Preparatory Style
[ 20 November 2007 ]
What is preparatory style? (Definition here.)
Preparatory style is something I have admired for a long time. I guess the reason I like it is because it’s so far removed from the way that I normally attire myself, but because it has such strong elements, I really respect it for what it is. When I was at school, I was forced to dress in a preppy style (white collared shirt, green tie, green kilt, black stockings, black shoes, green blazer), & even though I often rebelled against having to constantly tuck in my shirt, I kind of liked the simplicity of the look too.
There are a lot of people who look preppy but also dull. Turning you into a conservative clone is not the aim of this article! I think it is super important, regardless of the style in which you dress, to imbue your look with personal touches & striking individuality.
Let’s get one thing straight — done well, the prep look is incredibly hot. Healthy, athletic-looking people clad in perfectly-fitting natural fibres, like cotton, wool & leather, is really hard to beat. It’s also a very easy way to look chic & polished.
Essential elements
For anyone of either sex going for a preppy aesthetic, the following items are essential: Crisp collared shirts, v-neck cashmere sweaters, lace-up oxfords, scarves, vests for all occasions, classic sunglasses, a trenchcoat, riding boots (Frye do the best ones) & polo t-shirts. You could also carry a tennis racquet for bonus points. Another bonus point for oxfords in patent leather.
Girls, as usual, have a few more additional extras. Try experimenting with headbands, patterned legwear, skirts with pleats, well-fitted dresses, pearls, charm bracelets & cubic zirconia stud earrings (diamonds are so gauche).
Usually most prep dressing stays within a pretty plain palette — black, white, navy, red, grey. If you’re buying basics to supplement this look, it’s best to stick within these colours, & then if you want to don a yellow blazer or royal blue kilt, you’ll find that it probably goes quite well with the rest of your wardrobe.
Stripes are the preparatory holy grail. They are perfect. To do the look well, you should own at least one striped shirt or sweater, & a pinstriped vest, blazer or suit jacket. Argyle, polka dots, tweed & tartan all have their place as well. Preps also love emblems & crests. You can go totally nuts with this — they’re so cool, I just adore them.
It’s also important to have a great stock of basic items, like plain v-neck t-shirts, racerback singlets & collared t-shirts. (American Apparel is my favourite place for these.)
How to do it
One thing that sets prep style apart from other ways of dress is that things tend to be immaculately fitted to the body. If you’re going to rock this look, it is really really important that you buy clothing which is the right size for you. As well as the standard criteria of buying things which fit — look in a mirror; make sure you can move around in your clothing; check lengths; be sure that your clothing skims your body rather than clinging to it — you also need to think about layering. Preps love to layer! It is not uncommon to wear a shirt & a vest & a cardigan & a blazer, as well as a scarf. When you buy items like this, you need to consider what is likely to be worn under or over them. Make sure your vest will fit a shirt beneath it, for example. Buy a blazer with a bit of extra room so that you can wear it with a sweater. You get the idea. (More information on layering at How To Wear Layers Without Looking Like A Crazy Bag Lady!)
Just as the cut is important, so is the quality of what you’re buying. Don’t be tempted to buy 3 wool sweaters for $50 each — save your money & buy one which is fantastic quality but twice the price. It will pay for itself. You’ll get much more wear out of it, & it will look good for a lot longer than something cheaper. Even though these days we can buy clothing for a pittance, you truly do get what you pay for.
For girly prep style, it is hard to go past a good dress — one that fits you well — or a skirt with pleats. When I say a dress that fits you well, I mean something which draws attention to your best assets & skims over your flaws. By the way, to do prep style properly, drawing attention to your best assets does not mean major cleavage. Make the focus your neck, collarbone, forearms or legs. Choose one thing & showcase it. Don’t let it all hang out!
Putting together a preppy look is quite easy. Take a plain white v-neck t-shirt & match it with a pleated skirt. That’s your basic outfit, but then you can mix it up quite a lot. Throw a cardigan over the top. Wear knee-length socks & wingtip shoes or platform mary janes. Carry a pvc satchel & wear amazing glasses. Pull your hair up into a chignon & secure it with a brightly-coloured ribbon. Wear a stack of bracelets on one arm, or a silk scarf knotted around your neck. Accessories are the way to ensure your preppy look isn’t boring or stale.
Another way of mixing it up is to make one element slightly unusual. For example, if you’re a boy wearing a crisp shirt & v-neck cashmere sweater, instead of donning the standard khakis that would normally go with this look, you could try wearing long skinny jeans in a plain wash — like black. Or you could wear shorts that fall to the knee with a pair of slip-on trainers (Vans, for example). Don a fedora & you’re ready to go.
Some people feel really constricted & boring in a collared shirt. I understand, I feel the same way! Allow yourself to wear it in a relaxed manner — leave the top couple of buttons undone & always, always, always roll up the cuffs! Forearms are sexy, okay?
Putting it into practice
Here are some great pieces I’ve found online which will help you embrace the prep look!
