Tag Archives: preppy fashion
Martha’s Vineyard Shopping
Edgartown in Martha’s Vineyard is a preppy shopper’s paradise. You can find everything from basics (Lacoste shirts) to frills (Milly dresses). Unlike in East Hampton, where your only choice is to go the designer route at pricey boutiques like Catherine Malandrino or stick to plain old J. Crew, in Martha’s Vineyard, you can find cute, chic clothing and accessories at a reasonable price point. There was so much we couldn’t hit it all, but here’s a round up of some of the best stores for clothing and gifts.
Bermuda: What to Wear
Even though Bermuda isn’t in the Caribbean, many people traveling here seem to lump it in with laissez-faire St. Barth’s, laid-back Jamaica, or some other place where it doesn’t matter what you wear, as long as you are (mostly) clothed. Wrong! There are distinct dress codes on the island, so please don’t embarrass your fellow Americans by wearing a cut-off Giants tank top – anywhere.
Some principle tenets: 1) T-shirts are for children/teenagers. 2) Golf/polo shirts are for sports, the beach or lunch at someplace sporty. 3) Denim is not allowed in many restaurants and clubs in Bermuda. 4) A “casual dinner” means a pretty top and capri pants for women, a button-down shirt and Bermuda shorts for men. 5) Anything other than “casual” means a dress/sports coat. 6) Color, color, and more color. 7) Prints, especially sea-creature prints. 8 Black = winter. 9) Gold jewelry, preferably real. 10) Expensive sunglasses, handbags and shoes are under-appreciated, impractical and therefore unnecessary. 11) Shorts are always appropriate for men in every social situation, no matter how formal.
Alas, Bermuda’s dress code is anything but laissez-faire, but here’s a survival guide, after the jump. (more…)
WASPs: What They Really Wear
As boat shoes, white bucks, nautical outfits and madras infiltrate the world of fashion, the misunderstandings about what WASPs really wear have become widespread. Even the term “WASP” (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) is more fantasy than reality – more and more truly preppy people are not Protestant or even white. So from here on in, we are referring to them as preps.
Particularly irksome are the shopping guides urging people – men in particular – to buy expensive designer clothes in order to look like a WASP. The Harvard student in this New York Magazine Look Book feature, wearing head-to-toe Paul Smith, calls himself a WASP but has a lot more in common with a British dandy. Of the white bucks shopping guide by David Colman piece in today’s Times, the only pair an actual prep would buy would be the ones that cost $130, by Johnston & Murphy. (Preps have already been buying bucks at Johnston & Murphy for years, so why start paying $400 now for something from faux-preppy Steven Alan?) Most importantly, white bucks are only for special occasions like weddings or cocktail parties. Not for running errands on a Saturday afternoon.
“WASP fashion” is not fashion at all in the traditional sense. It’s based on practicality, comfort and timelessness, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are few designer labels and even fewer trends. For fashion editors and designers to suggest otherwise is specious at best.
To set the record straight, I’ve taken photographs from an undisclosed, very preppy location on the Fourth of July and made them available to you, dear readers. Consider it an update to the Preppy Handbook – the only true guide to preppy fashion.
Ack! More Fashion
We ran into a friend in Nantucket – let’s call him Ping Pong – who begged to be included in Gastro Chic. He pointed out that he was wearing espadrilles a friend had brought him back from Morocco. After much scoffing, we took several joke photos of him.
Turns out Ping Pong was right: Espadrilles do seem to be a burgeoning trend for men. They were also Max Snow’s footwear of choice in this photo from US Weekly.
Presumably Max can afford to buy anything he wants on his shopping jaunts with Mary-Kate, but he chose espadrilles. And here they are again in Nantucket:
Mary-Kate may also be an influence.
Counter to the preppy culture is a Rasta-ish hippie vibe that has been going strong now on the island for a while now. Bob Marley himself stayed in ‘Sconset while on tour in the 70’s.
But most folks are just plain preppy.
Head-to-toe color.
The coveted basket purse. OK, lady, not that coveted.
Bagel? Check. Cigarette? Check? I heart NY shirt? Check. New Yorkers on Nantucket? Check. Now if only there were a decent bagel shop in town.
Walking to the ferry.
Ack! Fashion
There’s been a lot of noise recently about the resurgence of preppy style. It’s even taken off in the hip hop world, in a trend that started with pink-wearing rapper Cam’ron.
Let’s take it back to where this whole deal started: ACK, y’all. On Nantucket it’s always been cool to dress in eye-achingly bright colors and outrageous prints. Is it any coincidence that preppiness is now the nexus of insane black and white style?
And no, it’s not “plaid,” Wall Street Journal. It’s madras, yo.
Wouldn’t want to run into this gang on a dark cobblestone street. Especially after they’ve had a few Goombay smashes…
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Tagged Nantucket, preppy fashion, street chic, travel
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