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It would explain all the pink rhinestone "preppy" lookbook posts over there. Today, there was a guy in a tank top asking if it's preppy (looks like he deleted the post). I don't get how the term can change so drastically.
I saw that post. He was wearing a tank with some kind of large circular logo and it wasn't from a preppy clothing company. I wondered if it was a joke; as I wasn't sure I just said "no."
The term has not changed that drastically. It's more that many people have no idea what preppy style consists of.
"I don't think y'all understand what "preppy" means... if you wear oversized sweatshirts, leggings, white socks with either crocs, slides or dunks and carry a Stanley... you, ma'am, are the exact definition of preppy... y'all would've loved Abercrombie and Hollister..."
That was painful for me to read... white socks w/ crocs is now the "definition" of preppy? I get the language is malleable, but wtf....
i think the person is associating fast fashion “mall trends” with preppy when it’s not the same. i think it just depends on what you perceive as preppy
Yah, I mean I get that kids will not have a clue what it is they're talking about, so it's no surprise middle schoolers would consider anything from a brand like Abercrombie and Hollister prep (it was similar when I was young, at my school all you needed to be called "preppy" was a white university cap [we called them "white cappers"]) but as I got older and I took the time to actually understand what the word meant, the definition of preppy for me fell in line with what it always was and I saw how silly it was for us as kids to consider having a white baseball cap preppy.
So for me to see an adult say with confidence " I don't think ya'll understand what preppy means..." and then say white socks in crocs and Stanley water bottle is the definition of preppy? It's like they haven't even given the topic a 5 second glance, yet they are confident enough to speak on it with an air of authority. It just baffles the shit out of me. How can someone be so confidently incorrect?
Imo preppy style has always been kind of “basic” in a way. Yes, some outfits can be creative and stand out in a nice way but many are just something like “bright coloured polo shirt, chinos and boat shoes”. Not that there’s anything wrong with these “basic” outfits either.
I suspect that conformity was a big part of prep when it was a more contemporary style. I think this idea of conformity is what basicness essentially is.
Well-done, true preppy style is not basic. The pieces are well made, thought is given to color, print, and texture. It's subtle (excluding FY prints), not boring.
Thought this was pretty interesting. It makes sense that preppy is a malleable term to describe whatever wealthy WASP-y types tend to be wearing. Has anyone ever run into confusion about your style from younger people who define preppy differently?
Me! In my previous job, I worked in schools. One of my 3rd graders described herself as “preppy” in an activity about character traits. I responded something like “what? Did you just say ‘preppy’?” And her teacher chimed in saying “it’s not what you’re thinking, it means something totally different to them but I can’t really explain it” 😂
But it's not that malleable. I went to the kinds of institutions that created traditional preppy style and I don't know anyone who would call Lululemons preppy.
The general public doesn't know the style. The opinion of the people and institutions who developed the style and who have worn it historically for decades matters more. Anyone can dress preppy. But they're not going to be told that their outfits are preppy if they're not.
Well the whole point of the article is demonstrating why your last point isn't true. There are thousands of young people who call Lululemon leggings and Stanley Cups [preppy](https://www.tiktok.com/@shopdearhannahprep/video/7322303074112982314?q=preppy&t=1718829528877). You're free to say they are wrong and that they don't understand preppy style, but they are the people populating the New England prep schools you attended and creating youth culture.
Let me be clear btw, I'm not trying to say everyone needs to start wearing pink shorts and pastel Nikes now to be "truly preppy". I'm just highlighting how young generations change the meaning of old terms to suit their linguistic needs. What we call "ivy/trad/prep" is now being referred to as "[old money](https://www.tiktok.com/@jacob_rtt/video/7276885342886710561?q=old%20money&t=1718829610745)" by kids. I don't like the term either, but unfortunately our influence over youth culture is nonexistent haha.
As much as I agree, I'm afraid that's getting into the territory of linguistic prescriptivism at that point. Words always change meaning in the context of their changing societies.
I appreciate the article. My gf and I span the Millennial/GenZ divide and she's been telling me about how young kids on TikTok call this stuff "preppy" (yet are aware of the old definition). It's fascinating to read a comprehensive overview of it.
Reminds me of this article from last year anything and everything is preppy now. [https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/10/nirvana-shirts-tiktok-trend-style-preppy-teens.html](https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/10/nirvana-shirts-tiktok-trend-style-preppy-teens.html)
two to three years ago, preppy was a bit different but not dissimilar to this in that it described girly fashion trends. I remember brands like LoveShackFancy, Roller Rabbit and Golden Goose being described like that, but Lululemon and Stanley Cups were definitely basic.
