The Thing Before Preppy
Because "Preppy" today is a bit of a train wreck. (With many black and whites by My Father)
For my new readers, an introduction. For my old readers, a bit of a clip show.
I find some items of clothing perfect. These include pure cotton khakis. Baggy oxford shirts in a handful of certain colors. Boat shoes, Scottish Fair Isles, British made trench coats and tweeds, D-ring motif belts, and Maine made bluchers and boat shoes, English toggle coats, tartan cashmere scarves made in Scotland and Aran sweaters hand knitted in Ireland.
Perhaps it is because these clothes blend into the New England coast. They are ideal for getting in and out of boats, for prep school students to throw on as they run across the quad - hair wet - on the way to class. Or for casual business meetings that turn into hikes across Cambridge to find some obscure used bookstore.
The bright pinks and greens match the beach roses along the New England coast, the deep blues feel like the Atlantic Ocean, and the Donegal sweater I am wearing right now has the rugged complexion of the rocky Maine coast.
These clothes also fit my highest compliment, which is ‘class-feral’. They are the Herreshoff yachts or Sarouk carpets of clothes; they are good looking and they last. Rather than drawing attention to the wearer, these clothes blend in and improve the scene.
They overlap with ‘preppy’ clothes, but only somewhat. Less twee, of course. More subtle. Less “look at me!” Less working the room. Not exuding over-confidence but readiness.
To describe this aesthetic to myself and others, I had to come up with a new term, “The Thing Before Preppy.”
The Thing Before Preppy
For me, the origin of “The Thing Before Preppy” style started back in the 50s and 60s, maybe earlier, around the shoreline of Connecticut. A specific culture was codifying, influenced by the wealth and access of New York; strong schools of New England; and the culture of so many early settled New England towns with their deep British roots.
