Vintage Sur Le Campus

I've recently started following Greensleeves to a Ground, a "très mignon" French blog that draws its inspiration from "Le BCBG mode de vie Américain". BCBG is a French acronym that stands foir bon chic bon genre or in more familiar terms, Preppy. Greensleeves' author often presents the readers with vintage photos or illustrations that showcase the old collegiate lifestyle and I thought it would be interesting to show you a vintage Sears Ad that presented the newest Campus Styles to its buyers.

1933 Sears Ad - just look at the width of those pant cuffs !

Wake Up Preppies, They're Back!!

The most anticipated month of this year has come, and what better way to be woken up on a beautiful September North Carolina morning than by the UPS delivery of the 2 books we've all been waiting for!

I haven't actually had the chance to read them but from taking a few peeks at True Prep I can definitely tell you it's gorgeous and will most likely join its predecessor, The Official Preppy Handbook as one of the staples of any self-respecting prep.

 

I would really recommend getting these two amazing books either for yourself or as a gift!

The Last Bastions of Prep: Deerfield Academy

Deerfield Academy, is one of the top Prep Schools in the United States, right there next to Phillips Andover Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, Choate Rosemary Hill. Deerfield Academy, founded in 1797, is an independent, co-educational boarding school located in Western Massachusetts, know for its rigorous academic programs, athletic prowess, and the beauty, drama, and rhythm of campus life.

I have always been a fan of school uniforms as I feel they instill feelings of belonging to a community and school pride. While as far as I can tell, Deerfield Academy does not have a uniform per se, the dress code mentioned by some of the students in the video makes for a more homogeneous look. The Prep look, which is indigenous to, well, Prep Schools is a non provocative, put together appearance. The Prep does not wear Abercrombie or Hollister, which I am always  amazed to hear some people call preppy! The Prep boy or girl wears Lilly Pulitzer, Ralph Lauren, Vineyard Vines, Lacoste, and other similar brands. They like prints such as Seersucker, Plaid, Argyle, and Madras and most often do not shy away from wearing what most people call go-to-hell colours. 

I Invite you to watch the following video and notice some of the Prep elements of clothing, which are as close to the source of Prep as they can be. We can even notice the Jacket, Shirt, Tie and Shorts look that has been creeping up on the different runways of the world. 

Thanks to The Over-Cher for the video link

Esteemed Compendiums

I've wanted to share these great fashion, style, culture and lifestyle resources with you for some time. That's why I created a page dedicated just to listing these online books I have found and read.

Here are some of the titles I have added or will be adding:

- The Official Preppy Handbook by Lisa Birnbach -

- The Official Filthy Rich Handbook by Christopher Tennant - 

- Take Ivy by T. Hayashida -

- Dressing the Man by Alan Flusser -

- The Gale Encyclopedia of Style, Costume and Culture by Tom and Sara Pendergast -

- The Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion by the Scribner Library of Daily Life-

- Fashion as Photograph by Eugenie Shinkle -

- Fashion Artist: Drawing Techniques to Portfolio Presentation by  Sandra Burke  -

- Complete Idiot's Guide to Etiquette by Sandra Burke -

- Historical Fashion of the 17th and 18th Centuries by Avril Hart and Susan North -

- Fundamentals of Fashion Design by Richard Sorger and Jenny Udale-

- Medieval Fashion by Tom Tierney -

- Guide to being a Gentleman by The Art of Manliness -

- Askmen.com's Style Bible -

- 21 Ways of Improving your Camping Lifestyle by Bill Revill -

- Wedding Etiquette for Dummies by  Sue Fox -

You can access it all here. Enjoy!

Nautical Articulations Of The Being

What lies in names of furtive random faces,

That often hint at meaning just right before the future coalesces?

Is it the souls of waves that are now fleeing

From Nautical Articulations of the Being?

The sea has always been part of human nature and even nowadays it is still part of quite a few people's lives. Sailing and Yachting are often exclusively taken up by civilization's privileged, the few who can afford the time for his expensive hobby.

Perusing through my copy of The Official Preppy Handbook has brought something I had forgotten about, back into view, something that has to do with both sailing and a privileged lifestyle: Nautical Monograms.

Nautical Monograms have been and probably still are one of the few secret alphabets that are not that well known and could be easily overlooked by the uninitiated. The Nautical Alphabet consists of 26 distinct flags that each have a letter and a meaning associated with it. This particularity of "Vexillolinguistics" as it might be called, affords for easily creating one's monogram and then using it for anything ranging from signing a message, displaying membership into an elite sailing club to discovering other Preps that are passionate about sailing.

Here are the Alphabet and Numbers Chart in the Nautical System, useful for quick reference:

My Nautical Monogram for example would be the following:

One website that offers notecards with Nautical Monograms is Polygraphics.com

Enjoy being creative with your monograms in a new way!