NeoPrep -

[mmhollis]

I know it's not a designer but I think J. Crew is neoprep, since they guy from Gap come over I definitely like the direction they are taking the company. I continually am surprised.

 

[RussellStreet]

Quick name change, don't mind me.

Larry is dead, long, live Russell Street!

Jim

 

[dopey]

Originally Posted by Larry Lean

Be warned - People will start to think that you are me if you're nice to me!

Have a good weekend my old chum -

I can think of no one I would rather be.

Besides, being nice to yourself is one of life's greatest and most portable pleasures. You can take it anywhere.

I think I will have a good weekend.

 

[Bradford]

Originally Posted by JoeWoah

Oh, and about that conservative/Southern Neoprep push:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=2008

It's about the wanna-be New England style in DC. It's funny as hell to make fun of these guys and gals.

What a bunch of jackasses.

As to Neo-Prep, I think it would be helpful if Joe or Larry or Russell (whatever his name is this week) could post some specifics about what they are describing. At this point, I have to admit I'm not really getting how it's different than what I still consider to be preppy-influenced designs. Is it just those that are available today as opposed to what I could have got back in the days of the OPH?

Which of the following labels would be considered neo-prep and how would you describe the others?

Polo, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, J. Crew, Old Navy, Joseph Abboud, Bills Khakis, Faconnable.

What other labels fit this new category and finally, who's Michael Bastian?

 

[AlanC]

Originally Posted by Bradford

As to Neo-Prep, I think it would be helpful if Joe or Larry or Russell (whatever his name is this week) could post some specifics about what they are describing. At this point, I have to admit I'm not really getting how it's different than what I still consider to be preppy-influenced designs. Is it just those that are available today as opposed to what I could have got back in the days of the OPH?

The game is you will only be told what it is not, never what it is.

 

[dopey]

Originally Posted by AlanC

The game is you will only be told what it is not, never what it is.

The game is, there is no game.
Everyone posts to make themselves happy. Different people like different things and what that is might change from minute to minute. At least it does for me.

 

[AlanC]

Originally Posted by dopey

The game is, there is no game.

Depends on who's playing.

 

[Brownshoe]

I like a lot of the "neo-preppy stuff" very much. J Crew in particular has many good, casual pieces that work for me. I have a pincord suit from J Press that is swell, but I find myself drawn to the pincord trousers J Crew is offering this season because they're soooo casual and easy"”the Press trousers are too dressy and constructed to throw on with a polo shirt and sneakers to go bopping around the neighborhood. This principal extends to a lot of their stuff. I like to wear sport coats and chinos, etc., away from work. A lot of that time is spent with my small child, who likes to climb fences, play on the floor, have impromptu sword fights with sticks, and activities of that nature. I have a whole second "preppy" wardrobe made up of J Crew and Polo-type stuff that is more playful, less structured, and easier to wear than the Brooks and Press stuff I wear to work, but retains "the Look." Actually, the super-slouchy Polo stuff and youthful J Crew pieces often have cooler details and ease of construction that epitomize the trad/Ivy/prep dressed-up leisure/casual formal Ã

lan better than the more august Brooks and Press.

I went to a prep school that, in my junior year, relaxed the uniform (the typical blazer/chinos/white oxford/school tie rig) to a dress code stipulating what I guess today would correlate with "business casual." Almost everyone stuck with the basic preppy approach, but there were interesting hierarchical distinctions: only the highest social caste could get away with the dandyish touches"”white bucs, woven leather braces, and bow ties were all big with this group. Most of us stuck with LL Bean, Lands' End, and J Crew. Chinos throughout the year, candy stripe oxfords, regimental ties, crewneck sweaters, blue blazer on chapel day. Bean's camp and blucher mocs were the shoes of choice. Surcingle belts and gold "granny glasses" as worn by John Lennon were considered sharp. The richer kids ostentatiously wore as much logoed Polo as possible, favoring Ralph's nods to horse culture over nautical motifs by a wide margin"”no doubt because we were in Kansas.

