of [[college-preparatory school]]s in the [[Northeastern United States]]. The term, which is an abbreviation of "preparatory", is used to denote a person seen as characteristic of a student or [[alumnus]] of these schools. Characteristics of preppy individuals include a particular subcultural speech, vocabulary, dress, mannerisms and [[etiquette]] reflective of an [[American upper class|upper class]] and [[old money]] upbringing.<ref name="colman">{{cite news |last=Colman |first=David |title=The All-American Back From Japan |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/fashion/18codes.html |work= [[The New York Times]] |date=17 June 2009}}</ref>

== Definition ==

The term ''preppy'' derives from the private [[college-preparatory school]]s that some [[American upper class]] and [[upper middle class]] children attend.<ref name=FashionEncyclopedia>{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/fashion_costume_culture/Modern-World-1946-1960/Preppy-Look.html |title= Preppy Look| encyclopedia= Fashion Encyclopedia | access-date= 19 December 2016}}</ref> The term ''preppy'' is commonly associated with the [[Ivy League]] and broader group of [[Colonial Colleges|oldest universities in the Northeast]] as well as the prep schools which brought students to them,<ref name= Hogan>{{cite web |url= http://www.mensflair.com/style-advice/the-roots-of-american-preppy.php| first= Chris| last= Hogan| title= The Roots of American Preppy| website= MensFlair.com| publisher= Men's Flair | access-date= 19 December 2016}}</ref> since traditionally a primary goal in attending a prep school was admittance into one of these institutions.<ref name= FashionEncyclopedia /> Preppy fashion derives from the fashions of these old Northeastern schools in the early to mid-twentieth century.

Lisa Birnbach's 1980 book ''[[The Official Preppy Handbook]]'' was written to poke fun at the rich lives of privileged Ivy League and socially elite liberal arts college students. It portrays the preppy social group as well-connected, and although exclusive, courteous to other social groups without fostering serious relationships with them. Being educated and well-connected is associated with an upper-class [[socioeconomic status]] that emphasizes [[higher education]] and high-income professional success.<ref name= Hogan /> The book ended up fueling and influencing a resurgence of interest preppy fashion in the 1980's.

== Fashion ==
For men, preppy fashion has its roots in, and substantially overlaps with, the [[Ivy League (clothes)|"Ivy" style of dress]], which originated in the early 1900's and [[1945-1960 in fashion#Ivy League|had become widespread by the late 1950s]].<ref>{{cite book | title =Elements of Fashion and Apparel Design | year = 2007 | publisher = New Age Publishers | isbn = 978-81-224-1371-7 |page=25 |quote=Ivy League: A popular look for men in the fifties that originated on such campuses as Harvard, Priceton {{sic}} and Yale; a forerunner to the preppie look; a style characterized by button down collar shirts and pants with a small buckle in the back.}}</ref> The "Ivy" style took its name from [[Ivy League]] universities where it originated. [[J. Press]] represented the quintessential purveyor of Ivy League style. In the mid-twentieth century, [[J. Press]] and [[Brooks Brothers]] both had stores on Ivy League school campuses, including [[Harvard]], [[Princeton University|Princeton]], [[Columbia University|Columbia]], [[Yale]], and [[University of Pennsylvania|Penn]].

Ivy style was inspired by leisure activities commonly enjoyed by the upper-classes in the United Kingdom and northeastern United States (such as [[polo]], [[sailing]], [[hunting]], [[fencing]], [[rowing (sport)|crew rowing]], [[lacrosse]], [[golf]], [[tennis]], [[rugby football|rugby]], [[squash (sport)|squash]],<ref name= Hogan /> and [[swimming (sport)|swimming]]). It adapted the sportswear associated with these activities as everyday wear and incorporated aspects of traditional [[British country clothing]] ([[tweed]] [[sport coat]], [[brogue shoes|brogues]], etc.). Distinctly preppy fashions then emerged as a, still-more-casual, youthful interpretation of Ivy League style ([[rugby shirt]], [[boat shoes]], etc.). Thus, the sportswear, casual lifestyle apparel, and outdoor gear offered by retailers such as [[L.L. Bean]] in the Northeast (with its eponymous "[[Bean Boots]]") and [[Eddie Bauer]] in the Pacific Northwest came to form an important component of preppy style. Both outfitters, along with Vermont-based [[Orvis]], were featured in ''[[The Official Preppy Handbook]]''. The mostly [[tongue-in-cheek]] guide published in 1980 described L. L. Bean as "nothing less than Prep mecca." Their catalog was said to be "the biggest seller of the rugged New England Prep look."<ref>Birnbach, Lisa (ed.) (1980). ''The Official Preppy Handbook''. Workman Publishing. pp. 151, 154. {{ISBN|9780894801402}}</ref>

By the 1980s, mass marketing of brands such as [[Ralph Lauren Corporation|Ralph Lauren]], [[Lacoste]], [[Daniel Cremieux]], and [[Izod]] brought a resurgence of Ivy and preppy styles and moved them into the mainstream.<ref name="Peterson Kellogg 285">{{cite book |author1= Peterson, Amy T. |author2=Ann T. Kellogg |name-list-style=amp |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through American History 1900 to the Present: 1900–1949 |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-04334-5 |page=285}}</ref>

