Let me be clear. As a general rule, I am usually against "trends." But I would never try to label Preppy as a trend. The truth is those who are through and through preps sit back and watch time and time again as the "mainstream" brings our style in and out of magazines and across runways. Nevermind that I still own a copy of Lisa Birnbach's "The Original Preppy Handbook," and nevermind that I have owned a navy blue blazer all of my 30 year old life, and nevermind that I know what an intarsia sweater is, what a fairisle pattern is and why layering in LL Bean, Land's End, Orvis, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers and JPress is as normal as breathing - forget all of that. Preppy is more than the clothes. Look at Kanye West. Not a prep at ALL. He tried, he really did, and for a while he had most of America fooled. Not us. Most of the time the preppiest clothing is not labeled or monogrammed. Its not showy, nor is it always the Lily Pulitzer bright pink and green. What it always is - is effortless. A true preppy looks as natural in a bowtie and a seersucker blazer as he does in a weathered polo shirt and madras shorts. It always looks so put together, and so unprepared, like it was something thrown together on a whim - and odds are that it was because all preps have all the essentials in their closet. And because this attitude of attire is passed down from generation to generation, no matter what happens, and no matter what the trend, Preppy will never die.
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