Free associating:

On weekends, we wore the same stuff, maybe with jeans and Chuck Taylors, maybe not. Barn coats were important, duffle coats the holy grail. Lots of tartan skirts and twinsets for the girls"”or, in whimsical moments, a bizarre 80s hodgepodge of boy's OCBD with flagged collar and rolled-up sleeves, leggings, boy's boxer shorts, either in a tartan or emblematic motif over those, leg warmers (!), and loafers. Strange but cute. I remember a neo-punk classmate who cut the arms off of his blazer, which was sort of scandalously cool. The girls wore headbands and those floppy Colonel Sanders bow tie things. Wearing a flagged polo under an OCBD was for only the best-looking and most popular guys. Rising above one's sartorial station could spell social disaster.

 

[JoeWoah]

Originally Posted by Bradford

What a bunch of jackasses. As to Neo-Prep, I think it would be helpful if Joe or Larry or Russell (whatever his name is this week) could post some specifics about what they are describing. At this point, I have to admit I'm not really getting how it's different than what I still consider to be preppy-influenced designs. Is it just those that are available today as opposed to what I could have got back in the days of the OPH? Which of the following labels would be considered neo-prep and how would you describe the others? Polo, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, J. Crew, Old Navy, Joseph Abboud, Bills Khakis, Faconnable. What other labels fit this new category and finally, who's Michael Bastian?

The game is you will only be told what it is not, never what it is.

Alan has a point. Unlike Prep or Trad, there is no one magazine or marketing engine flying it's flag, and I don't feel I am qualified to pass ultimate judgment. It's just the evolution of those styles, and relies on your own personal tastes, how much you want to spend, your crowd and geography, etc... Like obscenity, I know it when I see it. As for brands for men; Vineyard Vines, Polo, RL Rugby, J. Crew, Banana Republic, Faconnable, higher-end Hilfiger, Brooks Brothers, J. Press, Oxxford, Helly Hansen, LL Bean, Lacoste. I'm sure I'm missing a few and I'm not saying EVERYTHING they make is purely Neoprep, but nothing is purely Neoprep. You can't really deny that there have been quality/style improvements across the board in these brands' clothing... especially at Brooks Brothers, and to a lesser degree, J. Press. As Russ pointed out, Trad is a more utilitarian/ American view of what was going on in Europe, particularly in Oxford and Cambridge. It was dressed down a bit, and there are many explanations why that is and some of those were that they didn't want to publicly look above board to everyone other than those who would be in the know (being a legacy isn't something you brag about in the US). Class distinction was more of a European thing, but I'm not going to go there. Prep, while a play on Trad, was more about a rebuke of the 70's and 80's "cheap" (for lack of better) style and fabrics and more about class distinction than Trad was. It was less about the clothes than the actual brand and it didn't really spread into dress clothing either... it just made casual look cleaner and dressier. Neoprep is more of a combo, rather than being a play on Trad or a play on Prep, it's combining them both and it's expanded into dressier clothing too like Trad and unlike Prep. It's bringing back the more dressed nature, patterns and textures of Trad (which never completely disappeared but was more exclusive to a particular brand), the brand awareness (to a lesser degree, but that depends on the crowd), colors and casualness of Prep and the fabrics/ modern fit from Europe (which is why you're seeing some Brooks Brothers stuff being made in Italy and Slim Fit everywhere). So, unlike Trad and Prep you can find pieces that will work almost anywhere. Old Navy, Aeropostal, American Eagle and A&F (maybe GAP too, I never liked their stuff) I can't call Neoprep, but it is a low-end, athletic, stylized version. The problem is that it's too stylized. As I've said, I don't have a problem with their clothing, it is what it is. A&F's women's line could be considered Neoprep though. Hugo Boss, on the other end, is like a European's stylized view of Neoprep some things are nice, but it always falls a little short. I can't really speak for women other than what I've seen. Trad wasn't made for women, Prep was, but it was very conservative. The Neoprep is the appropriation of Trad and Prep, and making it less conservative and more revealing. Trad and it's tones today are increasingly being incorporated. Add a pearl necklace to anything that might be a little risky.

