Concrete Definition of Preppy:
One who is stylish and spends a lot of money on their clothing. Typically dressed in Ralph Lauren Polo, Lacoste, and Lilly Pulitzer. A true prep goes to a prep school, be it a day school or a boarding school. Most of these schools are located on the East Coast. They are not religiously affiliated. There is no such thing as a true public school prep. Preppies are subtly flashy, and tend to purchase things for comfort and style. Silver jewelry is particularly common, as are pearls. Flip-flops and ribbon belts are must-have accessories, as well as real (or sometimes fake) pearl earrings. Preppies take good care of their nails, but do not get acrylic fakes. Many get their eyebrows waxed. Preppies strive always to appear to spend less time than they do on their appearance, and do not brag or draw attention to their achievements openly. Preppy clothes never truly go out of style, but are frequently replaced. Preppies love their khakis, especially males. They will pay three times as much for a polo player, alligator, or palm tree on their shirts. Common vacations include, but are not limited too: Massachusetts coast, skiing out west (it is more expensive), and Caribbean island vacations during the winter (also very expensive). Most preps have, in their life, skied, and played lacrosse, tennis, and golf. Preppiness is found in its truest form after several generations of wealth in the family. First-generation preps tend to be flashy. True Preparatory (Prep) schools have near 100 years of “experience in educating young men/women” and nearly all of them send 100% of their graduates on to college. Preps tend to proceed to Ivy League, or other “big-name” colleges. Their level of intelligence varies greatly. They may have, but do not need, trust funds.
Preppies value staying in touch, which is why many have cell phones. They claim to buy their more expensive items so that they “will last.” (Examples are Oakley sunglasses, Columbia Sportswear and LL Bean outerwear, and Polo shirts.)
Preppies are not slutty, and do not wear American Eagle or Abercrombie, except for some of their sweaters. They focus instead on the more expensive brands, since they can and will pay 50-75 dollars for a short sleeve shirt. Preppies strive to wear different shirts each time they are around the same person. True preppiness can not be adapted, but it is a part of birthright. Wanna-bee Preppies never quite achieve what true preps are born with.
One who is stylish and spends a lot of money on their clothing. Typically dressed in Ralph Lauren Polo, Lacoste, and Lilly Pulitzer. A true prep goes to a prep school, be it a day school or a boarding school. Most of these schools are located on the East Coast. They are not religiously affiliated. There is no such thing as a true public school prep. Preppies are subtly flashy, and tend to purchase things for comfort and style. Silver jewelry is particularly common, as are pearls. Flip-flops and ribbon belts are must-have accessories, as well as real (or sometimes fake) pearl earrings. Preppies take good care of their nails, but do not get acrylic fakes. Many get their eyebrows waxed. Preppies strive always to appear to spend less time than they do on their appearance, and do not brag or draw attention to their achievements openly. Preppy clothes never truly go out of style, but are frequently replaced. Preppies love their khakis, especially males. They will pay three times as much for a polo player, alligator, or palm tree on their shirts. Common vacations include, but are not limited too: Massachusetts coast, skiing out west (it is more expensive), and Caribbean island vacations during the winter (also very expensive). Most preps have, in their life, skied, and played lacrosse, tennis, and golf. Preppiness is found in its truest form after several generations of wealth in the family. First-generation preps tend to be flashy. True Preparatory (Prep) schools have near 100 years of “experience in educating young men/women” and nearly all of them send 100% of their graduates on to college. Preps tend to proceed to Ivy League, or other “big-name” colleges. Their level of intelligence varies greatly. They may have, but do not need, trust funds.
Preppies value staying in touch, which is why many have cell phones. They claim to buy their more expensive items so that they “will last.” (Examples are Oakley sunglasses, Columbia Sportswear and LL Bean outerwear, and Polo shirts.)
Preppies are not slutty, and do not wear American Eagle or Abercrombie, except for some of their sweaters. They focus instead on the more expensive brands, since they can and will pay 50-75 dollars for a short sleeve shirt. Preppies strive to wear different shirts each time they are around the same person. True preppiness can not be adapted, but it is a part of birthright. Wanna-bee Preppies never quite achieve what true preps are born with.
"She mixes pink and green like a true preppy"
"Their hair ribbons are so preppy."
"I dig the preppy style."
"Their hair ribbons are so preppy."
