Everyone Discovers Preppy, Part Two (Including ‘Nouveau Preppie’)

In case you missed yesterday’s post…we discussed the fact there has been a rash, nay, a veritable explosion in the volume of articles, stories and features dedicated to the topic of (for lack of a better term) “Preppy Style.” (We are aware some consider this very phrase an oxymoron.) This morning we are mortified to discover we left at least two stories out of our coverage.

The first is from the Louisville Courier-Journal, simply entitled Prep School. As writer Christine Fellingham puts it:

The preppie look is back … minus the add-a-beads and upturned collars. Here, the finer points on updating the timeless look for this summer.

Referring to the look as Nouveau Preppie, Ms. Fellingham gets her research off on the right foot, starting at The Peppermint Palm, a Lilly Pulitzer shop.

Ms. Fellingham finds the biggest change in preppy style to be the fit: what was once loose is now tailored, and more body-conscious as shown in some of the photos below.

The writer also suggests things be a little less matchy-matchy, a wise idea in our humble opinion, and she offers her input on the topic of animals or ‘critters.’ You’ll have to click on the link to read what she has to say on that topic. It’s a very brief article, we promise. (Hint: It’s in the paragraph ‘Mix, Don’t Match’.)

The second article we neglected to include is author Sherrie Mathieson’s “Forever Cool – In Praise of Preppy Style” from the fab site BoomerGirl.com. While brief, the article is just delightful, and among other things, makes just good common sense points, like the following:

2. Preppy can be as conservative as you like (think LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Britches, Talbot’s) or you can up the ante, as I would urge you to, by using it as your core look with a “twist” (think Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, J Crew).

Ms. Mathiseson’s story mentions a number of designers and companies, a group as diverse as LL Bean and Kate Spade. There are no photos with her story, so we were forced to select our own, and you know how we hate that. (Heh-heh-heh.) Below we show LL Bean’s Sea Spray Surf Set, which comes in both Infant and Toddler Girls sizes, and guess what? It is on sale, originally $26.50 and now $16.95! Once again, you cannot say The Princess is not hearting your bankbook. (Is that how one refers to that sentiment? Hearting?)

And below we share the Kate Spade Miramar Minu Clutch, also with a delightful price savings in effect!

We love that Mathieson refers to ‘preppy style’ as “widely misunderstood and underrated;” as it is sadly thus in many cases, when it comes to equating internal personality traits with external appearances. Besides, how could we possibly resist any article that speaks glowingly of Lilly? Speaking of… might we seize the moment and insert a photo from the Home Collection at The Pink Palm? (Everything seen in the photo below is 50% off. Just a little FYI from the Princess.)

Mathieson is an outstanding writer, to the point, without a lot of frou-frou. Her background is costume design and style consulting – she has her own book out called Forever Cool.

C’mon, dig out your glasses and settle in for some reading. It’s good for the soul.