Old MoneyThe Prep Guide
Where the style came from, what to own, and how to wear it like you've always worn it.
From the campus to everywhere.
Prep style grew out of the "Ivy" look: the way students dressed at Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the other Ivy League schools in the first half of the 1900s. Shops near those campuses, most famously Brooks Brothers and J. Press, sold the uniform: soft-shouldered jackets, button-down shirts, khakis and loafers.
It was never meant to be fashion. It was practical, well-made clothing worn until it was soft and a little frayed, which is exactly why it still looks right today.
- The button-down collarBrooks Brothers says it introduced its button-down collar in the 1890s, after seeing English polo players button their collars down so they wouldn't flap during a match. The Oxford cloth button-down became the backbone of the look.
- The Ivy peak, 1950sBy the late 1950s the Ivy look had spread well beyond campus and was standard dress for young American men.
- Take Ivy, 1965A Japanese team photographed students on Ivy League campuses and published the photo book Take Ivy in Japan. It set off an Ivy craze in Tokyo and is still called the bible of the style.
- The Official Preppy Handbook, 1980Lisa Birnbach's tongue-in-cheek guide to prep life became a national bestseller and made "preppy" a household word.
- The 1980s and Ralph LaurenRalph Lauren, who once worked at Brooks Brothers, turned prep into a global lifestyle brand.
- True Prep, 2010, and todayBirnbach's 30th-anniversary follow-up widened the circle of who counts as prep. Today the look lives on in the "old money" and quiet-luxury trends.
Cousins, not twins.
Prep is the American campus and country-club wardrobe: oxford shirts, khakis, navy blazers, loafers, a little color and a lot of ease.
Old money is the attitude behind it: quiet, lasting and never trying too hard. No big logos, nothing flashy, everything chosen to be worn for years.
Old Money Standard sits where the two meet. Classic prep pieces, with a small crest instead of a loud logo.
Eight pieces to build on.
Start here. With these, you can dress for almost anything from a weekday to a wedding.
Oxford button-down
The cornerstone. Start with three: white, light blue and a fine blue stripe. Wear it tucked, untucked, with a tie or without.
Navy blazer
Single-breasted, two or three buttons, in a midweight wool. It dresses up chinos and dresses down a tie.
Chinos
The everyday trouser instead of jeans. Stone (khaki), navy and olive cover nearly everything.
Penny loafers
Dark brown or oxblood leather. A pair that can be resoled will last for decades.
The polo
Piqué cotton with a small emblem at the chest. Weekend uniform, golf course, dinner outside.
Knitwear
A crewneck or cable-knit sweater in navy, cream or green, thrown over the shoulders or worn over an oxford.
Boat shoes
Leather, worn without fuss in warm weather. The casual partner to the loafer.
The details
A striped repp tie, a woven or leather belt, a simple watch on a leather or cloth strap, and good socks.
Wear it. Don't perform it.
- I
Fit comes first
A well-fitted basic beats an expensive piece that hangs wrong. Find a tailor.
- II
Natural fabrics
Cotton, wool, linen and leather. They wear in, not out.
- III
Small logos or none
If a logo shows, it should be small enough that only the people who know, know.
- IV
A quiet palette
Navy, white, khaki and forest green as the base. One piece of color at a time.
- V
Buy fewer, better
Choose things you can repair: resoleable shoes, sweaters you can mend, shirts that soften with every wash.
- VI
A little undone
Rolled sleeves, a collar left a bit soft, loafers that look walked in. Prep should look lived in, never like a costume.
Go deeper.
- Take Ivy (1965; English edition 2010)The photo book of Ivy League students that defined the look. powerHouse Books.
- The Official Preppy Handbook (1980)Lisa Birnbach's satirical bestseller that made "preppy" mainstream.
- True Prep (2010)Birnbach and Chip Kidd's 30th-anniversary update. Knopf.
- Ivy League clothing: a historyThe origins of the Ivy look and the shops that sold it.
- The Preppy Style & Clothes PrimerA detailed primer on the garments, from Gentleman's Gazette.
- "We're All Preppy Now"The New Republic on what prep style says about class in America.
The essentials, with a crest.
Our polo, cap, crewneck and socks are made for exactly this wardrobe.
See the collection