The Preppy Post

Five Unconventional Excuses for a Drink to Put the “Fun” Back in High Functioning Alcoholic

Monday, January 16, 2012

A Worn-Out Pair of Docksiders: Make a bittersweet parting with your beloved Sperrys a celebration by throwing them a Retirement Party! Dig up photos from the good old days and summers past, and keep the Cape Codders flowing.

A Successful First Date: Does anyone else obsessively evaluate their behavior following a social engagement, fearing slipping up so severely and never being invited back? I’ve gone as far as grading myself on occasion. Maybe this is better suited for those “Hey, it’s Okay…” lists that are popping up everywhere, though it’s tough to live up to my own impossibly high standards. This would be worthy of, say, a French Martini.

Giving Yourself a Smudge-Free Manicure: What’s wrong with the nail salon? Truthfully, does dedicating an hour or two to sniffing glue and allowing The Help to criticize every last one of your bodily imperfections (then scowling when you only tip them 10%) – all to a soundtrack of Far-Eastern interpretations of “My Heart Will Go On” and the Ave Maria – sound at all appealing? Muffy, Please. Mastering the art of painting your own nails and not ruining them within an hour deserves a drink as vibrant as the lacquer you’ve wielded: a Pink Lady, or midday Blood Orange Bellini.

Finishing A Particularly Challenging Novel/Novella/Article/Nonfiction Work: I frequently force myself to read articles that are above my intelligence and/or reading level because frankly, sometimes I just don’t feel as bright as my peers. The promise of a well-stirred Gin Rickey in similar fashion of the Lost Generation, however, makes sifting from “On a January Evening of the early seventies” through “Newland Archer got up slowly and walked back alone to his hotel” a rewarding journey.

Updating Your Lifestyle Blog for the First Time in Eleven Months: Oopsies. You’re welcome. I guess you could treat yourself to your favourite cocktail. Cin-cin, everybody!

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Jack Sloan – Let’s Talk About Socks

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Argyle Over-the-Calf Socks, Available at Brooks Brothers

A bleak February day got you down? Well take a look at your feet. One of the best ways to beat this seasonal slump is a kicky piece of clothing often taken for granted, and therefore left to standard conventions: socks. Fun, colorful, patterned socks.

Socks have the power to transform, to inspire and to excite. You might be the only one who knows they’re there but isn’t it all that matters? I would not be as glib as to suggest that a person’s worth is reduced to a pair of cotton ped-sweat absorbers. Or at least this is no longer the case. Socks were at one time de rigueur amongst the nobles, with hand-woven patterns and color schemes indicative of hierarchical status. While plenty grateful progresses in industry have made them accessible to all, we can still uphold ourselves to a level of marked greatness in our under-footwear choices.

Something that serves as practical doesn’t have to necessarily be bland. While we use everyday words to communicate ideas, we also swear to add vibrancy and accentuate emotions. Like swearing, accessories are best used in small doses and displayed at the appropriate time when one is feeling uninspired and wants to lay down their jauntiness. A pair of colorful socks are the perfect elixir to life’s complacency. You owe it to yourself, and as you have to wear them at least 200 days a year, why not go the fun route. Weed out the torn and tattered (you’re better than these) and build a respectable collection of stimulating dress socks. And as a bonus, they’ll mark your individuality as they won’t get put in a sibling’s sock drawer after laundry is done.

I wear dock-siders year-round, though living in the Northeast has made me sensitive to the practical front when mucking about in the rain, slosh or general atmospheric displeasure that this time of year bears. When boots are mandated, as is an appropriate sock- something of the thicker, wool variety. And there you can’t go wrong with a pair of Wigwams, which, as we say in Boston, “they keep ya wigs wam.” Even there, the good people of this outdoor company understand the needs of the fashionably innovative outdoorsman producing an array of colors and patterns. While on the topic of socks for warmth, and if you have a particularly dull face and want to bring it out, Wigwams also work great when placed on the ears in a practice I’ve designated as “aural sox.”

