tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post8729355023199621131..comments2024-03-28T08:47:23.214-04:00Comments on Salt Water New England: A Reader Question for the Community: The Official Preppy Handbook 40 Years LaterSalt Water New Englandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940851375677714833noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-35751685946966365402020-12-19T16:24:39.604-05:002020-12-19T16:24:39.604-05:00Actually Mr. Baker IS correct. 'To the manor b...Actually Mr. Baker IS correct. 'To the manor born' means you have aristocratic origins. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-2252769691324803342020-12-07T05:01:46.559-05:002020-12-07T05:01:46.559-05:00Michael Bastian is now Creative Director at Brooks...Michael Bastian is now Creative Director at Brooks Brothers. The store keeps samples of past garments. He's going through those, to see what he might resurrect:<br />"Here I’m trying on one from the archives from the 80s to get the feel again and it was like seeing an old friend. The weight and density of the fabric, the famous collar roll, the precise button placement and the roomy fit (that feels so right again after years of overly skinny shirts), and of course the exact perfect pink that no one got 100% right but Brooks Brothers. It’s all coming back— we’ve set up the fashion equivalent of a forensics lab to study and measure and get this shirt back to its true original glory. I know a lot of you share my passion about this so I’m happy to take you along on this journey."Steven Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16240501209686816287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-60262330276817870582020-11-25T14:40:05.935-05:002020-11-25T14:40:05.935-05:00I really am from the Appalachians and I've spe...I really am from the Appalachians and I've spent the last fifty years trying to look and act otherwise. I can't quite shake the accent, though.BlueTrainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15008640585987540252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-54415193533409863282020-11-18T17:15:43.373-05:002020-11-18T17:15:43.373-05:00Duct tape — or smudged white athletic tape? The l...Duct tape — or smudged white athletic tape? The latter is what I remember being used to hold scuffed penny loafers together. At least at my school...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-3613882975154859662020-11-18T13:26:05.417-05:002020-11-18T13:26:05.417-05:00My cronies and I sniffed when the book first came ...My cronies and I sniffed when the book first came out but of course we eventually read it and realized it was pitch perfect. We all thought, “Am I really such a type?” The answer was of course yes.<br /><br />Today, that type no longer exists. You can spot a few in the 40s just west of Grand Central Station in New York or in some of the older resorts in Maine. But sad to say most of the “schools, role models, stores and clothes, sports, etc.” are no longer the same. Birnbach’s sequel, True Prep, was a terrible book (unfunny) but it did catch this one truth.Sartreskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07028559972862428523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-44763417470373622702020-11-18T11:54:54.800-05:002020-11-18T11:54:54.800-05:00To paraphrase the great Steely Dan, way back when ...To paraphrase the great Steely Dan, way back when in 1980-81, my 8th and 9th Grade girlfriend, the daughter of an anthropology professor at our local state university, took the book as gospel and patterned herself accordingly. Even at the relatively callow age of 14 or 15, I thought she was missing something somewhere, and that the whole thing was kind of silly. Wasn't the book intended as something wryly tongue in cheek? <br /><br />Best Regards,<br /><br />Heinz-UlrichWSTKS-FM Worldwidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14173042438761572040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-76067453899660953962020-11-18T09:03:07.696-05:002020-11-18T09:03:07.696-05:00I was too young to be aware of the book when it fi...I was too young to be aware of the book when it first came out. I came across it for the first time when I found an old copy in our Episcopal Church's rectory basement (clean up day). I found the book very amusing, especially since I was wearing reds from Murray's, topsiders, an OCBD shirt and a Bermuda Race cap. As far as I could tell, the sensibility and humor aged well. <br /><br />Another similarly amusing read, for those of us with a certain life experience, is The WASP Cookbook by Alexandra "Ali" Wentworth. Ridiculous, but very, very familiar.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-82927799139759481612020-11-17T14:32:54.106-05:002020-11-17T14:32:54.106-05:00My son, a California boy, is only just out of coll...My son, a California boy, is only just out of college. When I asked him if college on the East Coast was any different than going to college on the West Coast (he transferred his junior year). He said it was much more formal. That people sort of dressed-up to go out on Friday nights. "So no surfer culture?" I asked. As someone who spent his first two years at college wearing only shorts (literally), he laughed for about twenty minutes. So, I think the more formal vibe (as translated into that book as "preppy") still exists. I would also say that although working from home destroyed Brooks Bros., it was on its last legs, which is a direct result of Silicon Valley culture where tee-shirts are as formal as it gets. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-8934341993910895262020-11-17T13:32:17.436-05:002020-11-17T13:32:17.436-05:00It's difficult to recall how controversial the...It's difficult to recall how controversial the 1979 BCP was 40 years ago. When contemplating a revision, the New Zealand prayer book now has many proponents in the US.Keith Bakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-55386328046618331522020-11-17T13:03:45.050-05:002020-11-17T13:03:45.050-05:00Of course it is.