 

[Gus]

Originally Posted by Bradford

who's Michael Bastian?

A NYC based designer who is doing a trim and modern take on preppy clothing. Most of it is manufactured by Cucinelli in Italy, so it has a "Prepino" look of American Prep meets Italian tailoring and fabrics.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by JoeWoah

...Neoprep is more of a combo, rather than being a play on Trad or a play on Prep, it's combining them both and it's expanded into dressier clothing too like Trad and unlike Prep. It's bringing back the more dressed nature, patterns and textures of Trad (which never completely disappeared but was more exclusive to a particular brand), the brand awareness (to a lesser degree, but that depends on the crowd), colors and casualness of Prep and the fabrics/ modern fit from Europe (which is why you're seeing some Brooks Brothers stuff being made in Italy and Slim Fit everywhere). So, unlike Trad and Prep you can find pieces that will work almost anywhere...

Neoprep = Trad/Prep that actually fits.

 

[AldenPyle]

http://www.hickeystyle.com
Is this what you are talking about?

 

[james_timothy]

Trad is a more utilitarian/ American view of what was going on in Europe, particularly in Oxford and Cambridge.

More than likely it was a misunderstood view of what people were wearing in Oxford and Cambridge, diffracted through the strange lens of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. In the same vein that neo-prep isn't preppy and preppy isn't the clothing young rich kids wore in response to dress codes in vogue before the 60's.

 

[RussellStreet]

Great new input here by Brownshoe & Joe. Thanks guys.

Devil's advocate: Are the recent changes at J.Press moving the company's marketing position more in a NeoPrep direction than a "Trad" one?

Alan, Ol' chum - As our mutual friend Dopey quite rightly says there really is no game. I know it might look like a game, but it really isn't.

The classic American style that you and I both love is a very broad canvas. NeoPrep identifies this classic style's influence in some of today's clothing brands.
Over on AAAT there has been an attempt to identify the classic style in a different way for a different demographic.
NeoPrep looks forward, "Trad" looks back. Both are very much of the moment.

And both stem from 80's Preppy.

To make "Trad" really traditional we just need to expand the debate of classic American style over on AAAT. 'No pleats, no darts, cuffs with everything' are the spoof rules of dress of the Official Preppy Handbook. They do not represent the reality of classic American style.

But "Trad" can be a great way into the look.

Ditto NeoPrep.

And becasue NeoPrep identifies an influence only in various clothing brands it has a lot more potential as a stylistic movement than "Trad's" rather narrow 'This is Trad / This is not Trad' worldview.

For if you say that something is "Trad" then you have to say what "Trad" is to explain your definition. "Trad" is not Classic American style, it is just a recent interpretation of the style based on the OPH & put forward by Harris & Co. on the internet from September 2004 onwards. That's all you are actually saying when you use the term "Trad" outside of Japan.

I welcome both "Trad" & NeoPrep. They keep the story of American style ticking over.

Best -

 

[AlanC]

Originally Posted by RussellStreet

The classic American style that you and I both love is a very broad canvas. ...

'No pleats, no darts, cuffs with everything' are the spoof rules of dress of the Official Preppy Handbook.

Well, I have never been doctrinaire about pleats, darts and cuffs, as is evidenced by the way I actually dress. If you look at the way Squire dresses, for example, he certainly embraces pleats and darts. He also likes the bold stuff that seems to send the FNB boys into fits. Is there a more doctrinaire 'Trad' than your FNB cohort Coolidge?

My position has always been close to that of Patrick. It's clothes; it's fun. Enjoy it and don't lose any sleep over it. I am able to go entire days without worrying about what someone else is wearing.