While my sock drawer resembles a Baskin Robbins – 31 flavors – a few basic solids is a good place to start, but the whole idea is they should be something that you’re comfortable with. So if you’re yearning for warmer weather this desolate time of year, break out the socks with usually reserved for the Fourth of July. It’s not only the seasonal tides a pair of bright socks can conquer. Try them for nerves. On your next date, job interview, or séance, sit cross-legged in your chair and take a quick look down to notice your fun socks and you’ll feel more comfortable and thus confident. The point is to have fun with them and to share the fun. So try it and the next time you or someone catches a glimpse of the cheerful coloring or intricate designs, smiles are sure to ensue. And if you don’t believe that, next Christmas, hang a pair of Hanes classics in place of your stockings with bells on them; this is the best way to ensure a deposit of coal is made.

Raconteur, jazz aficionado and seasonal haberdasher, Jack Sloan enjoys evenings near the hearth, fire banked against the howl and cold of a winters storm. He has never been one to let the truth get in the way of a good story and offers his services as a bridge between the sacred and profane to the elite, for it is a short trip from Washington to Walpole.

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Reexamining a Modern Myth with Josh Reinhardt: The “Kennedy Republican”

Thursday, February 10, 2011

This past weekend saw much ado over President Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday. Both ardent liberals and deep red conservatives regard him as one of the best presidents of their lifetimes. His political opponents were defuse by his charm and humor and he was able to fend off the far right with his steadfast belief in American exceptionalism. This, in no small part, lead to his historic electoral victories in 1980 and 1984. Political scientists and commentators liked to mention the “Reagan Democrats” in conjunction to his victories: the blue collar, Kennedy loving white middle class voters who valued low taxes and strong national defense. But that type of voter faded away in the 1990’s to the wave after wave of Soccer Moms who swooned over the moderate in Chief, Bill Clinton. Since we are a society who places an inordinate value on labels and hypothetical social movements, what are the new “caste” of voters in our trying times? Who will be the 2010’s soccer mom? This is difficult to say since our society has become more heterogeneous and complex, I mean, what do we even call this decade? The tens? The Twenty Tens? The teens? Or the age of the Kennedy Republican?

“The Kennedy Republican?” My strawman would ask. “You mean a liberal Republican who supports Ted Kennedy or his relatives?” Certainly not. Another iconic president (made more into an icon than a historical figure by popular culture) was John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy was youthful, classy, legendary, tragic, sophisticated and conservative.

Conservative? Many argue that JFK made American liberalism chic, brought upon the empowerment of the flower generation and argued for equality over liberty, the central liberal tenant. To many liberal Democrats, the successive Democratic presidents were ghosts compared to Kennedy policy-wise. But an objective look would highlight something else. Would a liberal push for massive tax cuts as Kennedy did? Would a liberal deride a President’s administration for being “weak on Communism” as Kennedy famously critiqued Eisenhower did? Would a liberal President send covert marines to raid a Socialist country, or help guerillas in a foreign land to attack a Communist administration, as the “liberal lion’s” brother did in Cuba and Vietnam? Obviously, myth-making has run rampant, and many members of Generation Y have arisen to a cold reality.

President Obama promised change. Like Kennedy, he and his stylish wife were seen as youthful solutions to an older generation’s problems. Both went head to head with an older acting military man known for their rigid views in foreign policy (although Nixon was far more open to Communist nations than any President in history.) Though many liked Obama’s charm, they weren’t won over by his ideas of spreading wealth and creating a Social Democracy. Nonetheless, they voted for him, hoping for change over the administration explemlifying the “cowboy conservatism” of George W Bush.

Many regretted this decision. As the tea party boiled and steamed in 2009-2010, a sophisticated urbanite and lacquered brand of conservatism slowly rose: the Kennedy Republican. The Kennedy Republican is one who supports the fiscal conservatism of the Republican Party, the social moderation of Clinton and the charm and charisma of JFK. They are not the gypsy moths of the old Republican Party, nor the country fried Democrats of the modern south. They are not the liberal “Pataki” Republicans of the Northeast, nor the tear-soaked Boehners of the Midwest. They are a new breed of sophisticated and intelligent conservatives of Generation Y. We will hear from them soon, as soon as this tea pot stops whistling.