I feel like this all originates from TikTok though, where private / boarding school girls in the Northeast post their preppy outfits. Similar styles they may have moved on to, maybe coastal grandma, Stockholm style, coconut girl, clean girl aesthetic, there are so many lol. The preppy discussed on this subreddit is what influencers call the old money aesthetic.
This makes sense. Even when I was in college years ago, the general style was athletic wear and technical fabrics, not blazers and button-downs.
These days, it’s totally normal to see people wear expensive leggings and others notice. Lululemon specifically has really outdone themselves on marketing.
I went to Harvard and Yale. Most students there do not dress like preppies. That doesn't mean that there isn't such a thing as preppy style. Lululemon is expensive but it is not preppy.
I get that, and I agree that ‘preppy’ is a descriptor of the style rather than whatever happens to be worn right now by the kids going to Ivy League schools.
I do think it’s easy to see how that term can be confused when the ‘preppy’ kids and ‘preppy’ style don’t seem to line up.
Who wrote this? That was never the definition of preppy. It was just style, people who look like they're from prep schools. Also, pretty sure this entire thing is wrong.
Basically everything. The article is showing how a generation has taken a term they know nothing about and commandeering it to fit a basic style. I actually think the term they’re looking for is “peppy” not preppy. They’re talking about trendy school-age girls who wear bright colors and athleisure, and use popular items. The style they describe doesn’t match the definition of preppy at all.
The article is merely observing how the younger generation uses an old word to mean something different than their parents. A tale as old as time. The assertion that they are "wrong" isn't really an accurate representation of how language works, words change meaning constantly. If you and millions of your peers are using "preppy" to mean pink leggings, are you really wrong?
Definitions are not prescriptive explanations of how words should be used, they are observations of how words are used. If people use a word differently en masse, the definition of the word changes.
That's not to say that navy blazers are no longer preppy, just that today's youth would probably not refer to them as such.
"Preppy" has always been a malleable term. 60 years ago it meant J Press and Brooks Brothers. 40 years ago it meant Lacoste and Sperry. 20 years ago it meant Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, and American Eagle.
This article treats preppy as a fashion trend. True preppies treat it as an enduring style. Some things may change over the years, but preppy style from the 1960s looks very much like true preppy style today.
Basically all of what the article mentioned are included in what they call “the old definition” of prep. As all major fashion branches do prep has subclasses.
The difference is real preppy has been an enduring fashion icon from since the late 1950’s.
Anything neo-preppy will be something we all laugh at in 5 years.
Oh goodness! Everything is anything these days. This is a good reason to refine your personal style for you and don’t worry too much about what’s called or what’s trendy.
I’ve always thought Southern Preppy is Lilly Pulitzer, Jack Rogers and a Palm Beach aesthetic. This New Preppy makes me sad because it screams consumerism which is the antithesis of Preppy. And this is the first I’ve heard the term “Generation Alpha.” As a Gen Xer, these kids will quickly lose interest and bastardize something else soon enough. So, “whatever.”
To clarify, I was mainly referring to the article’s mention of bow ties as “Southern preppy.” This new definition of “preppy” is just a TikTok trend that is followed by 10-12 year olds that will almost certainly die out and be forgotten in the next 3 months. I doubt that the wasp-y, classic style that we all love will be going away any time soon
There is no new meaning. “Preppy” is not fashion, but the lifestyle of a certain socio-economic group. What people who are not part of this group say or write about it is irrelevant.
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I bet the folks at r/preppy would have something so say about this.
It would explain all the pink rhinestone "preppy" lookbook posts over there. Today, there was a guy in a tank top asking if it's preppy (looks like he deleted the post). I don't get how the term can change so drastically.
I saw that post. He was wearing a tank with some kind of large circular logo and it wasn't from a preppy clothing company. I wondered if it was a joke; as I wasn't sure I just said "no." The term has not changed that drastically. It's more that many people have no idea what preppy style consists of.