Of course it is.<br />Keith Bakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-69128497938513350802020-11-17T12:18:19.518-05:002020-11-17T12:18:19.518-05:00For those of us from the cultural and sartorial de...For those of us from the cultural and sartorial desert of Los Angeles, it provided guidlines for how to look civilized before we ventured north and discovered Cable Car Clothiers. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-21915849360982468582020-11-17T00:28:06.813-05:002020-11-17T00:28:06.813-05:00Might the yoga replacement pants be worn by both w...Might the yoga replacement pants be worn by both women and men? Is a man in yoga pants considered “understated” in your town?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-39748697806346730402020-11-16T22:13:53.853-05:002020-11-16T22:13:53.853-05:00There’s not much to know about “degrees” if you’re...There’s not much to know about “degrees” if you’re a skier. Somewhere around 32, sometimes at 33 or 34, precipitation turns, gratefully, to snow. The thermometer must register a little lower for the snow-making to start. One who is enthusiastic about snow (and ice!) sports begins watching the weather at a young age. That must make place such enthusiasts among the “elite.” Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-62926028920826682052020-11-16T19:28:42.554-05:002020-11-16T19:28:42.554-05:00I remember reading TOPH shortly after graduating h...I remember reading TOPH shortly after graduating high school and being amused. There was finally a "definition" for many people around me. When I read that my VW Rabbit was "in", I thought oh dear I am going to be labeled as "one of them". By no means am I a card-carrying WASP or "prep". I am me. I am quite content as such. Cheers!RCJHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-88376529408189456812020-11-16T19:13:18.342-05:002020-11-16T19:13:18.342-05:00My father (Horace Mann School ’56, Princeton ’60) ...My father (Horace Mann School ’56, Princeton ’60) once said to me “son, I’ll never be OUT of style because I was never IN style. Aesthetically, you could wear anything in the Preppy Handbook and walk comfortably in any of the towns on pg. 188, islands on pg. 207, or clubs on pg. 209. As this blog is a testament to, some things don’t change. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-6486717388878863612020-11-16T18:37:42.544-05:002020-11-16T18:37:42.544-05:00Michael McCarty inter alia destroyed a good many p...Michael McCarty inter alia destroyed a good many preppy brain cells in NYC, PB and NPT.Katahdinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11443348614976344632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-33932133138597786742020-11-16T18:04:50.983-05:002020-11-16T18:04:50.983-05:00Upper East Side prep hangouts I remember from the ...Upper East Side prep hangouts I remember from the late 1970s that turned up in TOPH a few years later were Swell's, the Sugar Mill, the Mad Hatter, J.G. Melon and, of course, the legendary, haut prep Pedro's. All gone except for Melon. The Upper East Side in those days was prep heaven; it was as if the Sixties never happened.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-72424592279042456112020-11-16T17:42:56.568-05:002020-11-16T17:42:56.568-05:00An enjoyable complement to TOPH is the fun book TI...An enjoyable complement to TOPH is the fun book TIPSY IN MADRAS: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO 80s PREPPY DRINKING. Its "Selected Bibliography" is very relevant too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-71728986114362022412020-11-16T15:08:21.087-05:002020-11-16T15:08:21.087-05:00Loved TOPH, which came out when I was 10. I grew u...Loved TOPH, which came out when I was 10. I grew up in a Black family that wasn't traditionally prep (of course, you might say) but had some hallmarks of the lifestyle. My parents enjoyed tennis and skiing, and we vacationed in the Hamptons or on the Cape or the Vineyard. When the book came out, I found it thoroughly entertaining -- I got that it was satirical, and laughed a lot -- and felt myself perfectly suited to the style and the ethos. I still feel that way today. Enjoyed Birnbach's more recent follow-up, "True Prep," but it wasn't nearly the same lightning-in-a-bottle instant classic.John E.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-68468460875417392442020-11-16T14:21:15.225-05:002020-11-16T14:21:15.225-05:00"!st Degrees" also have summer homes on ..."!st Degrees" also have summer homes on the coast of New England and spend winter vacations in the mountains. Their sports are mainly the the exclusive, expensive, elite non-stick-and-ball ones (except for golf and tennis): skiing, sailing, crew, horses....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-73291544062878621972020-11-16T13:36:00.166-05:002020-11-16T13:36:00.166-05:00I understand the general idea of the question but ...I understand the general idea of the question but am not sure I’d use the terms “intelligent, public-spirited, cliquish, productive, and understated.” I’ll grant cliquish and in some specific ways public-spirited, but I never thought of preppy as necessarily synonymous with intelligence, and as for productivity, I’ll let you know once I’ve finished my martini. Understated can be hard to pull off when you’re wearing lime green trousers with little whales on them.Sartreskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07028559972862428523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-89210980099583852082020-11-16T12:21:18.245-05:002020-11-16T12:21:18.245-05:00We used to go to a bar which I think was on the Up...We used to go to a bar which I think was on the Upper East Side called the Voodoo Lounge. It is probably long gone. Spent hours and hours dancing and drinking there in the 1980s. Avoided Dorrian's Red Hand especially after it become notorious -- believe that may be still open.Connie Murraynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-48242780568917916852020-11-16T12:16:41.723-05:002020-11-16T12:16:41.723-05:00And there was the "The Daily Prep"...And there was the "The Daily Prep"... skiwithaprohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08258934506648829461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-63997647280143267462020-11-16T12:12:07.468-05:002020-11-16T12:12:07.468-05:00I should add that the aforementioned church meetin...I should add that the aforementioned church meeting was in an Episcopal church.Maggiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03310167742699434598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8714922182513339530.post-32916567425638920722020-11-16T12:11:35.884-05:002020-11-16T12:11:35.884-05:00I once went to a church meeting in Charlotte, NC, ...I once went to a church meeting in Charlotte, NC, and I sat next to a man in his 70s wearing cords, two button down oxfords layered over one another, and blucher mocs. He didn't even have to open his mouth before I knew that he was from New England.Maggiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03310167742699434598noreply@blogger.com