Josh Reinhardt

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Preppy Picks: Tied Together

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Audrey Hepburn Headband, $30; Sid Halley Bracelet, $35
From Kiel James Patrick

There is nothing wrong with a smidge of matchy-matchy when accessorizing. The incredibly patronizing term coined somewhere in the mid-auties has stigmatized even classic coordinations like a string of pearls paired with simple studs. Personally, I still have a weakness for popping an outfit with more imaginative coordinated pieces, like a neon watchstrap and belt or a headband with a bracelet in my stack.

You are never too old for a headband no matter what Serena van der Woodsen says, but does Blair Waldorf have any consideration for where her clothes are made? Kiel James Patrick is flush with American idealism and still 100 percent hand-made in the the Great State of Rhode Island, which I 100 percent endorse. Whimsically named after style icons of the past, legendary politicians and coastal destinations, KJP’s collections pay homage to uniquely American style while pioneering a new necessary luxury.

In the spirit of oneupsmanship, try swapping out the Sid Halley for a Raoul Duke in your stack if you’re feeling more adventurous.

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Jack Sloan: The Pipes, The Pipes are Calling

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The world of the gentleman is vastly diminishing as the rules of etiquette have been breached and the presentation of the man is lacking. There is an idea how one should present themselves and the standards one should hold themselves to. For example, one of the last artifacts of defining one as a true gentleman, the pipe, is dying. While at one time, this simple smoking instrument was de rigueur for anyone of social worth, at the same time, it was no more of a status symbol, or an accessory, than a simple means to enjoy.

However, the pipe has dwindled from public view. Even in the high halls of academia we are not treated to ginger-whiskered erudite decked in tweeds whilst holding leather-bound writings of Horace Walpole in one hand and the other propping his pipe in place. It very well could be that this archetypal professor is solely Hollywood’s rendering. Nonetheless, living in the Northeast with appreciable fall foliage surrounded by pastures and woodlands, I was hoping to catch line of a man out for a stroll piping away, just taking it all in. In fact, I almost never see men pipe smoking anywhere, which is why I do. I was taken to pipes because I felt it was the bastion of the classic male image – the ultimate luxury prop. Furthermore, while pipe’s have been found in the mouths of some of the more socially discreet individuals, it is perhaps in this reservation that is the truest representation of the pipe smoker. Not one for flash or flair, just a simple ability to enjoy and to savor.

The modern pipe smoker is not an easy mold to form – part of the reason I do is because no one else seems to. There is cache in being the non-conformist, especially when it is an adherence to a once revered social custom. Despite being called both “boss” and “ridiculous” in the course of one night’s smoking, it nonetheless remains esteemed for one to smoke pipes. Though a hedonistic indulgence, like all vices are, it separates itself from the other forms of inhalation of plant matter in that one doesn’t fall back on it in times of stress, drunkenness or otherwise psychological discomfort, as one might with cigarettes, or the desire to prop themselves up as one might would with cigars. Rather pipes stand in a class unto their own. A good pipe is all the memories and salvation one needs.

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Preppy Picks: Yellow Rose of Rochester

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Kate Spade Boxed Notes, Yellow Rose, $35.
Available at Kate’s Paperie.

Coming home from work every day, I’m greeted not by a spoiled Havanese named Topsy, but rather a chaotic disarray of circulars, direct marketing, credit card offers, credit card bills, and catalogs for my goofy neighbors, my roommate, my former roommates and the occasional former tenant. One of few things I can count on is New York in the Monday Mix and the New York Observer in all of its salmon-y, gossipy goodness on Friday (unless my neighbors stole it.) Just like clockwork. They’re ready for me to delve in and smear my greasy little hands all over the newsprint. After staring at a computer all day, it’s the least I can do for myself. Every now and then, I’ll see a little white or blue envelope peeping out from behind the umpteenth solicitation from car insurance companies. Unexpected! Unannounced! A quick note just to say hello from a dear friend or family member.