Female preppy-influenced fashion emerged in the 1960s; a trend led by designers such as [[Perry Ellis]] and [[Lilly Pulitzer]], influenced by designers such as [[Oleg Cassini]], and popularized by female students at the [[Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters Colleges]], sister institutions to the Ivy League.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of New York State |year=2005 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-0808-0 |page=550 |editor1-first= Peter R.| editor1-last= Eisenstadt |editor2-first= Laura-Eve| editor2-last= Moss }}</ref> These classic ensembles of the 1960s and 1970s include tailored skirt suits, low heels, wrap dresses, shift dresses, silk or cotton blouses, and jewelry with a refined style. Such clothing drew on elements of typical preppy styles, such as pastel colours, or equestrian details and [[nautical style]]s, such as [[marinière|Breton stripes]].

''The Official Preppy Handbook'' points to daughters "borrowing the clothes her mother wore in Prep school. Before long, they share a charge account at [[Talbots|The Talbots]]." The handbook also stated that "Behind the red door on every [[Talbots]] catalog cover is the best selection of women's Prep fashions anywhere." And that "the clothes here are a rare combination of Preppy, tasteful, and sophisticated."<ref>Birnbach, Lisa (ed.) (1980). ''The Official Preppy Handbook''. Workman Publishing. pp. 128, 154-155. {{ISBN|9780894801402}}</ref>
Though traditional interest in the preppy style generally fell in the 1990s, some of the newer outfitters such as [[Polo Ralph Lauren|Ralph Lauren]], [[J. Crew]], [[Tommy Hilfiger (company)|Tommy Hilfiger]], [[Vineyard Vines]], [[Gant (retailer)|Gant]], and Elizabeth McKay are often perceived as having preppy styles, with designers such as [[Marc Jacobs]] and [[Luella Bartley]] adding the preppy style into their clothes in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |author=Camille |date= 2 December 2010| title= The Preppy Look: A Brief History |url= http://www.camillereads.com/2010/12/preppy-look-brief-history.html| website= CamilleReads.com |access-date= 19 December 2016}}</ref>

Examples of preppy wardrobe staples include:
* Navy [[blazer]]s with brass buttons;
* Casual [[button-down]] shirts, particularly [[Oxford (cloth)|Oxford Cloth Button Down Shirts]] (or "O.C.B.D.");
* Repp stripe and silk knit [[necktie]]s;
* [[Sweater]]s (as opposed to [[Sweatshirt|sweatshirts]], [[Windbreaker|windbreakers]], etc.), particularly those with [[cable knitting]], [[Argyle (pattern)|argyle patterns]], or a university name/logo;
* [[Grosgrain]] ("ribbon"), surcingle, and woven leather belts;
* [[Seersucker]] and [[Madras (cloth)|madras]] cloth (particularly for sport jackets and Bermuda shorts);
* Gray [[flannel]], [[chino cloth]], and [[corduroy]] trousers;
* [[Nantucket reds]] and other [[go-to-hell pants]];
* [[Loafers]] (particularly [[penny loafers]])
* [[Derby shoe]]s made of [[Buckskin (leather)|buckskin]]
* [[Polo shirt]]s and [[rugby shirt]]s
* [[Boat shoes]] and other [[moccasin]]-style shoes<ref name="colman" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Olian, JoAnne|title=Everyday fashions of the fifties as pictured in Sears catalogs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsNgpxElARsC|date=5 September 2002
|publisher=Dover Publications
|isbn=978-0-486-42219-0}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Bon chic bon genre]]
* ''[[Filthy Preppy Teens]]''
* [[Greaser (subculture)|Greaser]]
* [[Fuerdai]]
* [[I.J.G.B.]]
* [[International Debutante Ball]]
* [[Jock (stereotype)|Jock]]
* [[Kogal]]
* [[Nerd]]
* [[Old money]]
* [[School uniform]]
* [[Sloane Ranger]]
* [[Yuppie]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|40em}}

== External links ==
* {{cite news |author=Allen Salkin |date=6 May 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/fashion/06bar.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=Pink Shirts Welcome}}
* [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/preppy "Preppy" at dictionary.com]'
* [https://andreampds.com/como-llevar-el-estilo-preppy-2/ Estilo Preppy como lograr vestirse con este tipo de ropa]

[[Category:1970s fashion]]
[[Category:1980s fashion]]
[[Category:1990s fashion]]
[[Category:2000s fashion]]
[[Category:2010s fashion]]
[[Category:Academic culture]]
[[Category:Academic slang]]
[[Category:Age-related stereotypes]]
[[Category:Fashion aesthetics]]
[[Category:History of subcultures]]
[[Category:Social class subcultures]]
[[Category:High society (social class)]]
[[Category:Upper class culture in the United States]]
[[Category:1980s fads and trends]]
[[Category:Upper middle class]]
[[Category:Stereotypes of white Americans]]
[[Category:Stereotypes of the upper class]]

Preppy - Revision history

imported>Danmacleod114: Added links