As a rule, I love this type of "prep analysis." Though laughably far from my own upbringing, I can admit to a slight obsession with preppy culture: See my devotion to Yankee Magazine, J.Crew and downhill skiing. But the guy makes a really good point about the show "NYC Prep," which I'm also ashamed to admit having watched. It really is a bunch of tacky rich kids waxing philosphic about casual sex, parties and the Hamptons.
The Globe's Sam Allis writes:
"The show has nothing to do with preppies. Real preppies would have nothing to
do with it. They’d be laughed out of New Canaan at the mere thought of
participating in it. Their parents would disown them. The kids in the show are
nouveaux riche airheads who talk endlessly about shopping. Think Valley Girls
and Boys moved east. What they have none of is class. Worse, this Bravo mess
(which airs Tuesdays at 9) misses the essence of preppy culture. The name
“preppy,’’ lest we forget, comes from prep schools. And prep schools are, in the
cultural sense I’m talking about, boarding schools - not country day or Upper
East Side privates. Preppies are timeless. Wait long enough, and they’re in
vogue again. They have never changed. Everyone else has. This speaks to a sense
of security on their part rather than a lack of imagination. Preppies gave
America the sport coat - an advance on par with the wheel - and pioneered the
blue blazer. They gave us khakis - and they really are pronounced like “car
keys’’ in Southie - along with polo jerseys, the two-button suit, button-down
collars, the list goes on. To dismiss this as preppy is to miss the point."
Posts