"I dig the preppy style."
by Meg February 17, 2004
preppy- a true prep does not wear abercrombie and fitch, hollister, or american eagle.A true preppie always looks put together,clean cut, and crisp. We would never ever put on a slutty shirt from a and f. We like to dress to impress! like wearing clothes from ralph lauren polo, l l bean ect. we always have our colars popped up and most of the time have pearls around our necks. None of us would be caught dead in anything else. You might think that the kids at your school who wear a n f and hollister are preppy....but they are not. They are just trashy looking.
omg did you see kristie today? she was looking good in her pink ralph lauren polo with her colar popped up.
by polo prep July 20, 2004
Hey. Sure, Brooks Brothers is a standard preppy store, but don't forget BASS. Of course, they sew the Weejuns!
by RT April 3, 2005
A prep is someone who lives in new england, summers in nantucket, martha's vineyard or block island, and usually goes to a private school. preps come from old money, generally their families are old time new england families. preps go to colleges like wesleyan, swarthmore, harvard, bowdoin, risd, wellesly, and other colleges of the type. they wear j.crew, have a northface ski jacket with lift tickets attatched, carry a nalgene with them everywhere, and dont wear a whole lot of makeup. they consider themselves to be liberals, but tend to be more on the conservative end of liberalism.
they wont admit they are rich, but they are-they just arent showy with their money, and will buy a jetta over a porsche or a crv over an escalade. generally, they go for quality, not size/showyness.
they wont admit they are rich, but they are-they just arent showy with their money, and will buy a jetta over a porsche or a crv over an escalade. generally, they go for quality, not size/showyness.
by K.A. August 1, 2005
Prep is as many of the people here have already said - classic, conservative, WASPy, tasteful, etc. What bothers me is the misconception that being "preppy" means being a snob. Snobs, by and large, are insecure middle class pricks. A real prep is confident enough in him/herself that he/she doesn't need to put others down for no reason. Preps are secure in who they are; they don't need flashy brand names to give them their self worth.
On a side note - Someone who is White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant is not necessarily a WASP; George Bush is a WASP, for example, while Bill Clinton is not.
On a side note - Someone who is White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant is not necessarily a WASP; George Bush is a WASP, for example, while Bill Clinton is not.
by Chip November 27, 2004
first of all, there are basically two types of preppy. while both date back to the original root of the preppy style. there is an east coast prep, and a west coast prep.
both of these types of preppy go back to the original polo shirts like lacoste, lilly pulitzer, ralph lauren, jcrew and other brands.
l.l. bean, lands end and patagonia are also preppy favorites.
while some west coast preps do shop at baercrombie, it's not for any tight or revealing clothing. it's for basic slimt fit chinos, nice skirts and oxfords. preppy does not mean snobby, and rich although most preps are from well off families.
preps are not mean, condescending people.
we often play sports like lacrosse, golf and tennis.
and while most of us do drive nice cars, and do pop our collars (without a crease, of course) we are not mean and rude to people.
a true prep respects everyone and is well mannered.
many times we volunteer our time to charity and helping the less fortunate.
more importantly we must always look collected and neat, have good manners and NEVER reduce ourselves to making fun of others.
most preps go to a private school, like myself, and stay with the classic preppy looking never trading it in, but sometimes it's nice to add something to the classic look.
anyway, people need to stop saying preps ONLY wear abercrombie and that stuff because actually, most of us don't.
we are not snobby as MANY of you have tried to say, if you get to know a prep we're actually really nice.
we love ribbons in our hair, printed belts, jane fox flip-flops and most importantly tote bags!
you all should really give preps a chance before you judge them as self centered rich kids!
both of these types of preppy go back to the original polo shirts like lacoste, lilly pulitzer, ralph lauren, jcrew and other brands.
l.l. bean, lands end and patagonia are also preppy favorites.
while some west coast preps do shop at baercrombie, it's not for any tight or revealing clothing. it's for basic slimt fit chinos, nice skirts and oxfords. preppy does not mean snobby, and rich although most preps are from well off families.
preps are not mean, condescending people.
we often play sports like lacrosse, golf and tennis.
and while most of us do drive nice cars, and do pop our collars (without a crease, of course) we are not mean and rude to people.
a true prep respects everyone and is well mannered.
many times we volunteer our time to charity and helping the less fortunate.
more importantly we must always look collected and neat, have good manners and NEVER reduce ourselves to making fun of others.
most preps go to a private school, like myself, and stay with the classic preppy looking never trading it in, but sometimes it's nice to add something to the classic look.
anyway, people need to stop saying preps ONLY wear abercrombie and that stuff because actually, most of us don't.
we are not snobby as MANY of you have tried to say, if you get to know a prep we're actually really nice.
we love ribbons in our hair, printed belts, jane fox flip-flops and most importantly tote bags!
you all should really give preps a chance before you judge them as self centered rich kids!
catie looked super chic prep in her sky blue lacoste polo (collar up, no doubt!), khaki chinos and vera bradley tote, and the ribbons in her hair totally accentuated the look.
by bri August 17, 2004
Although there are numerous definitions of "preps" from America, i would like to subject people to the English preps. Like their international counterparts, the English Preps often come from Old-money backgrounds. Some may live on larger farms, or have extensive estates, they may indeed live in manor houses. they are less conservative than the description of the americans, and often like to do sports such as lacrosse, polo, tennis etc. before the Ban, many preps would also enjoy hunting.
by Gorgeous trumps everything May 3, 2006