Prepster vs. Hipster - A Wasp in a Hornet's Nest

I'm sure you've all seen our list of the preppiest colleges in America. All are first rate institutions where our crowd can meet more of their own and thrive, both socially and academically. We've no doubt it feels great to be a waspy Exiter grad at Trinity or the great-grandson of a southern oil baron at Hampden-Sydney, but what about those of us who didn't end up at such preppy schools? America, particularly the northeast, is full of top liberal arts colleges. While schools such as Williams, Amherst, and Wesleyan may not carry the historical cache as Harvard, Yale and Princeton, but the many, many fine students among us who fail to make the cut for the Ivy League, they provide a very nice alternative. They may even be more appealing for the more intellectual students who seek a smaller class setting and more intimate overall experience. One such institution is New York's Sarah Lawrence College. Nestled among the luxurious mansions of Westchester, just 15 minutes from Manhattan, Sarah Lawrence has always appealed to students who want to be close to the city without being directly in it. Despite it's Bronxville address, the campus is by no means in the Bronx, but is literally located across the street from several impressive mansions. The most impressive of these mansions, though, is located directly on the campus (pictured above) and is home to the school's admissions office, as well as some dormitories. That's right, some students actually get to live in that building, which was one once to Sarah Lawrence herself, and her husband William, a very successful New York attorney.  The school has changed considerably throughout the years, though.  It was founded as an all-girls institution, and quickly became of bastion for daughters of privilege destined to become trophy wives to wealthy New York men. This did not last, however. The school eventually went co-ed, and in our present day, Sarah Lawrence has become arguably one of the most liberal colleges in the country. A friend of mine from prep school who is currently a student there, says he has never felt accepted as a waspy son of New England in the social scene, which is dominated by political correctness. He also adds that clothing items and accessories such as Lacoste polos and Sperry Top-Siders are almost never seen on the campus and terms like "Nantucket Reds" are unheard of. "My nickname" he added "is literally The Wasp. People also love to make fun of all the pastels I wear. For a preppy kid, it's a fairly hostile environment.  If you talk about Vineyard Vines, they get very insulting." There's just enough of us for it to be noticeable, though, if you look hard enough." When asked what the typical fashion styles on his campus were like, he replied 90% of the campus, both male and female, only wears combat boots. Most of the men just seem to wear skinny jeans, old plaid shirts, and beanies. I guess you'd call it hipster."

As someone who is no stranger to such a scenario, I applaud him, and all other like him, for bringing our signature trad style to an environment that clearly needs it. 

Preppy Personification in the Modern Media

It's always interesting to see how the rest of the world sees us. In a latest abortion...that is to say, original production from Netflix, we get a good glimpse into the minds of some outsiders who seem to have a rather skewered view of prepdom.

Everyone remembers the 2001 cult classic Wet Hot American Summer. I myself was never a fan, but when Netflix announced that it was producing an eight-part prequel to the film, I was too curious to

Josh Charles returns to the role of the preppy New England kid
in the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day
of Camp.

ignore it. I quickly found myself wishing I'd left well enough alone, though.  The mini-series, or whatever we should be calling it stars all the young actors who were made famous by the original film...except that their not so young any more.  The acting wasn't bad, but I just couldn't make myself believe that Paul Rudd and Michael Showalter were still sixteen.  Adding to the mix, though, was a new character, specifically a villian, played by a familiar face.  We were first introduced to Josh Charles when he portrayed love-sick romantic prep school student Knox Overstreet in Dead Poets Society, but years later, he is returning to his roots in his role in First Day of Camp, as Blake McCarthy, a preppy councilor from the rival Camp Tigerclaw.  Described as a "rich, prep school douchebag" and "so good at lacrosse," Charles' character is known for sporting three popped collars at the same time, as you can see from the photo above...a bit overplayed, I'd say.  Although I give no credit to the writers of this horrific spectacle, it certainly makes sense that they would create a preppy jock to be the villian of the series. Everyone hates a guy with money. Apparently no one told the writing team that waspy, preppy kids like they were doubtless going for don't usually spend their summers working as councilors at backwoods summer camps.

Although Charles' character on First Day of Camp, is an over-blown, arrogant jerk, exactly the opposite of the sweet-natured, homeless romantic he portrayed in Dead Poets, his acting is spot on. Personally, I think if you're going to spoof a preppy villian, he should be played by Dylan Koussman, who filled the role of the villian in Dead Poets, as arrogant, close-minded prep school David Cameron.  I would have given the writers and director bonus points if the other preppy councilors had been played by actors from Dead Poets, but those they cast did a fine job. This series was simply the victim of bad writing, but all the actors are very good. Charles steals the show, though.  It just might be worth watching, if nothing else for the great preppy scenes.