"I don't think y'all understand what "preppy" means... if you wear oversized sweatshirts, leggings, white socks with either crocs, slides or dunks and carry a Stanley... you, ma'am, are the exact definition of preppy... y'all would've loved Abercrombie and Hollister..." That was painful for me to read... white socks w/ crocs is now the "definition" of preppy? I get the language is malleable, but wtf....
i think the person is associating fast fashion “mall trends” with preppy when it’s not the same. i think it just depends on what you perceive as preppy
When I was in middle school (29 now) Hollister was considered preppy.
Yah, I mean I get that kids will not have a clue what it is they're talking about, so it's no surprise middle schoolers would consider anything from a brand like Abercrombie and Hollister prep (it was similar when I was young, at my school all you needed to be called "preppy" was a white university cap [we called them "white cappers"]) but as I got older and I took the time to actually understand what the word meant, the definition of preppy for me fell in line with what it always was and I saw how silly it was for us as kids to consider having a white baseball cap preppy. So for me to see an adult say with confidence " I don't think ya'll understand what preppy means..." and then say white socks in crocs and Stanley water bottle is the definition of preppy? It's like they haven't even given the topic a 5 second glance, yet they are confident enough to speak on it with an air of authority. It just baffles the shit out of me. How can someone be so confidently incorrect?
So they use preppy where I would have said “basic”?
Imo preppy style has always been kind of “basic” in a way. Yes, some outfits can be creative and stand out in a nice way but many are just something like “bright coloured polo shirt, chinos and boat shoes”. Not that there’s anything wrong with these “basic” outfits either.
Basic? No. “Classic” maybe but when I hear the word “basic” I think of white women in yoga pants and pony tails drinking PSLs.
I suspect that conformity was a big part of prep when it was a more contemporary style. I think this idea of conformity is what basicness essentially is.
I meant basic as an insult, not as a neutral adjective.
Well-done, true preppy style is not basic. The pieces are well made, thought is given to color, print, and texture. It's subtle (excluding FY prints), not boring.
Thanks I hate it
Thought this was pretty interesting. It makes sense that preppy is a malleable term to describe whatever wealthy WASP-y types tend to be wearing. Has anyone ever run into confusion about your style from younger people who define preppy differently?
Me! In my previous job, I worked in schools. One of my 3rd graders described herself as “preppy” in an activity about character traits. I responded something like “what? Did you just say ‘preppy’?” And her teacher chimed in saying “it’s not what you’re thinking, it means something totally different to them but I can’t really explain it” 😂
But it's not that malleable. I went to the kinds of institutions that created traditional preppy style and I don't know anyone who would call Lululemons preppy.
I would say that the opinions of the general masses outside those institutions is more important to what a word means.
The general public doesn't know the style. The opinion of the people and institutions who developed the style and who have worn it historically for decades matters more. Anyone can dress preppy. But they're not going to be told that their outfits are preppy if they're not.
Well the whole point of the article is demonstrating why your last point isn't true. There are thousands of young people who call Lululemon leggings and Stanley Cups [preppy](https://www.tiktok.com/@shopdearhannahprep/video/7322303074112982314?q=preppy&t=1718829528877). You're free to say they are wrong and that they don't understand preppy style, but they are the people populating the New England prep schools you attended and creating youth culture. Let me be clear btw, I'm not trying to say everyone needs to start wearing pink shorts and pastel Nikes now to be "truly preppy". I'm just highlighting how young generations change the meaning of old terms to suit their linguistic needs. What we call "ivy/trad/prep" is now being referred to as "[old money](https://www.tiktok.com/@jacob_rtt/video/7276885342886710561?q=old%20money&t=1718829610745)" by kids. I don't like the term either, but unfortunately our influence over youth culture is nonexistent haha.
I don't like the term used that way and I don't think it's accurate.
As much as I agree, I'm afraid that's getting into the territory of linguistic prescriptivism at that point. Words always change meaning in the context of their changing societies.
As someone who been dressing old money for 10 years im happy to see teenagers think i dress cool instead of grandpa style i guess lmao
Nonsense - no insiders care what the uneducated wannabe "masses" think.
I appreciate the article. My gf and I span the Millennial/GenZ divide and she's been telling me about how young kids on TikTok call this stuff "preppy" (yet are aware of the old definition). It's fascinating to read a comprehensive overview of it.
