What's on your mug?

A prep is typically a well-educated, good-looking person who comes from a solid, well-established, "old-money" family. Preps lean towards conservatism, and generally are well-dressed and buttoned-down in public. A prep is inclined to wear clothes from Brooks, Lacoste, J. Crew, and Lily Pulitzer - NOT Abercrombie or American Eagle, as some non-preps believe. A prep is usually an all around good guy (or girl) and would be unlikely to brag about their status or wealth. Preps shouldn't be characterized as spoiled underachievers - if they were, where would top-tier schools like Princeton get their preppy reputations? Colleges and universites are becoming more democratic each year; an unqualified student wouldn't gain admittance on family wealth alone. People who bash preps have probably only had contact with the A & F, A & E kind of wannabe-prep - and in many cases I would agree with their comments. But a true prep is far more understated; they would drive a Volkswagen GTI over a Cadillac, vacation on the Vineyard or on Bermuda rather than on St. Bart's, favor subtlety over ostentation. The people on this site who don't like preps are either jealous or haven't actually met a real one.

Muffy and Bif spent much of the summer drinking G & T's and playing tennis at the preppy club in Old Lyme.

By Chip

A prep...someone who is classy and classic, not too showy or they would not be a prep, generally from the new england area, but can also be from the south, usually from a private "prep" school like Woodberry Forest or Baylor or Harpeth Hall, girls dress incudes polos, khakis, cardigans, floral dresses, cable knit sweaters, from places like polo, lilly, jcrew, and ck bradley, they carry tote bags with their monograms from llbean , wear pearls and silver monogram jewelry, wear ribbon belts from eliza b, and do not dress slutty in any way, boys wear polos, khakis, madras print shorts from banana, polo, jcrew, and nantucket reds, jackets from the north face, flip flops from rainbows, scruffed up baseball caps, the color code for both includes bright colors like pink, green, purple, and yellow, they are generally smart and nice and from a good, well-established family, they get into selective, private colleges, they sail, play tennis, golf, and swimming, as well as lacrosse and field hockey and sometimes soccer

Hey Muffy, I just bought a new lilly to wear to the club this Sunday!

By Ellie

I grew up around many true preps and liked most of them. I'm 45 and when we were teens we wore madras pants, B.Bro oxfords, Izod underneath (popped)and Weejuns with 1/10 Krugerands in the penny slots, no socks. We shopped at either Belks or Collins (Bruce and Allen Collins were text book preps)drank cheap beer and and chased tale like every other guy. The tale we were chasing was very elusive prep girls. (Not party prep A&F girls like nowdays, the real refined kind)We did our partying at Ocean Drive Beach S.C. during graduation (anybody's graduation) but we summered in the OBX or Litchfield where the people like us were also summering.

Chip and Bruce are meeting us at The Pad at ten'ish. He said to stop at Hardwicks on the way, cause we were going to a party the Sigma Chi girls were throwing at Cherry Grove. Don't wear those garish sandles, wear your loafers. I'm wearing my new madras shorts and ox thats a little big on me.Don't wear that damn Rolex, you look like a pimp, you can wear my Timex if you have to know the time. Later Gator.

By Charlie

As a person who is rather familiar with the 'preppy' lifestyle I though I should clarify some of the definations in here. A TRUE prep DOES NOT wear Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Hollister ect. nor do they wear slutty or revealing clothes. They DO wear Lacoste, Ralph Lauren Polo, Lilly, Brooks Brothers, L.L. Bean, North Face, Birkinstock and J.Crew. Sweaters are worn around the neck and collars are always popped. Ribbons are often worn as belts and/or in their hair. Girls wear little or no makeup. They love pearls. For boys, nantucket red khakis are a must. Some wear layerd polos. Most preppies attend private schools (ie Tabor Academy) and then private colleges in New England. Many live in the New England area (Massachusetts, Connecticut sometimes New York) Most people sterotype them to be rich and stuck up but this is mostly not the case. Most preps do not flaunt their money. Sports include sailing (a must), golf, tennis, lacrosse, soccer and skiing. Many prep families vacation in Vermont in the winter and Cape Cod, Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard in the summer. There are many 'wannabe' preps floating around today because they think it is 'cool.' Real preppies have been so since birth. They usually come form a long line of preps. also see wasp

Elizabeth sighed, "They think they're 'cool' with their A&F polos and AE skirts." James agreed as he adjusted the sails on their sailboat.

By jessica

What do people mean when they say "preppy" (and I'm not talking about the slutty Abercrombie-type prep that everyone seems to talk about here).....? Preppy as in boarding schools and summers on nantucket. Preppy as in WASP and old money. As in LL Bean fur moccasins and ribbons in your hair, and flip-flops when it's 10 degrees outside. As in sailing and Topsiders and looking back on your house from your boat and being so, so happy. Preppy as in buying clothes not for the label but for what they look like. Preppy as in collars up and Nantucket Red shorts faded to pink. As in crew, tennis, squash, lacrosse. As in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine. As in Ivy League and prep schools with the word "academy" in their names. As you can probably tell, I've had a lot of experience with this sort of person...and I suppose I am one...but so what if I summer on the Cape and wear blue seersucker and play tennis? Preppy is not a trend, it's a LIFESTYLE...it can never go out of fashion. There will always be people trying to emulate the preppy clothes and thinking they are preps, but really it's about your background and your education and where you summer. Not everyone who wears Lilly is a prep-- there is certain fashion that preppies usually wear, but that doesn't mean someone can just pop their collar and pretend they went to Groton or Choate.

"Preppy is a lifestyle, not a clothing style," Bitsy sighed as she observed the West Coast girls trying to pull off Reds. Her friend Buffy nodded before they resumed their tennis game.

By Lilly