The Official Guide to Sophisticated Prep School Attire

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>I’m making this guide for the purpose of providing students and their parents who are incoming freshmen in private/boarding schools across the country with information on what to bring, in addition to contribute something interesting to the entire CC community. This isn’t necessarily representative of everyone’s views. </p>

<p>I. The Brands
The Staples:[ul][<em>]Polo Ralph Lauren [</em>]Brooks Brothers [<em>]Sperry [</em>]Vineyard Vines [<em>]Rainbow Sandals [</em>]North Face [<em>]Vera Bradley [</em>]Ugg (<em>unfortunately) [</em>]L.L. Bean[/ul]
*Less Popular/Desirable Alternatives<a href=“%5Bb%5DP%5B/b%5D%20denotes%20Less%20Popular,%20%5Bb%5DD%5B/b%5D%20indicates%20Less%20Desirable/Comely”>/i</a>: [ul] [<em>]J. Crew P [</em>]Lilly Pulitzer P [<em>]Rockport P [</em>]Nautica D [<em>]Dockers D [</em>]Lacoste P [<em>]Tommy Hilfiger D [</em>]Calvin Klein P [<em>]Converse D [</em>]J. McLaughlin D/P [<em>]Patagonia P [</em>]Marmot P [/ul]</p>

<p>II. The Styles
Traditional: Pearl Necklaces, Ties/Bowties (must not be tacky/ironic, can have patterns, print, be woven, etc.), Wristwatch (typically with a cloth wristband), Corduroys, Skirts, Dress skirts, woven belts, print belts, headbands, etc. Seersucker, subtle plaid (not on the verge of being too Irish/Scottish), madras, khaki. </p>

<p>III. Caveat
Never wear these: Abercrombie, Aeropostale, Ruehl, American Eagle, Armani Exchange, Dickies, Diesel, Old Navy, Hollister, or anything else tacky of the sort. </p>

<p>Also: If you’re wearing Sperry’s with pants, go for dress socks. If you’re wearing shorts, skip the socks. Don’t wear uggs too often… it reeks of public school stank. Unfortunately they’re functional and comfortable and girls refuse to let go of them. Also, girls can always get away with wearing Wellies. Go nuts on the patterns, colors, prints, etc - but nothing animal or excessively plaid. Only some guys can get away with wearing Wellies, even in the prep society. Don’t gel your hair excessively. Never use AXE. Use cologne with caution. Clean your hair. Wash your face. Despite coming from nice families, many prep school males find it unheard of to use facial wash or acne scrub - please find a way to get rid of the volcanoes all over your face. Trade in your glasses for contacts, unless they enhance your appearance. Braces are gross but not unheard of… just get them off ASAP in high school. Don’t “grind” at school dances please. It’s tacky. North Face rain coats can be worn throughout the fall and spring, even if it’s not raining - they just look good like that. Sailor’s knot bracelets are fine. But don’t go Tommy Bahama on us, you’re not that tropical. Go ahead with sun glasses, such as aviators, but don’t risk verging on guido. Also, don’t buy tacky crap like Coach. If you must buy a brand name purse/wallet/leather good don’t invest in one with a tacky insignia like Coach. Gucci is borderline tacky, as well as Louis Vuitton, but Burberry (if you don’t overload on the nova check pattern), Chanel, etc. are fine with caution.</p>

<p>IV. Casual Wear
Wearing anything from your parents’ alma mater’s sweatshirts/gym shorts/track pants/ties/belts/shirts/the works is totally acceptable… assuming people have actually heard of the place. (HYPSM, Ivies, MIT, and other old LACs are a bonus). Any pajama pants from the listed brands above/Victoria’s Secret are fine. Also invest in buying compression shorts/spandex sports for sports. It’s also rather prevalent among prep school males to wear compression shorts outside of sports.</p>

<p>Feel free to ask, criticize, suggest anything.</p>

<p>Also, I caution everyone with buying from one of the brands listed above. Just because they’re preppy doesn’t mean everything they produce is quality and acceptable. For instance:
<a href=“http://seseo.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2009/02/shirt.jpg[/url]”>http://seseo.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2009/02/shirt.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>^On the verge of being tacky because of jeans, but it’s acceptable. That reminds me - jeans are gross. Wear with discretion.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.vineyardvines.com/product__90195_____14629_13054[/url]”>http://www.vineyardvines.com/product__90195_____14629_13054&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>^Tacky Design. Despite the fact that it’s from a ‘staple’ brand.</p>

2

<p>P.S. I kinda got lazy towards the end so really… make any adjustments/corrections/thoughts.</p>

3

<p>^ I think that tie was made for someone who would think it funny/appropriate.</p>

4

<p>How much should one expect to pay for attire?</p>

5

<p>I expect not to conform to the preset standard and wear whatever I feel like, with or without a well known label.</p>

6

<p>this is for girls right </p>

<p>cause for guys J Crew is very prevalent among bros</p>

<p>sorry but you also forgot </p>

<p>southern proper
southern tide
perry ellis
nautica
also college bar hat
and cabela’s is also sick
and croakies
and wayfarers</p>

<p>and dockers should not be on the list</p>

7

<p>Yeah Hcos go Wayfarers :)</p>

8

<p>[Uggs] reeks of public school stank. </p>

<p>please find a way to get rid of the volcanoes all over your face. </p>

<p>Trade in your glasses for contacts, unless they enhance your appearance. </p>

<p>Braces are gross but not unheard of… just get them off ASAP in high school.</p>

<p>Oh ick. The girl who wants to go so badly to a preppy school (socially elite, full-pay, certain clothes) is just awful enough to be funny, but this, coming from someone who–I gather–goes to SPS is just too much. Please reassure this mama about to send her beloved individualist off to bs that most of you are intelligent and well-mannered and self-aware and humor-filled enough to NOT buy into this kind of judgment and superficiality. Please…</p>

