Prompt No. 2: Où Sont Les Neiges D’antan? (Part 1)
This is the first of two installments on prep. The first tackles prep style; the second, prep lifestyle. The title is one of the preppiest phrases, taken from the "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" ("Ballade of Ladies of Time Gone By”), a poem by François Villon. Please see the quote’s Wikipedia page outlining its significance, meaning and appearances in pop culture.
I am sitting in a LL Bean fisherman cardigan, Stanford t-shirt (on permanent loan from my partner), Levi 505s and Quoddy slippers— all so well-loved and worn over the decades that they stand in for loungewear. Mahler’s Symphony No. 5: I Trauermarsch creeps, quakes and crashes through the speakers.
This is undoubtedly a piece on prep.
It’s everywhere nowadays and by Miranda Priestly’s logic, we have the Autumn/Winter 2023 collections to thank for that. However, prep — as both fashion and lifestyle — prevails regardless of runway trends. According to The Face, prep “has historically been associated with a particular way of life: one that’s deeply aspirational, an incubator of laid-back cool, a sense of belonging to a clique that you wouldn’t, or couldn’t, otherwise be a part of.” While aspiration drives a considerable amount of prep’s popularity, it is the minimalist silhouettes spanning generations, paired with modern styling, that give the aesthetic its cool; the right combination opening doors from uptown to down.
Having attended private school, I have found myself at different stages of adulthood either embracing or mildly rejecting prep style — depending on my need for a sort of uniform. Shuttling through the halls of the U.S. Senate and The White House called for the reliability of camel cashmere and navy gabardine. Yet, no one discusses the tricky aspect of prep: what once seemed somewhat ironic in youth quickly shifts to crude, conservative frump with age.
As a forty year old, I now find myself prep-adjacent in many ways out of fear of appearing “matronly”. I have no desire to throw out the heirloom-quality items that have withstood wear, tear and neglect, but a closet solely reliant upon them reads Equestrian Mom without an ounce of satire. So yes, the decades old Barbour Border in desperate need of re-waxing, and the sheer plaid Ganni turtleneck. Of course the G.H. Bass Weejuns, but also an oversized motorcycle jacket (also on permanent loan from my partner).
This spring, A Sunday Journal examines our attachment to the stories we tell — what we believe luxury communicates, whether millennials have killed the guest and writer’s room, and how model minority status makes for brutal observations.
Until then, there’s Prompt — the accompanying biweekly newsletter.
Orphaned Header: “Maybe you attended an historic prep school. Maybe you didn’t. Of course, it’s better if you did because then you’ve been acculturated.”
- From the True Prep Manifesto
Harper’s Bazaar, The Dark and Twisted Return of Preppy Clothes
In my search for recent articles on prep, I came across Harper’s Bazaar’s Rachel Tashjian’s piece charting the style’s return. Naturally, she runs down its recent influence on runway and social media, highlighting Hedi Slimane’s Celine alongside prep-tinged street style favorite Noah, and showcasing the popularity of LL Bean’s tote and “old money style” on TikTok. However, she also identifies how different prep now shows up in fashion and style):
…the brands that are perhaps most fundamentally shaking the foundations of fashion are ones that would almost universally be described as preppy. But rather than reinforcing the lifestyle of prep and its trappings, they are swatting at them, playing with them, questioning them. Prep is back, and this time, it’s personal!
She then, interestingly enough, moves into the ways in which marginalized communities in the U.S. have long subverted preppy style and made it our own. (NOTE: This is why we love and appreciate Tashjian’s reporting; it’s actually complex.) Black Americans used it as a form of revolt, LGBTQ+ people adopted it to live more openly. Therefore, part of its history is making it one’s own. Perhaps, after so many interpolations, prep returns for all as a blank slate with which to imprint oneself upon — not the other way around.
Days later, Town & Country released its reporting on the resurgence, marking its impact on athleisure. Writer Roxane Adamiyatt cites Avery Trufelman of Articles of Interest, a popular podcast whose latest season focuses on American Ivy:
"Clothing is a sentence," she explains, "and it's all about people being legible... and we emerged from the pandemic with all of these trends divorced from reality—like clowncore— so of course there was this movement to a heritage trend that is in and of itself trend-less. And some of that comes to preps heritage with sportswear, in its ability to be both comfortable and presentable."
Like Tashjian, Adamiyatt takes an unexpected, yet wholly welcomed turn to Recreational Habits. Founded by Jackie Skye Muller and Marlon Muller, Recreational Habits’ mission is "to bring the exclusive world of preppy elite and their hobbies to the historically excluded” with an exquisite accompanying athleisure line.
Adamiyatt similarly concludes there has been a sort of divorce between prep’s look and social associations, quoting Claire Stern, Deputy Editor of Elle and lifelong tennis player: "That is an antiquated archetype. With the advent of powerful, strong women like Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula dominating the sport, following in the footsteps of Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, the script has flipped."
Orphaned Header: John Cheever is your father’s prep. Zadie Smith is yours.
ACQUISITIONS.
ACQUISITIONS.
Stop. Play this Prompt’s playlist for the full effect.
Recreational Habits’ Oversized Canvas Tote meets my prerequisites for totes (large capacity, heavy weight) with the added bonus of two length handles. Chic enough for the daily commute or schlepping groceries through 5 city blocks.
Tashjian mentioned everyone’s playing tennis and on the search for vintage LL Bean fisherman sweaters. This chunky ribbed one, made in England, feels both utilitarian and chic, depending on its pairing — dress it up with a wide-leg black pant, scarf, chunky loafer and crossbody or down with a slouchy straight or wider-leg jean, Birkenstock Bostons, thick sock and bucket bag.
If you need a scarf, this one by Aime Leon Dore fits the aforementioned new prep and prep athleisure trend.
And, in closing, there’s one element of prep style that’s almost always overlooked despite its central role in the wardrobe: the house slipper. New England winters are long and prep school “old” dormitories are drafty. There may also be a basket of assorted style Wicked Good slippers at the door of the cabin that have all seen better days, or a few GZs lined up next to the boot tray at home. Honorable mentions: Armor Lux and the similar Gucci, neither of which would have been spotted in an old preppy home, but fit perfectly in a new preppy one.
NOTE: Acquisitions is a glimpse into items that have caught our attention. None of this is necessary to live a beautifully curated life.
