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Preppy, Straight Up or With a Twist
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 Mackenzie Carpenter - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ducks, the geese and the whales have been making a lot of noise this summer -- on belts, tote bags, dresses, skirts and pants, in loud shades of pink and green.
And this fall, the forecast is for more of the same, although in madras and tartan plaid.
Yes, preppy is back, but it's no longer confined to Martha's Vineyard, Greenwich, or Palm Beach -- where it never left, actually.
These days, you can take your preppy fashion straight up or with a twist: more and more young people across the socio-economic spectrum are matching windowpane Bermuda shorts with skateboarder T-shirts, layering Lacoste shirts or sporting duffle bags with whales -- and skull and crossbones -- on them.
Even rappers have gotten into the act: Kanye West has been a fan of the preppy look for years, but hip-hop group T-Pain got its pink and green on at the BET Awards in May, complete with madras shorts, Lacoste shirts and seersucker jackets.
Vineyard Vines' witty, whimsical ties in prep colors (pink, green, periwinkle) and patterned with bulls (for "Bull Market"), flip-flops, lacrosse sticks, black Labradors or other reminders of the good life -- are beloved by politicians from Michael Bloomberg to Arnold Schwarzenegger to Bill Clinton.
"Our products are just fun," says Vineyard Vines spokeswoman Lindsey Worster. "They appeal to all ages and remind people to not take life too seriously."
Even Ralph Lauren has gotten into the act, taking his iconic polo shirt, which rivals Lacoste's as a favorite of hedge fund managers everywhere, and, in a bid at humor, enlarged the pony logo.
Once upon a time, preppy was serious. Long the exclusive uniform of the WASP establishment, preppy fashion -- really an oxymoron -- spoke a certain coded language understood only by fellow preppies. A quick glance at the baggy khakis, pink Oxford shirt and topsiders held together with duct tape spoke volumes, without saying anything at all, at least out loud: I am of your tribe.
"Preppy has always been part of a certain set, the people who 'summer' in Nantucket," says Susan Rolontz, executive vice president of the Tobe Report, a fashion industry publication. "For a certain customer, preppy is always there."
Now, preppy has gone democratic, with a small 'd,' taking on new adherents across cultures because, she said, "It's a clean look. People are tired of 'bling.' "
Today's preppy has an edge: for fall, you can still find a classic, ribbon-trimmed lime green cardigan at J. Crew, but much of the women's clothing has a sexier feel -- mini-dresses, tightly cut blouses and outspoken paisley prints, although the menswear remains tweedier and more conservative.
Aeropostale's fall line includes plaid Bermuda shorts paired with super-tight, layered polo shirts. JC Penney is marketing Mary Jane shoes in red plaid. Target has ballet slippers -- a staple of every preppy woman's wardrobe -- also in red plaid. And in what a blurb calls "a creative juxtaposition of preppy and punk," Target is selling a Libertine navy duffle bag with white whales cavorting amid skull and crossbones.
Of course, you can always opt for a more straightforward look, preppy without irony, as it were: Lilly Pulitzer is still marketing the same A-line dress styles it sold to Jacqueline Kennedy, and men can still find the sack suit at Brooks Brothers and J. Press.
Then there's J. McLaughlin, a casual sportswear retailer that sees itself as "Hamptons with a sense of humor. New Canaan with nerve. Palm Beach with passion and Charlotte with charm." The company offers tasteful but updated clothing in the tropical colors melon, lime and periwinkle -- colors beloved of preppies everywhere -- in silk, linen and good quality cotton.
"We nod to fashion but we don't bow to it," says Kevin McLaughlin, design director for the company. "Our clothes have preppy roots but they're spun a little differently."
In fact, he's seeing a move into a different kind of preppy, influenced by the geometric prints and bold graphics of the 1960s and 1970s. Brown matched with aqua, in fact, may replace pink and green as preppy's iconic colors.
"It's classiness with a bit of hipness to it," noted Ronda Carman, whose blog, AllTheBest2007.blogspot.com, documents upper-class fashion and lifestyle trends. "Think David Hicks and Billy Baldwin, designers from that era who've stood the test of time."
Nostalgia for that era, at least for preppy wannabees, can also be found in a new coffee-table book, "A Privileged Life: Celebrating WASP Style" by Susanna Salk, published by upscale publishing house Assouline. The late C.Z. Guest, a cool, blonde 1950s icon of understated chic, is on the cover.
Not everyone is enamored of preppy, however, or thinks it's much of a trend.
"I'm skeptical," said Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group, a New York- market research firm. "The fact that this is going on tells me that there's nothing else in fashion trends to really talk about."
(Mackenzie Carpenter can be reached at mcarpenter(at)post-gazette.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com) |
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