9

<p>Duly noted. And I was going to include Wayfarers and Southern Tide, but I must have forgotten. And I don’t think Perry Ellis should be on the list, IMO. And I did include Nautica.</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t go to SPS, nice try. And I mentioned in the beginning of my post that the views expressed in the guide aren’t representative of what people on this forum think or what everyone in the BS community thinks. What I said above are just my own personal gripes, but I never let them get in the way of interacting with everyone. I’m a tolerant person… I just have pet peeves.</p>

<p>Cool brackets… but the brand is Ugg, not Uggs.</p>

11

<p>So basically… what happens if you don’t wear any of these?</p>

12

<p>Nothing happens to you. Maybe 2-3% of the people you meet might not be willing to hang out with you, but the other normal 97-98% will definitely, regardless of what you wear. I happen to like wearing these clothes, but I still associate with kids who don’t wear nice clothes or with people of different fashion tastes. I’m posting this because, well, a lot of parents on this website love to live vicariously through their children, so I thought they might enjoy dressing up their little boys and girls in prep attire to fulfill their desires to have an elite WASP lifestyle. Just sayin’.</p>

13

<p>In response to this frankly offensive post, I would like to post a few quotes off of the Phillips Exeter Academy website:
“Exeter has a very generous financial aid program for families with incomes up to $200,000 and beyond. For boarding students from families with incomes between $75,000 and $200,000, the average grant is over $27,000.”
“This program is just one piece of the school’s unique and generous financial aid program, which this year supports 46 percent of the school’s students, who have received grants totaling more than $13 million.” </p>

<p>Taking a look at the websites of a couple of the brands you mentioned, I couldn’t help but notice that the shirts seemed to be averaging at around $100, pants $150. To get enough clothes to be able to not have to go to the laundromat every few days, you would have to spend over $1000-$2000 in clothing.
Middle-class wage is $75,000. Taxes, savings, and health insurance bring that down to about $30,000. So, basically, you are suggesting spending 3-6% of a families income AT LEAST on ONE MEMBER OF THE FAMILY.
These statistics are loosely based on my own family<br>
I’m attending Exeter next year</p>

14

<p>Stoompy, I thought you went to SPS simply because you posted an answer to a question about appropriate clothing there–I assumed you were speaking from personal experience. That’s all.</p>

<p>But–really–I’m sorry I attacked you so personally. I should have worded my original post differently. </p>

<p>To say it another way… I note that all of your pet peeves are related to others’ outside appearance–and things like money for clothes and oily skin and when their baby teeth fall out are not generally under kids’ control. I’m hoping for pet peeves more centered around the ugliness of things–like racism and homophobia–than of looks. </p>

<p>That’s not to say that you don’t care about those kinds of things too–I realize that this post was about clothing, and there are some people who may well be grateful for your insight and advice. I’m guessing (hoping?!) it’s less of a concern at a school like Exeter, where the kids come from very diverse backgrounds.</p>

15

<p>Thanks, shelms. This post contrasted drastically to what I saw at revisit days, so I was pretty surprised (okay, majorly surprised and wondering if the rain got into my eyes that day or something). Glad to get some logic and reasoning here.</p>

16

<p>Stoompy:</p>

<p>I’m curious. What percentage of kids at your school are concerned with following these rules?</p>

<p>In the Boston area day schools – RL, Belmont Hill, Beaver, Brimmer, Winsor, Dana Hall, whatever – I see kids dressing in a wide variety of styles. And plenty of Old Navy, Abercrombie, and Hollister. The kids who dress according to the guidelines in the original post are one subculture among many. </p>

<p>Is that not the case at the elite boarding schools?</p>

17

<p>i know your post is without malice, but this entire thread is making me feel really, really small…</p>

<p>funny how in the real world, i’m perfectly middle class but in the boarding school world, i’m practically 3rd world. hmm…</p>

<p>oh, and diesel’s tacky!!! you’re either really picky or i’m just completely oblivious… probably the latter</p>

18

<p>volcanoes on your face…gross braces…so basically if you display any signs of being a teenager, you become a social outcast???</p>

19

<p>I don’t know how is it for you girls but they only time i ever dress up in these clothes is when i go to a party or some social gathering. i never wear polos to school I basically only t-shirts. the only place wear this applies is pants and shorts, honestly your bros will shall we say continually question my sexuality if i dress that well during school. most kids even the most old money, WASP, prep kids. will always strangely only wear nice pants or shorts.</p>

<p>like its the spring most kids at my school and from what i saw at MX (MX does have dress code, just collared shirts) t-shirt (college sports team, usually lax or soccer, solid color tees, sports camp tees, sports tournament shirt, surf shop, things they picked up on the cape, ack and so forth) khaki or pastel shorts (salmon, pink, ack red, blue, green, yellow, khaki) either sperrys, Vineyard vines or rainbow flops or running/tennis shoes with mids (black or white nike or UA) wayfarers or like oakleys with croakies and a college bar hat or(backwards) also in the winter i practically always wear sweats and running shoes ever day with marmot.</p>

<p>while i have a bunch of clothes from all the expensive stores above i love target, wal-mart and marshalls. the stuff you can get just awesome i always buy sweats, athletic shirts, and boxers, and household junk. and it is so fun and entertaining to walk around a marshalls and all the weird stuff that they have.</p>

<p>also i have a decent amount of clothes from the retailers above and i dont buy any more until they dont fit me anymore. so my clothes for quite a long time</p>

20

<p>I’l be rocking Exeter in my goodwilled jeans and JCPennied shirts next year, reeking to the armpits in public-schooledness… along with 100 others similar, slightly better, or worse than me</p>