Being Preppy: A Regional Guide

Happy Sunday!  KMS over at Town and Country Prep posted this earlier today and I thought it was too good not to re-post (with a small addition of my own)... I hope she does not mind!  According to her findings, there are different types of "preppy" with regional characteristics.  Let's see where we all fall :  )

The East Coast Die-Hard Preppy

These are the preps you find in areas like New England (such as Boston).  Think of the Kennedys and Vasser, Yale, or Boston University.  Favorites brands include Polo, J.Crew, Vineyard Vines, CK Bradley, or the many small shops in the area that sell preppy clothes.  These preps wear pants with whale prints of madras shorts during summer.  Nantucket, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Maine are East Coast Preppy haunts.

The West Coast Hippie Preppy

You can find this kind of prep in the San Francisco Bay area.  They love classic clothes but the look is comfortable and lived in.  The clothes are geared towards the year-round 70 degree weather.  The look is often cotton sweaters, jeans, chinos, walking shorts, clogs or Birkenstocks, and arts and crafts accessories.  They drive old VWs or Jeep Cherokees with PBS or KQED stickers on the bumpers or windows.  West Coast Preppy haunts include Sausalito, Marin, Napa, Halfmoon Bay, or the Monterrey beaches.  West Coast Prep schools include Stanford, University of San Francisco, UCSF, Golden Gate, St. Ignatius, and Woodside.

The Cosmopolitan Metro Preppy

You can find these preps in major metropolitan cities like New York or Los Angeles.  The Metro Preps like updated classics.  Their style is sometimes called fashionably conservative.  These preps can shop in stores like Banana Republic, Gap, or Ann Taylor.  They are the more internationally travelled of all the preps.

The Southern Country Preppy

You can find them in Southern states like Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas.  Country preps tend to be more outdoor types.  Favorite items of clothing include barn jackets and duck boots.  Patagonia, Lands End and L.L. Bean are common brands but they also buy Polo or J.Crew.  Country Preps are very much into equestrian sports or hunting.  You can find them hunting in Ashburn or riding in Middleburg and in the summers they go to Virginia Beach, Nags Head, or The Outer Banks.  Country prep schools include Altamont, Westminster, Harpeth Hall, or boarding schools such as Woodberry Forest, Baylor, Foxcroft, or Madiera.

The Traditionalist Preppy

This type of prep is very much into tradition.  They are as Old School as Old School can get.  They wear their clothes according to strict rules of dress.  For examples, pants must be cuffed to an inch and a half.  No more, no less.  They are also the more formal of all of the preppies.  These preps will wear seer sucker suits during the summer or full regatta clothing when sailing.  If these preps had a choice of schools it would be a British school like Oxford, Cambridge, or Eton in the UK.

The Classic Preppy

These are the most common of all the preps.  They just love anything that is classic and get their influence from all the above.

The Texas Preppy

AND... because this is LoneStarPrep... I have to add what I consider a few quirks of being a prep in Texas!  Texas Preps certainly encompass most of the descriptions above... but we have a few of our own things, too!  Texas Preps even have their own characteristics within Texas... don't forget, our state is almost 800 miles long!  The preppy state of Connecticut would fit into Texas almost 50 times! So in addition in what you have already read... here we go!

First up... cowboy boots.  Everyone has them, including the preps.  Ralph Lauren is a required brand and one cannot be without classic khaki shorts.  Gatherings always include a variety of domestic and imported beer and country music is prevalent simply because you live in Texas.  While topsiders and loafers are certainly top choices for footwear, flip flops are a must-have because no one wants their feet covered in our ridiculously steamy weather... brands to purchase include Reef, J.Crew, and Havaiana.  Pearl earrings from James Avery are a necessity.  Ponytails with thin bands (sans ribbons and bows) are preferred.  Recreational sports vary by the area of the state in which you live.  Texas preps summer on the East Coast because it is too hot to stay here (although if you do choose to stay here the Hill Country is the place to be).  Being understated is key, which can be very difficult in the Land of Everything is Bigger (with Even Bigger Hair).

So... what kind of preppy are you?

Texas bits aside I would say I am a Classic Preppy with a side of Traditionalist... The Hubs is English, afterall, and I have been sporting my Oxford tee all afternoon :  )