I picked out these Kate Spade note cards for my mother so she would start writing me and recently got her first note, just to say “Hi there!” Believe it or not, she remembered to slip my car insurance policy in, too. Thanks, Mom!

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Raul “RooRoo” Chavez: Is American Apparel Preppy?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

So… I’ve got it in on this company. I’ve seen how it fashions the streets of New York, especially in the ever-so-trendy Brooklyn. But what is really going on with American Apparel? When we speak of prep, we’re talking about more than just an external appearance; it’s a way of life. Summers seaside in the Hamptons, winter holidays in Vermont, etc… How does this culture that predominates upper –class New England really relate to the cosmopolites that are living and shopping in Williamsburg? I mean, what does that hipster know about smoking from a pipe (tobacco, not for “other” things)? Or for that matter why is she wearing those equestrian pants when I’m almost certain she knows nothing about riding or ever been close to a horse for that matter? What of her boyfriend, who’s sporting those slacks with bright colored socks peeking through the mouth of his boating shoes; does he know how to sail a boat?

The old phrase, “if you slap lipstick on a pig, it doesn’t make it a lady” comes to mind. Yes, these Williamsburgers and Park Slopers have been outfitted to look the part, but has this urban outfitter, American Apparel, taught them about the prep lifestyle? What I am trying to do here is avoid using my personal judgment (for the sake of my employment and journalistic etiquette), on the matter and actually talk about this clothing manufacturer. Yes, I have “in” on the clothing, but I’m not biased about it. We’ll talk about all of that later.

Here’s what you should know already about American Apparel:

It was founded by a Canadian (which seems kind of silly considering the name), Dov Charney, in 1989.
During the first 15 years of the company’s existence, American Apparel primarily manufactured blank shirts to be sold wholesale
2005 marked the company’s entry into retail
The merchandise is manufactured in the United States (one of few clothing companies that still do), in Los Angeles, California

It’s quite a change from the American Apparel of 2007, which relished on tight-fitting, brightly colored clothing. We all remember it: bright, shiny, scandalous. It most certainly worked and allowed American Apparel to become recognized as the outfitters of the ever-so-pretentious hipster. That douche that sneers at everything remotely “pop culture” needed to get dressed too. Who better than AA to provide them with off-centre colors and tight fitting jeans to contrast their loose shirts and thrift wear.

With the death of the “hipster” movement, what choice did the company that franchised this look but to change how they dressed their clients. There was no longer a demand for loud colors and for provocative clothing, but a need for fitted tasteful attire. So the designers drew inspiration from the ‘80s again. This time, however, not from the flashy leftovers of the disco-era, but from Ralph Lauren, who made the prep look relevant throughout the 80’s. Let’s not pretend that our mothers didn’t attempt to make us all look like boarding school brats. But this time, it’s our choice and well… we’re going for it. It’s a lot easier to be taken seriously when you dress less like a douche and more like a person. American Apparel is a company adapting to changes in styles and customers.

Let’s bear in mind is that many of the customers who came in during the early 2000’s grew up and needed a wardrobe to match their maturity. Millennials going to work in real places of employment opened the possibility to keep the same customers, but be able to outfit them for the “real world”. Is this really working?

Even after the revamping of the American Apparel brand, we as consumers still remember the shiny leggings and the bodysuits. It’s what customers still come in and buy. There are so many items that will simply not be phased out since they sell so well. There will always be a demand for them simply because nobody else carries items quite like these. But what about the new garments? How does their integration benefit sales at American Apparel?

They haven’t as of yet. The new look is catching on, but not at a rate to convert the sales of the company. You can slap the clothes on a mannequin, but it doesn’t mean it will attract a consumer’s attention when it’s not the type of merchandise that draws them in.

