This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Fainite Auguste. Find her on Instagram at @ceilingdancing. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
The word preppy has once again entered people’s dictionary. But the word preppy has changed throughout the decades. What does it mean now in the 2020’s?
History of Preppy
The term preppy is short for “preparatory, the style gained popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. Which makes sense because the 50s and 60’s fell back into traditions after World War 2. People also use the words “old money aesthetic” to describe preppy because it was traditionally worn by, upper-class Ivy League students, such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. These students are also often referred to as WASPs aka “White Anglo-Saxon Protestants.”
After Lisa Birnbach published “The Official Preppy Handbook” in 1980 preppy became more accessible. The book was satirical and poked fun at all the odd behaviors of the old money lifestyle. But people took it seriously and copied the things Birnbach listed!
How to dress Preppy
The preppy style is defined by its neatness, cleanliness, and respectability. The Kennedys are the first group that comes to mind when the word preppy is thrown around. The Kennedys are effortlessly influential. Their appearance and aesthetic benefited their political presence.
Achieving this look involves investment pieces. Which is just another way of justifying spending 150 dollars on a single button-up shirt. However, investment pieces do not need to be expensive. The most important thing is having consistent pieces aka a capsule wardrobe. The past decade has brought overconsumption and excessive throwing out of clothes.
First, look in the closet and see if you already own solid-color polos or Oxford-style shirts. If you don’t have any lying around retail brands like Old Navy have reasonable prices for these styles. The consistent color schemes of the preppy style are baby blues pinks and yellows. Stripped button-ups are also often worn.
There has been a resurgence of button-ups not just because of the obsession with the preppy style but an obsession with office clothing. You may have noticed people wearing blazers with their everyday outfits. As for bottoms tailored chinos or khakis, quality sweaters, and A-line skirts are common. Young girls in the 60s originally began wearing the preppy style as a protest of the times so skirts were a rarity. The women also wore little to no makeup and leaned into the masculine style, wearing short hair. Complete the look with footwear like boat shoes, sperrys, and loafers.
Preppy as Slang
Recently young people, especially Gen Alpha have used the words “preppy.” If you’re on TikTok you might be familiar with the meme, “it’s so preppy in here.” But where did this meme come form? The shop called “Dear Hannah Prep” is a children’s clothing store. The entire TikTok account are videos of tween girls visiting the store. There aren’t any adults or parents in the videos other than the woman recording them, but I am assuming parent permission was given. There is a consistent group of girls in these videos which seem to be the spokespeople for the brand.
The store is located in Texas and its aesthetic is vibrant pinks, blues, and greens. There is nothing traditionally preppy about this store or the clothing they offer. The clothes look more like sweats or gym wear. This makes sense because it’s targeted toward children and children tend to not like form fitting clothes.
The prices on these clothes are also extremely expensive for children’s clothing. The prices range from 80-280 dollars. Dear Hannah Prep also sells jewelry, skincare, and stationary. The store feels like a place for tweens to play dress up and pretend to be grown ups.
What do you consider to be “preppy?” What do you think of the Gen Alpha preppy as slang? Let us know!
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