Left to right: Moschino Cheap & Chic Quilted Applique Heart Gloves; Marc Jacobs button detail boots; Karen Walker Super Speed sunglasses; Ralph Lauren Large Stirrup Bracelet; Silk Lace Printed Scarf; Grandpa’s Pocket Watch Necklace; Oscar de la Renta Larrabe Frame Bag; Lux Lili Tuxedo Bomber; Sweater Earwarmers; Fedora Hat; Small Satchel Bag With Buckle; Tiffany & Co. Return to Tiffany Heart Tag Bracelet.
Left to right: Ralph Lauren Luxury Shetland Wool Crewneck (I love this in the power blue they have on the model. I wish more men would wear this colour! It is totally orgasmic!); Ralph Lauren Cashmere Jersey V-Neck; Ralph Lauren Lambswool Half-Zip Pullover. P.S. I don’t recommend tucking your trousers into your boots. I think it is a bit naff.
Left to right: Ralph Lauren Martine Long-Sleeved Shirt; Ralph Lauren Big Pony Mesh Dress; Ralph Lauren Adrianne rugby dress.
All of these pieces from Ralph Lauren would make excellent cornerstones of your preppy wardrobe. The styling above is a bit staid, but imagine, for example, the R.L. Martine Long-Sleeved Shirt with a pair of shorts or a skirt & Frye Engineer Lace-Up Boots! Yum.
When it comes to restyling the traditional prep look, your imagination & courageous spirit are your best assets. Well, that & your Visa! Try new things, especially if you think they won’t work — you never know, you could strike aesthetic gold!
Extra For Experts:
Gossip Girl Style
Gala’s Guide To Tennis Chic
Equestrian Chic
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
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i love this look i just cant seem to pull it off though! i think i need a hair straightener hehe GHD for xmas thanks!
Great article, although I find that style of dressing a bit boring compared to the delightful fashionista wackjobs of our generation. But to each her own.
Charlotte from S&TC would probably be the best example at being able to throw this look together well. Her personality and general classiness suits it so well. As a follow S&TC fan I’m sure you know :)
I recently found pictures of myself from high school where I was in uniform and I actually MISSED those days! It was so easy and I really did look pretty nice. I’ve been trying to re-acquire some of those classic elements, again. I even went so far as to look at the old pleated skirt (landsend.com —> school uniforms —> girls pleated skirt, black. if you want to see!) I used to wear… but then all the bad memories came flooding back and I had to close the browser… But there’s a skirt a model is wearing on the front page of American Apparel that reminds me of it without all the bad memories… and ooh, how I would love one to recreate that whole schoolgirl look.
This article was just what I needed today :) a cheering-up in the form of inspiration :D
I simply cannot detach the sordid political side of preppy and accept it as just a way of dressing.
I love this, Gala! Any time you put together a piece describing and analysing a certain style aesthetic, it is so inspirational.
I just realised how versatile preppy chic is, its so easy to transition it to other looks. With a bright pink tie, frilly undies peeking out from a slashed-short skirt hem, plus a smudge of eyeliner, and you have that Harijuku schoolgirl thing happening. Or draw on fake dimples, plait your hair and chew some bubblegum and act all coy and annoying like Lolita!
Love your work Miss Gala just love it, every word. What sort of make up goes with this look do you think?
P.s. I went to Wesley College, epitome of stuffy snobby preppy private school chic! Do you know where I mean? The school on St Kilda Rd with the purple uniforms…
iris — Thank you, dollface! Well, if you were going to go traditional, it’d be minimal makeup. But it depends on how you spin it! There’s no rule saying you can’t have huge cat’s eye sweeps, or a bright red lip, or pink eyebrows! Oh, & I have no knowledge of local schools whatsoever. But I went to the “best girl’s school in New Zealand” — snore — so I know what it would have been like for you!
im not a huge fan of the preppy style- like nana, i find it difficult to seperate the bland from the bold when it comes to the preppy look. i prefer flowing, or bold, or chunky! but then, each to their own- if it works for you and you feel confident in what you’re wearing then go for it!
I grew up inundated halfway in the true “prep” lifestyle (I grew up in and out of San Francisco, so it was a peculiar fusion of southern drawls and acid trips). My father came from a very old, very wealthy Southern family. For high school I was supposed to attend the Miller School (at $32k/year, as a boarder) in Virginia, but my grandmother shushed the idea, chalking it up to there being “too many yankees in Virginia” (she had refused my father’s attendance at Harvard forty years previous, and barely allowed him to attend UVa).
I was ashamed of my heritage most of my life because of what it connoted in California, and because I was a weak person. I still go to the Kentucky Derby every year (though now that I don’t live with my family, I doubt this practice, or any others that my aunts preach, will continue). I still know how to make a mint julep after having had several that afternoon. I still have a collection of sunhats. It’s just as sordid a culture as “nana” said.
However, it’s not a bad style, even though every time I look at a polo shirt now, it makes me think of the insane part of my family that I hope didn’t pass on too many neurotic traits. I like the way you present the different ways to wear the look, and I love that last dress with the leggings and heels. The prep look can be really classy if it’s “hipped up” with some crazy accessories. I’ll never partake in the minimal makeup aspect of it (I am a big fan of the Mary Kate kohl and strange boyish overstyled and overdyed haircuts) though :P.