Riding in Style - The Preppiest Cars

It's been well established that we New England wasps love to sail, but even we know that you can't go everywhere in a yacht. Their great for those trips from Martha's Vineyard to Block Island, or from Sag Harbor to Nantucket, but what about when you've got to get somewhere on land, say from Greenwhich to Newport? For such a journey, only a car will do. The question is, of course, what sort of car? Only certain types will be acceptable and don't even think of mentioning a pickup truck. In the summer a convertible top is convenient, but let's remember, in New England, there are two seasons; summer and winter and New England winters tend to bring snow. Since we love to ski, of course we'll be equipped with the proper vehicle for hazardous winter road conditions - after all, we're from New England. The following cars, though, are popular among our social circles.  Read on.

It's not the most expensive of transportation methods, but as far as preppy cars go, one vehicle stands above all others; the Volvo Wagon.  Their not quite as sleek and stylish as some other cars that we'll get to shortly, but these beauties have a cache all their own. Yes, they run forever,  as all volvos do, but their also great in the snow, which is a definite plus for those who love to ski.  Other volvo models are models are popular as well, but these wagons are classic, as they have certainly endured throughout the ages. It could be argued that the standard volvo wagon falls into the same category as the green Barbour jacket as something that every New England prep school student owns.  While some families have always owned more expensive cars,  such as BMWs, make no mistake; if you ever went to a private school in New England, your parents had one of these. 

Although your parents doubtless had a Volvo Wagon if you went to prep school in New England, if you can from money, the BMW was the car that they bought you as a reward for getting your license. Chances are, your old man had a beamer that he loved too. It was probably used, but it was classic.  There can be no doubt that the BMW is the classic car of the waspy types, particularly those from New England, and for good reason; their the best. Although their fellow German-made brands, Audi and Mercedes-Benz are popular with preppy crowd, throughout the years, BMW has always been the popular choice. When your parents are paying for your first car, there's typically plenty of choice, but it's hard to turn-down a car as great and as classy as the BMW. Beamer convertibles are popular as well, but typically more so on the west coast, with it's nice weather.

If your folks were making you pay for your own first car, though, or if the Beamer or Benz were out of your price range, the go-to choice was always the Volkswagon Golf. Given the fact that it's the only car with the word "golf" in the title, it would certainly make sense that this car would be popular with the waspy preps, I mean, what else would you show up at your parents country club in? The cabrio convertible probably makes the most sense for a lifestyle like that; just pop the top, toss your clubs in the back and you're good to go - white (as pictured) is probably the preppiest color for this type of car and it is certainly the most popular.  This was personally the first type of car my father thought of for me.

The volvo, the beamer, and the golf tend to fairly small cars, which clearly don't work for everyone.  If you're a bigger guy, say a prep school lax bro, you'd need a bigger ride and that's where our next vehicle comes in.  If you're the type of who divides his time between the lacrosse field and his prep school's gym, then the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon would be a popular choice.  Classier than a Range Rover, this car is particularly popular among two very different types of people; prep school jocks and Russian mobsters. Long Island lax bros seem to be particularly fond of the G-Wagon, although they may not always realize that the G doesn't stand for what they think it does. If you're the type of prep who likes to grab your bros and make a drive from your school in the Connecticut countryside to your family's beach house in the Hamptons, this may just be the car for you.

Let us not forget though, that not every prep's sound home is on the ocean. Indeed their are families who prefer a quiet cottage on a nice lake in Maine, and for their children, a Jeep Wagoner makes the most sense as far as cars go.  Much classier than a Subaru, this vehicle is known for it's classic wooden siding, but also comes with a very comfortable interior and great off-road capibilities, making it ideal for those tough back roads that lead to your families lakeside cottage and you wouldn't want to drive the new Beamer on. The driver of a car such as this would typically be clad in an L.L. Bean Norwegian sweater, a bottle-green Barbour jacket, and J. McClaughlin khakis with a duck or bird-dog pattern and classic Bean Boots from L.L. Bean.  The Wagoner also has plenty of space in the back for the yellow lab or your friends from Hotchkiss.  For an afternoon of quail hunting, there's really no better car than the wagoner. 

Honorable Mentions -

The Range Rover

The Land Rover

The Volvo Estate

The Saab 900