Gen X black southern preppy here. I love how classic prep is. The first “quiet luxury”. We were huge RL and Lacoste fans. I also still rock with Lilly Pulitzer. That brand has never been scared of color. ❤
@@marissashantez6051 I'm a Southern preppy, Gen X or Xennial, depending who you ask. Low rise is not required! I wear high waisted, wide leg chinos. So comfortable, and a look that harkens back to Katherine Hepburn. A genuine, athletic, New England prep. Preppy style doesn't have to be 2000s preppy. Preppy is timeless. Find your fit and make it your own!
@@amycortez3289 That sounds gorgeous. I love the bright colors of the 2000 Preppy look, but as for the fit, what you are describing sounds more elegant and timeless. After all; The waist of the garment should be on the waist of the human. Thats why they call it the waist. And of course there is no one who exemplifies quiet luxury better then Katherine Hepburn.
That sent me back to my high school years. I was a lonely goth among a lot of preps (or those emulating the style). I hated it at the time because it definitely meant to signify „I’m better/richer/smarter than you“ in every way possible. These people were normal middle class people but they engaged in horse riding, sailing and the likes. They called themselves „polos“. People actually wore pearl earrings and boat shoes with low rise pants (dark wash of course) and cropped polos or breton tops. Burberry indeed was everywhere. There was some overlap with the contemporary hiphop culture in that it sported luxury items and made use of white and light pink a lot. Now that I’m older, it’s still not for me but I can appreciate the minimalism and steadiness of the style.
There was actually a quiet-ish revival of a preppy style subculture in the mid to late 2010s on Tumblr after the financial crisis dust had settled. Lots of "Southern XYZ" t-shirt brands popped up around this time and this was also when Kiel James Patrick's brand took off.
This is such a mind opening analysis and moment of a elitist but upper middle class and generational wealth aesthetic… I 🧡 the analysis and presentation of this social commentary and video essay format… It is so interesting and educational!
I grew up in an affluent suburb right outside of Boston. And in the eighties preppy was huge! Everyone there wore polos, rugbys. My 4th grade pic I had an argyle vest on with a mini skirt! And this was 1984!! The girls were tretorn o keds sneakers LLVean jackets and backpacks . Classic styles always come back every 10 years that’s why we are seeing it done again now.
so interesting how the entire aesthetic is rooted in English styles- I had no idea! would love to see more videos on southern prep, as someone who only gets to wear trench coats once a year lol
I'm not sure how I stumbled into your videos as I am a young Gen Xer and have never in my life cared or thought much about fashion, but I'm finding these videos oddly fascinating and educational. Hope to eventually see more on the early-mid 90s as that was my own adolescence but it's all really interesting
Visually the look can be fun but I think the popularisation through shows like gossip girl and the O.C. etc spread this false mindset that identifying and empathising with filthy rich people and normalising extreme hoarding of resources by a few over the well being of many, was somehow going to make us transcend into the upper class as well, further marginalising and creating apathy towards the majority of the population on this planet who is poor, working or middle class. And the preppy dressing style supported these beliefs…
Excellent video presentation and discussion. Something for everyone in this aesthetic. I am fond of nautical themes and also polo sporting themes. RL print ads have always inspired me. So believable, as if I could be a part of the scene in the ad.
lovee this video and ur channel its so interesting to see where are these pieces of clothing even derive from and evolve into something different esp the "preppy" aesthetic is very popular with preteens with their version of "preppy" thats not very gossip girl-esque but with very very bright colors which reminds me of the colors i saw in ur analysis
I looove your videos. I’m bummed this didn’t include Abercrombie and fitch or Hollister though. That was a huge staple in socal during my teen years and therefore very nostalgic to me.
I’m convinced my love for preppy style (specifically “Ivy League” preppy, not American Eagle preppy lol) in high school stemmed from getting tween fashion catalogs in middle school - I was obsessedddd with their back to school editions. The plaid, the sweaters, the tall socks had me transfixed lmao probably because I’m from Louisiana and you can’t even think about wearing a sweater until well into November and even then you’ll probably have to take it off by the afternoon!
Very interesting video, very good job! What I find really interesting is how the upper classes appropriate what is labour class attire in a need to appear simple and non pretentious and then companies come up, brand the styles and the labour class buy the expensive version trying to imitate upper class and to fit in. It's the same story in many cases. And I find it frustrating. Does anybody else see the pattern?
The real reason is because the upper class want to look different than the more insecure middle class. So the UC imitate the working class knowing this will confuse the middle class for many many years 😂
I grew up working class and graduated high school in 2004. I could've never afforded a lot of brands mentioned (although they definitely weren't my style anyway), but inexpensive polo shirts and rugby jerseys mixed with pop punk style and some bling thrown in was *chefs kiss*.
Great analysis, of Sportswear/Prep. As someone who was in High School and College in the 2000s, this video definitely describes a large part of my style, that I still follow today. I was big on American Eagle! However, I did shake it up with an Alternative Rock look at the same time! black t-shirts and Blue jeans depending on the situation and social group!😄
Very good analysis! Some errors in wording, but overall ver accurate. I would say that this style continued into the 2010 among the demographic the style was made for even if it fell out of fashion to the greater public. I wonder if it’s still popular now though, in its most obnoxious iteration I mean, as most people I know have chosen to moderate their style to be more neutral in the age of social media and edgier in order to fit in with city life as you do in your 20s and 30s. I feel like $600 linen embroidered dresses have been popular with this group for the last decade over Lilly Pulitzer, especially once Lilly made everything neon and lowered its quality by going for polyester instead of its traditional cotton/silk fabrics and reducing their embroidery as well. I would be happy if this aesthetic return, can’t lie.
