Here Comes the Preppie Look

Fashion goes back to school, with a flair

Out with the baggy jeans, the chinoiserie, the gypsy queen regalia. In with the snappy blue blazers and tweed hacking jackets, button-down Oxford-cloth shirts and Shetland sweaters, khaki slacks and tartan skirts. This summer and fall, the fashion-conscious woman will be wearing exactly what the fashion-unconscious woman has been wearing for decades. It is currently labeled the Preppie Look, though the style has also been known as Ivy League, Town and Country, Brooks Brothers or--in England --County. Mother would approve.

The Preppie* label derives, of course, from the clothes in which young aspirants to the gentry are expected to show up at the better preparatory schools on either side of the Atlantic. The term, however, does little justice to the actual look, which, with imagination and some bullion, does anything but turn a woman into an honorable schoolboy. The clothes are neat, crisp, classic; with various permutations, they can be romantic and understatedly sexy. The time-honored Fair Isle sweater, for example, now comes in bright, balletic colors as well as the traditional pastel yellows and blues. Madras jackets and Bermuda shorts now sport divers hues unknown in Madras. The shirtwaist dress has gone from demure to dashing. Add such touches as paisley bow ties, rainbow-hued knee socks, grosgrain headbands and Liberty scarves, and the viewer begins to wonder what kind of school the Preppie is attending.

Whatever the variations, this is the look that women across the U.S. are buying in quantity. Loafers--penny or tasseled--L.L. Bean moccasins and Bass Weejuns are so much a part of the ensemble that some shoe manufacturers are three months behind in filling their orders. Says a saleswoman at Pella, a high-fashion shoe store in Atlanta's Lenox Square: "If one more person comes in here and asks for Bass Weejuns, I think I'll scream." Stores that have always catered to the Preppie trade--notably, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and, naturally, Brooks Brothers--report heavy sales of the basics, as well as such accessories as narrow neckties, webbed watch bands, ribbon belts, circle pins, single strands of pearls, bangle bracelets and brightly embroidered corduroys.

The vogue is not tied to any individual designer. Indeed, in some ways it represents a rebellion against duds that bear big-name labels. Says Armond Suacci, manager of Cable Car Clothiers in San Francisco: "Preppie people do not need designers because they already have taste in clothing." So far, the designer who has done most to popularize the look is Ralph Lauren, whose crested navy blazer costs $480; his silk pants sell for $175.

Many fashion experts point out that the basic appeal of Preppiana is that they are "investment clothes," meaning that they will comfortably ride out the whims of fashion. Though a Preppie item will almost always be cheaper than, say, a Pucci or Gucci equivalent, the investment can be substantial: a plaid skirt can sell for $115, a blazer for $100, a seersucker suit for $135. However, as a Brooks Brothers spokesman points out, the clothes appeal to women of all ages and backgrounds. "A career businesswoman can buy a corduroy suit or a British-looking hounds-tooth jacket and wear it for years. More college students than ever are buying these clothes." Says a fashion coordinator for a big Boston store: "Personally, I think it reflects the political atmosphere. It's a reassuring look, reminding people of earlier times that were perhaps saner." Like school days. qed

*Though the male of the species is often called a preppy, when describing women's fashion the word is usually spelled preppie.

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