<p>A seemingly high proportion of the colleges D is considering are often labeled as very “fratty” and/or very “preppy”. As for
“fratty”, at least some objective data are available, however imperfect, to detail the proportion of undergrads who belong to a fraternity or sorority.</p>
<p>We’re finding “preppy” tougher to decode. We live in a largely upper-middle class suburb of a large east coast city. My guess is that 80% of the country would consider the typical kid here preppy. The local kids, however, don’t necesarily considered themselves “preppy”. That term is reserved for those who attend the dozen or so $40K per year private schools in the area. </p>
<p>We’re not sure how to interpret labels of “preppy” on this forum. Is it being used to connote something about socioeconomic status? Some particular attitude or political orientation? Is it the references to Vanderbilt girls wearing pearls to 9:00am classes? To Princeton students using “summer” as a verb? Or is it the apparently conservative political bent of Washington & Lee students?</p>
<p>Or, my biggest fear, is it the case that there are as many different intended meanings as there are people using the term, rendering it a less than ideal term for screening whether a school might be a good fit for D? I realize that the best way to predict fit is to do campus visits, but we’re still so early (sophomore year) in the process that we’re still trying to winnow down a reasonable number of potential visits.</p>
<p>I think kids have many definitions of preppy. My kids used to insist that the “preppy” kids at their public HS are the ones wearing Aeropostale, Abercrombie and American Eagle. Now that S is in college, he’s telling me about new brands he has seen like Vineyard Vines etc which I am thinking are more indicative of what a traditional prep would wear.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone in my kids’ high school has even heard of Vineyard Vines. I do think there are a lot of definitions of preppy - starting with whether or not you went to prep school. I think clothing is a signifier and some attitudes probably and a certain sheltered background. (That’s what my son notices most about his fellow college students who simply have never spent any time at all with people from different socioeconomic classes.)</p>
<p>I think “preppy” is more of an attitude/socio-economic thing, than just how you dress, IMO. I would think that it means more conservative - in beliefs and in dress. But I suppose there are many definitions. I think the OP’s kid is probably going to form his own opinions when he starts visiting colleges, and that’s what really counts. </p>
<p>I think the term and concept is becoming obsolete.
It may have meant something 40-50 years ago, when worlds started to collide at some of the elite, formerly all-male bastions (HYP, Williams, Amherst etc.) A “preppy” was someone who had gone to prep school, and who carried all the social class baggage that made him or her stand out from the increasing numbers of middle class and URM college students. Many of the latter started copying the clothing (if not the speech mannerisms) of the former. A high watermark was the publication of Lisa Birnbach’s Preppy Handbook in 1980.</p>
<p>In parts of the South, the concept might still be relevant. Wearing pearls to class, or pants with little whales all over them, may be a way for kids in these circles to signal to each other that they want to be discovered as a breed apart. I suspect that at many “prep schools” elsewhere, nobody would be caught dead in the kind of getup described in the *Preppy Handbook<a href=“except%20at%20a%20costume%20party,%20worn%20with%20irony”>/i</a>.</p>
<p>I always think of it as old school preppy, predominantly high WASP. Btw - academic bonafides aren’t necessarily relevant for defining a preppy school. Dartmouth might be, but MIT decidedly isn’t. </p>
<p>I think preppy is in the eyes of the beholder. I don’t think I’ve heard the word used by any high schooler or college aged kid in the last few decades. Your daughter needs to visit some schools. Some schools we have visited have a much more dressy student body, which doesn’t make them “preppy”, necessarily, but might not be what your child wants. Khakis and ties at a football game were the death knell for one particular fine university in my son’s eyes. But the word "preppy"was never a part of the conversation, it just wasn’t for him. He has a friend who is attending that university, and loves that tradition. Same for a friend’s daughter. She did not like the vibe of a particular university where the girls dressed up (as in, nice outfits and make up, as opposed to just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-threw-on-clean-sweats for classes. She loves to dress up, but didn’t like the going-to-class vibe there. Other girls from our area loved it. Your daughter will know what feels right when she sees it.</p>
<p>I don’t know how much “preppy” has to do with attitudes (i.e., conservative vs. liberal) but it’s funny how little the look has changed over the decades. I had never heard of Vineyard Vines but I looked at the site. The dresses look like Lilly Pulitzer or Ralph Lauren from the 80s–we used to wear stuff like this with Pappagallo espadrilles. The guys’ apparel has a lot of what we used to call “jacka** pants” with critter prints and bright colors. When I see this look now all I can think of is the movie “Wedding Crashers.”</p>
<p>We love Vineyard Vines here in the south. Some of it is over the top, but the button down shirts and polos are really nice- and the pjs are great! I had a trip to Charleston last fall, and it was everywhere!</p>
<p>Since I am a gardener getting dirty all the time, my first thought looking at Vineyard Vins was how do they get them clean. All so pastel. Another def of preppy could be people who don’t worry about doing the laundry.</p>
<p>I would put “preppy” towards the right of a continuum of how a college looks and feels. On one end would be the earthy, old sweatshirt and jeans, pot-smoking colleges, and on the other end would be the collared shirt, khakis and belt, cocktail drinkers. Not saying that everyone on the campus is that one way, just that it exudes that sort of feel, and most people have a preference for which crowd they feel more comfortable with, or want neither and like something more towards the middle.</p>