In the same vein but instead of Lilly Pulitzer, I feel like preppy women now are going for brands and designers using colorful fabric from India to make cotton sundresses, e.g. Sue Sartor, Madison Mathews, Banjanan, Oliphant-esque dresses. Also Hill House definitely fills the Lilly-shaped trend void.
Ralph is the best Brooks in second place and Burberry, don’t forget Tommy Hilfiger especially in the 90s but he’s back now and his designs are awesome but his quality can be better..
No one in our class wears anything with a logo. If you know, you know. My God, ive seen people wearing Burberry iconic market check jackets, trousers....shoes!! Polo shirts with huge iconic polo!! True wealth is QUIET.
As a minority, I thought it strange that some of the clothes here originated by British upper class but worn by various minority groups were not seen as appropriating white culture even though the reversal is to accuse whites of appropriating other cultures. Can we just normalize it's common to borrow and influence each other's styles?
I’ve been saying the same for years. My boyfriend is a cowboy. Like literally a ranch hand. All of his “gear” is now being worn in rap videos. Camo, work wear, neon Orange construction colors etc 🦺 No one ever screams about cultural appropriation. Cultures were meant to be SHARED. We literally used to TRADE! People would trade silk for spices, metals for leathers and so on!! That’s what makes the world beautiful. I don’t like the modern woke way of viewing all white people as one way, and all minorities as another. There was literally cannibalism happening during the Holimodor, and the Great Depression affected all races. So tired of hearing “old white men” used as a slur, for men who literally starved, started working at 12, then got shipped off to two wars!!! Culture needs to be shared. Nuance is needed! It’s not black and white! Literally!
2 responses to this 1- not all outfits are necessarily “culture”, im mexican but i dont consider many aspects of chicano street style my “culture” right like we can agree theres a distinction between a culturally important aspect of adoration/attire and a style that just happens to originate from a certain ethnic group and 2- cultural appropriation can not work the other way around (“reverse racism”) because at least in the US, “White” American culture (“WASP” culture) is the predominant culture, more specifically the predominant culture of those in positions of power. so for example, someone white who is from “wasp” culture can wear their hair in braids (it would probably fall out lmao but thats besides the point) for an instagram post and then take them out for a job interview and have hair that is “socially acceptable” to the interviewer, but someone who has coily hair has braids because its a protective hairstyle for coily hair and cant just be white again for a job interview. That is why styles can be taken from the predominant culture and not be “appropriating” anything because at the end of the day that is what is seen as “acceptable” by those in positions of power (last note this tangent is all US centric)
So funny how you used so many pics of Kate and Pippa Middleton. They are the epitome of new rich and british upper class often have mocked them for trying too hard to look old money. That signet ring Pippa wears is with the literally new Middleton coat of arms created in 2012... most Eurpean nobility can trace their lineage back to the 13th century or more!
As a WASP 1. most of us are not rich. 2. we mostly dress so we don't freeze 3. you're supposed to wear your skin colour, so RL not making brown polo shirts is kinda sus.
re Tweed: war rationing. Leather patches were also due to rationing and these were WW1 veterans re-drafted into teaching out of retirement. It's extremely crass to wear leather arm patches unless you've served in the military in some capacity but even then, tryhard since we aren't on rationing anymore. Wearing tweed when you didn't grow up in the countryside is also crass, worst of all to wear in cities like London (no brown in town) since it's for leisure like shooting not work. It also has an ammo pocket so anti-hunting people cannot wear it, we make fun of them because it's like a vegan in leather. It has nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes, during the Hound of the Baskervilles, he was blending in wearing tweed in the middle of nowhere, it was like camo. Detectives blend in. In England, if you own an estate it's typically farmland (like Mr Darcy) so wearing farmer fabric makes sense because again, you dress like the other staff, it's a work uniform so people wearing tweed to show off is a bit like someone randomly dressing like a waiter or McDonald's staff to act like they own the restaurant. Stupid and confusing, they don't own an estate, have no staff and didn't go to the right schools so no outfit they wear ever matters. The pattern also covers any bird sh-t reasonably well, boots are brown due to mud and manure. If wearing black, we cannot see where to clean it off! You NEVER mix city and country outfits in one (RL styling is terrible and laughable) and you don't wear a larpy farm girl outfit unless you are from there e.g. cottagecore cringe. Worst are the people who claim to dress like Hobbits (Rachel Maksy, for one) who dress like our alcoholic crazy uncle and act cringe thinking it's cute. We think womanchild who refuses to grow up, like Peter Pan. That is not what young people wear in the countryside. We are NOT against looking sexy, we also don't want lyme disease. It's a precarious balancing act. Ancestral paintings bless you, another person's curse you. It isn't "largely a white aesthetic". The Kennedys are NOT WASP. It's literally a race and religion. Irish Catholics don't even count! Poor people in England wear it too, the whole point was a countersignal after WW2 to dress like the working class of the time!
I disagree with others. I dislike this aesthetic. I can appreciate "classic" pieces, but "prep" doesn't do it for me. Then again, I'm not upper middle class. I guess it's due to the so-called "douchey fratboy" and "bitchy preppy girl" behaviors I saw in entertainment and in real life. I suppose I spent too much time as a scene girl when I was young, and then I accepted the fact that I can't get away from being a blue-collar country girl (but I don't always look the part). Rather than the refined look of European horseback riding, I'm more like American cowboys vs indians wild style of horseback riding (I'm at least truly half Amerindian). My personal aesthetic is Farmcore Coquette, apparently (that was fun figuring out). As reserved and stiff as I am, I am not elegant nor refined, and I have no interest in being so. I fear the return of the acceptance of stuck up and entitled attitudes that I saw in the 2000s with the role play of either east coast or west coast upper class elitism by the middle class. Then again, it probably ends when I log out, lol.
