In Praise of Prep

Twenty-one years after The Official Preppy Handbook was published, preppy style is back with a vengeance — though many would argue that it never went away. Despite the tough economy, venerable apparel catalogers such as L.L. Bean, Lands’ End, and Eddie Bauer can at least take comfort in the fact that their offerings of polo shirts, khakis, and loafers are again in vogue. In fact, Lands’ End devoted a full spread in its May catalog to an essay by Lisa Birnbach, the high priestess of prep and The Official Preppy Handbook author. In the piece, titled “Muffy Rides Again!” Birnbach shares her insights on what preppy is and what it isn’t. While we didn’t necessarily learn anything new about the pros and pitfalls of preppy, it was fun to read about this fashion phenomenon. Now if you’ll excuse us, darlings, we simply must slip into our driving moccasins and take the Range Rover down to the club for our tennis lesson. Ta ta!