267:, networking, and vacationing. The Official Preppy Handbook also teaches readers how to dress preppily. In chapter 4, Birnbach emphasizes the importance of appearing effortless, preppy and casual, writing, “socks are frequently not worn on sporting occasions or on social occasions for that matter. This provides a year round beachside look that is so desirable that comfort may be thrown aside”.
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years. With tongue in cheek, Birnbach elucidates which college courses to take, how to design one’s dorm room, and how to party at college. In
Chapters 5 and 6, the book explains the prep adult life as first a “young executive”, and later as a retired adult in “the Country Club Years”. Birnbach jokingly educates readers on navigating a
297:
exposed preppy culture to the masses, and helped to democratize the preppy subculture. Prior to the book, primarily only wealthy WASP elites adopted the preppy subculture. From the 1920s, WASPs dominated
American universities, and preppy fashion was traditionally worn on university campuses. However,
302:, Lisa Birnbach helped to further democratize preppy fashion and culture. Birnbach explained in her introduction that the handbook is not intended as an exclusive text describing preppiness as subculture reserved for “an elite minority lucky enough to attend prestigious private schools”. Rather, the
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begins by caricaturizing the childhood of a preppy person in 1980. Lisa
Birnbach satirizes a prep’s ideal family lifestyle, and humorously advises readers how to pick, interview, and gain acceptance into a prep school. The book then wittily discusses “the best years of your life” – a prep’s college
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The book addresses "preppy" life from birth to old age, lending understanding to the cultural aspects of "preppy" life. In general, elementary and secondary school, college, and the young adult years receive the most attention. Coverage lessens during the book's latter chapters. The book was first
290:, which the book describes as "nothing less than Prep mecca." The book's exposé of university life and the drug and sex culture at various schools had a significant impact on public thought about those schools. The book spawned many other "official" handbooks for other American subcultures.
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explains and satirizes what it takes to be a preppy person in the 1980s, parodying the lifestyle of the WASP elite. Birnbach reveals through an ironic tone where preps go to school, where they summer, what brands they wear, and how they decorate their homes. Birnbach divides
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as universities became less exclusive as a result of economic and cultural shifts, preppiness as a subculture became less exclusive. Preppy fashion adopted new nuances, and preppy culture has become more inclusive. By writing
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was written as a guidepost for the revival of the preppy style. It shared the secrets of the preppy code, making preppy seem “neat, attractive, and suddenly attainable”.
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society. Topics range from appropriate clothing for social events to choosing the correct college and major.
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The book also represented a resurgence of interest in preppy culture that aided the growth of retailer
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1012:"The Official Guide to Official Handbooks: The Rich Legacy of Putting Others in Their Cultural Place"
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and university life at socially acceptable schools, it illuminates many aspects of the conservative
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into seven sections, each devoted to a different period of the preppy lifestyle. The
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clothing line. Cinader hoped to capitalize on the book's success.
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340:"Rejoice, Muffy and Biff: A Preppy Primer Revisited"
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culture inspired Arthur
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417:Politics: Observations and Arguments, 1966-2004
1139:Banks, Jeffrey; Chapelle, Doria de la (2011).
1063:Banks, Jeffrey; Chapelle, Doria de la (2011).
1038:Banks, Jeffrey; Chapelle, Doria de la (2011).
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185:True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World
982:. Syracuse University Press. p. 232.
940:L. L. Bean: The Making of an American Icon
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1231:Upper class culture in the United States
379:. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press. p.
1187:Wallace, Carol Mcd. (24 October 2005).
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16:Humorous 1980 book on preppy culture
1141:Preppy : cultivating Ivy style
1065:Preppy : cultivating Ivy style
1040:Preppy : cultivating Ivy style
317:The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook
1143:. New York: Rizzoli. p. 127.
944:. Harvard Business Press. p.
420:. New York: Penguin. p. 556.
375:Michelle Obama: first lady of hope
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1067:. New York: Rizzoli. p. 11.
979:Syracuse University: Eggers Years
1226:Workman Publishing Company books
1042:. New York: Rizzoli. p. 4.
1010:Selsberg, Andy (August 2007).
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371:Lightfoot, Elizabeth (2009).
219:. In addition to insights on
20:The Official Preppy Handbook
1182:Random House Speakers Bureau
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194:The Official Preppy Handbook
906:Bourne, Leah (2010-01-20).
338:Rich, Motoko (2010-04-04).
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506:Workman Publishing Company
459:Workman Publishing Company
275:The book's reflections on
201:reference guide edited by
1020:. Vol. 5, no. 6
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1189:"We're All Preppies Now"
277:young urban professional
936:Leon A. Gorman (2006).
209:, Carol McD. Wallace,
31:Cover of first edition
238:published in 1980 by
908:"The Cult Of J.Crew"
78:Secondary education
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412:Hertzberg, Hendrik
344:The New York Times
240:Workman Publishing
225:upper middle class
87:Workman Publishing
48:Carol McD. Wallace
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1221:1980 books
1205:Categories
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922:2013-04-28
912:Forbes.com
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325:References
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352:0362-4331
288:L.L. Bean
229:old money
199:satirical
83:Publisher
1127:Q7754751
1123:Wikidata
995:28 April
961:28 April
891:Q7754751
887:Wikidata
840:Q7754751
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534:Q7754751
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483:Q7754751
479:Wikidata
433:28 April
414:(2005).
396:28 April
310:See also
304:Handbook
295:Handbook
260:Handbook
246:Overview
65:Language
281:J. Crew
216:prepdom
151:6762701
73:Subject
68:English
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76:Humor
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871:OCLC
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435:2013
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348:ISSN
293:The
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