I go preppy nearly all of the time. I remember the article you wrote on recovering goths and I find it perfect recovery for my recovering, as much as I hate to say it emo style, because I already had alot of awesome stuff and it was more of an style of what I already wore.
Audrey Hepburn’s Casual wear is perfect inspiration for this
oh I forgot to add I found the perfect satchel bag at oxfam, its an actual brown vintage leather school bag, the kind that my parents took to school, its amazing and I use it for everything
Anna Karina in Bande à part would be a good inspiration :).
I really like your style guides! Please considering writing one for air hostess chic! :D
I went to a private school up until second grade, when I moved to America, and once again in sixth grade. I have to say, the style was PRETTY boring. A white collared shirt, a gray skirt, white knee-highs and black shoes. UGH. I would have liked it much more if the outfits were a tad more interesting.
how timely! maybe because it is fall here and that will always feel like time for school shopping no matter how old i get, maybe it’s just blair’s giant red bow headband on gossip girl.. yes, i went to prestigious east-coast preparatory school, but i was a bit less preppy than my cohorts. still not by any means preppy, i do find myself (15 years later) re-investing in my old prep school basic staples.. i just last week bought duckboots for the first time since then, and j crew has lovely wool plaid pants that are ringers for the ones i used to wear. i get made fun of by my scenester friends in the city for rocking penny loafers or saddle-shoes, but they will always be my favorites! i want white bucks too – can you tell i have a shoe fetish? bass was the only shoe store we needed then.. ah they were simpler times :)
I’ve never seen guys look so classy and gorgeous in riding boots before! :)
Even though any mention of preppy style tends to give me the creeps as it reminds me of the super-intimidating girls at school who dress that way, I really liked some of the suggestions in this article. I was surprised, though, how far it was from the British interpretation of preppy- i.e., a lot more neat and smart than what I’m used to seeing on other girls. Here, the closest thing to preppy style is those scary girls who wear their Canterbury joggers tucked into Ugg boots, a Ralph Lauren sweater, a polo shirt with the collar popped and haystack blonde hair. I think the idea is to look super-rich yet just-out-of-bed at the same time, haha.
Regardless of these silly prejudices, I will always love school-uniform-inspired style. I suppose one can’t really wear something every day for eleven years without being influenced by it to some extent! I couldn’t live without my long-sleeved jumpers, pleated skirts and ballet flats.
I like a kind aof “relaxed” preppy style; I own some polo shirts and pleated skirts, but it’s not really my style. But it is very pretty! That RL Rugby dress is TOO CUTE, I wish I could buy it..
So enamored right now.
Allan — Glad to be of service, my sweet!
Oh but if only the prep school I attended was full of such stylish prepsters! There were a few girls who did a beautiful job of looking classy with their wide headbands, pearl studs, loafers & mens’ shirts, but for the most part, it was a sea of Uggs, khaki skirts & popped collars. Egad! Simply horrendous most of the time.
Some of the boys did a bit better, with their plaid shorts & golf shoes in outrageous colors- but let’s face it, the average American prep-schooled, blue-blooded white boy pays little attention to the attire his mommy buys him at Ralph Lauren every season.
The most stylish people at my school were the international students, namely the Asian ones. They were all over the board, but they all looked fantastic, all the time. They used to put bins in all the dorms at the end of the year, for students to donate clothes they didn’t want to bother taking home- & I always raided the predominately Asian dorm boxes first, then moved on down the scale of style & practicality & size (Asians; senior/junior girls’ house/dorms; major girls’ dorms; freshmen girls; freshmen boys; senior/junior boys) (the reason the girls & boys work in reverse is because most girls’ clothes could be modified if they were too big, but only freshmen boys had clothes that didn’t need drastic alterations for my tiny frame!).
Regardless, prep school taught me how to dress well, & stand out, depsite a strict dress code & ridiculous rules. True, I did better at the dressing than the rule-following, but everyone has a weakness!
Stay cool
Oh man, I love asthetic posts too!
Do you think you have to have straight hair to pull of this look? Because I love my curly hair, but I’m not sure if it would work with the whole preparatory look.
I currently work at Banana Republic, a preppie Mecca if there ever was one, and adapting to the dress code has been kind of tough because I’ve pretty much always resisted prep fashion. I’ve had to buy a lot of V-neck sweaters and long-sleeved T’s to wear to work, partly because that’s what much of the merchandise is like, and because the store is almost always drafty and cold. Colors like turquoise or burgundy, with my default black, white, and gray, tend to keep things interesting, or I’ll spice a monochrome outfit up with a brightly colored necklace or earrings. I’ve found that my most indispensable accessory is a black and white silk scarf with kind of an art nouveau pattern – great around the neck or over my hair, and goes with everything. I’ll have to try out some of these suggestions when I get a chance, and also intend to wear more skirts once I can get my favorite boots fixed. If I’m wearing a similar thing outside of work, I end up adding some more goth-y accessories and a little more makeup, or some layering pieces with other prints… the look is definitely convenient.
And I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that polo shirts and button-down shirts (even fitted ones) are not kind to a petite, small-busted figure. They always make me look square – any ways around this?