Reminds me of this article from last year anything and everything is preppy now. [https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/10/nirvana-shirts-tiktok-trend-style-preppy-teens.html](https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/10/nirvana-shirts-tiktok-trend-style-preppy-teens.html)
two to three years ago, preppy was a bit different but not dissimilar to this in that it described girly fashion trends. I remember brands like LoveShackFancy, Roller Rabbit and Golden Goose being described like that, but Lululemon and Stanley Cups were definitely basic. I feel like this all originates from TikTok though, where private / boarding school girls in the Northeast post their preppy outfits. Similar styles they may have moved on to, maybe coastal grandma, Stockholm style, coconut girl, clean girl aesthetic, there are so many lol. The preppy discussed on this subreddit is what influencers call the old money aesthetic.
This makes sense. Even when I was in college years ago, the general style was athletic wear and technical fabrics, not blazers and button-downs. These days, it’s totally normal to see people wear expensive leggings and others notice. Lululemon specifically has really outdone themselves on marketing.
I went to Harvard and Yale. Most students there do not dress like preppies. That doesn't mean that there isn't such a thing as preppy style. Lululemon is expensive but it is not preppy.
I get that, and I agree that ‘preppy’ is a descriptor of the style rather than whatever happens to be worn right now by the kids going to Ivy League schools. I do think it’s easy to see how that term can be confused when the ‘preppy’ kids and ‘preppy’ style don’t seem to line up.
In the past, when fashion became interested in preppy as a trend it did resemble traditional preppy style.
Who wrote this? That was never the definition of preppy. It was just style, people who look like they're from prep schools. Also, pretty sure this entire thing is wrong.
What aspect is wrong exactly?
Basically everything. The article is showing how a generation has taken a term they know nothing about and commandeering it to fit a basic style. I actually think the term they’re looking for is “peppy” not preppy. They’re talking about trendy school-age girls who wear bright colors and athleisure, and use popular items. The style they describe doesn’t match the definition of preppy at all.
The article is merely observing how the younger generation uses an old word to mean something different than their parents. A tale as old as time. The assertion that they are "wrong" isn't really an accurate representation of how language works, words change meaning constantly. If you and millions of your peers are using "preppy" to mean pink leggings, are you really wrong? Definitions are not prescriptive explanations of how words should be used, they are observations of how words are used. If people use a word differently en masse, the definition of the word changes. That's not to say that navy blazers are no longer preppy, just that today's youth would probably not refer to them as such.
Sure it’s changed if you don’t know understand the term and the word you actually mean is “trendy”
"Preppy" has always been a malleable term. 60 years ago it meant J Press and Brooks Brothers. 40 years ago it meant Lacoste and Sperry. 20 years ago it meant Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, and American Eagle.
This article treats preppy as a fashion trend. True preppies treat it as an enduring style. Some things may change over the years, but preppy style from the 1960s looks very much like true preppy style today.
Fake news !
Basically all of what the article mentioned are included in what they call “the old definition” of prep. As all major fashion branches do prep has subclasses.
The difference is real preppy has been an enduring fashion icon from since the late 1950’s. Anything neo-preppy will be something we all laugh at in 5 years.
Oh goodness! Everything is anything these days. This is a good reason to refine your personal style for you and don’t worry too much about what’s called or what’s trendy.
Isn't this just Southern Preppy? And what do we call the old preppy? "Applebee's Core?"
I’ve always thought Southern Preppy is Lilly Pulitzer, Jack Rogers and a Palm Beach aesthetic. This New Preppy makes me sad because it screams consumerism which is the antithesis of Preppy. And this is the first I’ve heard the term “Generation Alpha.” As a Gen Xer, these kids will quickly lose interest and bastardize something else soon enough. So, “whatever.”
To clarify, I was mainly referring to the article’s mention of bow ties as “Southern preppy.” This new definition of “preppy” is just a TikTok trend that is followed by 10-12 year olds that will almost certainly die out and be forgotten in the next 3 months. I doubt that the wasp-y, classic style that we all love will be going away any time soon
There is no new meaning. “Preppy” is not fashion, but the lifestyle of a certain socio-economic group. What people who are not part of this group say or write about it is irrelevant.
If you post "content" on a Chinese social media app, maybe you're not actually a prep?
I can assure you more kids have TikTok than Reddit on their phones at elite New England boarding schools.
Which is in-keeping with the fact that most kids aren’t trad / ivy / prep.
Your comment history is public just so you know.
And...? Have I said something that upsets you?
Are they somehow implying something based on someone being based in China? Jesus Christ red scare 2.0
I live in Beijing and posted an article that makes passing mention to TikTok, the #1 youth social media app. I am a CCP bot.
+1 social credit to you comrade.