Stop the Insanity and Another “Preppy Comeback”

Hello-Hello….it is a Monday.

At the risk of tempting fate, we fear it may be time to bring back the “stop the insanity” shrieking from last decade. And we aren’t talking about this:

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

We are saying resurrect the phrase only, not the person best known for yelling those words at us. At least that’s how it felt whenever that show was on the television: ‘Hi, I’m Susan Powter, with TV that’s YOUR FAULT!’  (Good heavens, no, The Princess did not have it on, but when employed in a television station one isn’t always in charge of what is on.)

But the lunacy continued throughout both the Milan and Paris Fashion Week shows. We are talking about footwear and we’ll commence the visual aids with a look from Gucci’s RTW Ready to Wear Spring 2009 show:

Photo: Stephane Feugere

Or the Emilio Pucci RTW Spring 2009…

Photo by Dave Yoder

From Women’s Wear Daily, in a story about the Prada RTW Spring 2009 show:

“As for the accessories, it was all about the shoes, and not in a good way. The mile-high platforms strapped on over what appeared to be Prada’s take on Peds might have been impressive, had half of the girls not had major trouble walking and thus looked absolutely petrified. At least one fell (the meandering stage set didn’t allow for full viewing), and one bailed on the finale. Folks, more sculptural, higher, chunkier, clunkier, strappier, bondage-ier — we get it. But maybe it’s time to cry uncle and downgrade to shoes that function as shoes, even on the runway.”

The photo below is from that same Prada show during Milan Fashion Week:

Stefano Rellandini/Reuters

Next, a close-up of a pair of Ferragamos.

Ferragamo Show, Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty

Below, a shot from this September’s Peter Som Spring/Summer 2009 runway at New York Fashion Week.

Joshua Lott/Reuters

And here, one from the Marni Spring/Summer 2009 show (BTW, they do have a fabulous online store!):

Photo: Imaxtree

And then this photo is just in from yesterday’s Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton spring/summer 2009  show:

Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images

As far as TP is concerned, enough is enough. Actually, it is too much.  What do you think? Is the silly shoes phenomenon out of control?

Next, a quick look at the Lacoste Fall campaign, “Perfectly Prepped.”

And they are showcasing polos for kids, both boys and girls.

It seems that once again “preppy is making a comeback.” This is at least the third or fourth time we’ve seen this headline since we started our little blog back in February of this year and this is our 219th post, so if one does the math, the comebacks are happening more than we care to contemplate. And wouldn’t that necessitate the lifestyle going away in order for it to ‘come back’?  Our most recent discourse on the topic was June 11th, titled “Everyone Discovers Preppy…“

Now in Adam Tschorn’s story for the Los Angeles Times entitled Preppy makes a comeback on the men’s runway, we see it dubbed the preppie renaissance:

“And nothing in American sportswear is as intrinsically optimistic as the preppy wardrobe built around madras, seersucker and oxford cloth, the de facto uniform of the scion-in-waiting circa 1980 who bides his time at a prep school until a Harvard early acceptance puts him on the path to Wall Street.”

The next two looks are from Perry Ellis:

“In this new world order, it’s a preppie renaissance with privileged panache, with Michael Bastian, Thom Browne and others.”

In referring to designer Thom Browne the articles notes we have the ‘neo-preppy’ moniker:

“Thom Browne, the official tortured soul of the neo-preppy brat pack also toyed with texture, filling his tennis tournament set piece with gauzy sweaters, a floor-length peignoir festooned with tennis rackets and jackets woven over-under from strips of grosgrain.”

Because we have shown so much Thom Browne and Thom Browne for Brooks Brothers Black Fleece, we’ll share two more looks from Perry Ellis:

We simply must fly. Back later.

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