So to answer the question: no, it is not, having one foot into the doorway to the summer cottage in Martha’s Vineyard and the other still shaking loose in Echo Park. The canvas sneaker is slowly being traded in for a pair of Mary Janes. But like any other clothing company, adjustments had to be made in order to continue to profitably manufacture clothing.

-Raul E. Chavez

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Preppy Picks: Before Regina George, there was Heather Chandler.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

And before Juicy Couture, young ladies displayed their self-perceived power in their hair and not across their behinds. Remember Heathers, the movie where original Mean Girl Heather Chandler bullied poor little Winona Ryder and a couple other Mean Girls who were, juuuuust for the sake of irony, also named Heather? The classic dark comedy is so wrought with bawdy teenage angst and “deep” metaphors, amongst them being a cherry red hair scrunchie worn by chief meanie Heather Chandler. Heather of the Chandler variety used so-called “Lunchtime Polls” to ridicule her peers and partied her way to an untimely death at the hands of liquid drainer and Corn Nuts, leaving a closetful of power suits and her signature hairpiece.

Left: Unisex Solid Knee-High Socks, $10. Right: Poly Canvas Bow Hair Clip, $14.
Both from American Apparel

Heathers is a fabulous primer if you’re looking to achieve the off-kilter, even “retro” look of the ’80s. While today it’s probably best to forgo shoulder pads and scrunchies, try pairing an offensively oversized bow with matching knee-high socks. Whether or not you need an attitude adjustment, you are sure to exude authority, real or imagined.

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An Engraved Invitation……

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Specializing in etiquette, entertaining, dating and shopping, Preppy Post Editor Muffy and Contributor RooRoo offer their expertise bundled up in an upcoming weekly video advice column! Trusted in their social circles, Muffy and RooRoo take cues from timeless approaches to public decorum in their daily lives – this of course was only achieved through (only!) months of whining on a couch for an hour a week. Friends since their college days, the duo presents a non-judgmental approach to social quandaries of the everyday and unexpected. Please send all queries for consideration to hello@preppypost.com.

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Preppy Picks: Acing the 19th Hole

Monday, February 7, 2011

Golf Club and Tennis Racquet Drink Stirrers, $1.29-1.59
(Click Photos to view at Amazon.com)

It may not be very nice to fool with Mother Nature, but after the seventh snowstorm to hit the Northeast this winter, I’ve been battling the nippy climate by transforming my apartment into a summery retreat with colorful reminders of all of the fun plans I have for sunnier days. Hanging paper lanterns, hula hooping, wearing shifts about the house and tuning into Pandora’s “Surfin’ Bird Radio” channel hasn’t really made any of the snow melt, but it’s thankfully more than prevented any potential seasonal meltdowns.

I came across these hilarious drink stirrers searching for those plastic sparkly swizzle sticks that Betty Draper would have kept around the house for afternoon drinks with Francine. You’d think you could find them online since they’re available at any grocery store! But seriously…these playful bar accessories subtly add character to your college standard issue “Golf Pros and Tennis Hoes” bash, a summertime party in the garden, or my personal favorite excuse for a drink, “because paying taxes are simply too much to bear.”

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Five Unconventional Excuses for a Drink to Put the “Fun” Back in High Functioning Alcoholic

Jack Sloan – Let’s Talk About Socks

Reexamining a Modern Myth with Josh Reinhardt: The “Kennedy Republican”

Preppy Picks: Tied Together

Jack Sloan: The Pipes, The Pipes are Calling

Preppy Picks: Yellow Rose of Rochester

Kate Spade Boxed Notes, Yellow Rose, $35.
Available at Kate’s Paperie.

Raul “RooRoo” Chavez: Is American Apparel Preppy?

Preppy Picks: Before Regina George, there was Heather Chandler.

An Engraved Invitation……

Preppy Picks: Acing the 19th Hole

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Kate Spade Boxed Notes, Yellow Rose, $35. Available at Kate’s Paperie.

Mission

Tip me off!

Elsewhere

search

topics

recent comments!

Blogroll

RSS

Kate Spade Boxed Notes, Yellow Rose, $35.
Available at Kate’s Paperie.