You are not logged in.
#1 2009-04-23 07:45:02
- chetmiles
- Member
- Posts: 1099
Preppier than you think?
I'm no fan of Lacoste, Izod-style or otherwise, but I noted an actor wearing the gear in the original 'Kiss Me Deadly' (circa 1955?) The character, as it happens, is a criminal, but I have read of blue collar workers wearing the polo shirts during that decade. (The Paris shop, by the by, strikes me as about as interesting as an M&S food hall, but there we are).
It's certainly a horrible phrase, and I've heard more than one person confusing 'preppie' with 'Ivy', but what's the real story? Are they really just a bunch of Sloane Ranger-type twats poncing around in dull American movies, or do they have a role to play? How come Lacoste might be 'preppie' (or chav), whereas Fred Perry now - and for quite a long while - has sent decent, respectable folk scurrying for cover? Is Lauren Ivy or prep? Is my Harvard Basketball polo shirt Ivy or prep?
Just curious. Jim will have some answers. So will AGQ.
#2 2009-04-23 08:01:11
- mike
- Member
- From: Covington, KY
- Posts: 1397
Re: Preppier than you think?
who is fred perry?
You love him? He is hephaistion.
#4 2009-04-23 08:47:57
- Just Jim
- Member
- Posts: 1159
Re: Preppier than you think?
AGQ is your man - He talks very well about the 'freedom' of Preppy style as he sees it.
From my POV I'll just say that I see all this as being generational - Not enough online Trads go back before 80's Preppy & not enough online Mods go back before the '79 Revival. To be honest a ton of online Trads & Mods don't even go back that far.
Fair enough. That's what we're dealing with here.
Preppy is a part of the family tree, but for me it's a lower branch. And 'Trad' is a twig! 
Best -
#6 2009-04-23 09:25:34
- AQG
- Member
- From: The Sticks
- Posts: 1306
Re: Preppier than you think?
Where to start? On the subject of polo shirts in the 1950s, I have seen photos of my working class antecedents wearing the things. I don't think they were the exclusive marker of more privileged classes.
The preppy-as-villain phenomenon in 80s cinema is fun and interesting, but it really wasn't about the clothes at all. It was really a rich kids versus poor kids trope. Preppy clothes were a handy way, at the time, of making the rich kids simultaneously look arrogant and silly. You'll notice that the rich kids are never wearing workaday preppy stuff like chinos, OCBD and loafers. The directors deliberately put them in the over the top stuff and grouped four or five of them together in a mass for maximum effect. One Crazy Summer was probably the ultimate example of this.
In current movies, the same rich-poor conflict frequently occurs, but the rich kids are generally not made to look preppy anymore.
I couldn't comment on English perceptions of Lacoste or Fred Perry other than to say that they seem to be different than US impressions.
Ralph is Ivy and preppy and neither.
The basketball shirt defies classification.
#7 2009-04-23 09:52:51
- Natural Sole Brother
- Ivy, naturally.
- Posts: 782
Re: Preppier than you think?
I wear Lacoste tennis shirts and have done for decades. Strip away all the tosh which also happens to sport the 'brand' these days and you're left with something which is still astonishingly good and, not that it matters, Pure.
The original croc marque itself is stunning and a true icon of 20th Century design.
Last edited by Natural Sole Brother (2009-04-23 11:09:17)
#9 2009-04-23 11:17:39
- Just Jim
- Member
- Posts: 1159
Re: Preppier than you think?
Good to remember that, just like Madras, the Izod shirt goes back a good way further than Preppie.
#12 2009-04-23 11:31:21
- jesmond
- Ivy Genius
- From: Wry Lane
- Posts: 1202
Re: Preppier than you think?
http://www.edwardquinn.com/html/steve_mcqueen.html
#15 2009-04-23 11:43:35
- jesmond
- Ivy Genius
- From: Wry Lane
- Posts: 1202
Re: Preppier than you think?
http://www.davidgallery.net/Artwork-Detail.cfm?ArtistsID=149&NewID=1038
#20 2009-04-23 12:18:59
- AQG
- Member
- From: The Sticks
- Posts: 1306
Re: Preppier than you think?
Last edited by AQG (2009-04-23 12:19:50)
#23 2009-04-23 12:54:42
- 1966
- 1,966% Ivy
- Posts: 2382
Re: Preppier than you think?
^ I think he's just "seen it all" by now J.
Can't blame him really can we.
#24 2009-04-23 13:22:53
- Brownshoe
- Member
- Posts: 490
Re: Preppier than you think?
Blob-poking Ivy
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/blob.jpg
http://www.mcqueenonline.com/theblob07.htm
#25 2009-04-23 13:29:56
- jesmond
- Ivy Genius
- From: Wry Lane
- Posts: 1202
Re: Preppier than you think?
^ Brilliant!
And i hadn`t even seen those ones before...!
Thank -you.