Friday, January 8, 2010

Battle Royale... Preps vs. Hipsters


Once upon a time... in 2003 to be exact... a hilarious NYT article appeared comparing preps and hipsters. Drawing heavily on "The Preppy Handbook" (which I'm proud to say I have an original copy of from my parents), the article compares the two distinct groups, finding a lot of comical common ground.

Makes sense to me... Prippys have a dash of hipster in us. Take Vampire Weekend for example... sing me a song about Cape Cod little hipster preps!

Check out this excerpt and follow the link for the full article. Thanks to Melanie over at You Are My Fave for the inspiration! Her breakdown of how she defines herself is too funny!

COMPARISON OF THE SPECIES

Both groups share a powerful need to belong.

The Preppy

''Preppies inherit from Mummy and Daddy, in addition to loopy handwriting and old furniture, the legacy of Proper Breeding. Preppies soon learn that any deviation from the prescribed style of life is bound to bring disaster. Attending a déclassé school, marrying wrong, selecting uncharted neighborhoods, choosing demanding vocations, or simply taking up bowling can unravel the tightly woven social fabric that binds the comfortable Preppy community.''

The Hipster

''Hipsters are always very conscious of what they are wearing and distinguish themselves by dressing creatively. . . . [They] possess an innate contempt for franchises, strip malls and the corporate world in general, . . . believe that irony has more resonance than reason . . . [and] enjoy declaring random things, like vodka martinis or exercise, passé.

Underneath their apparent individualism, Hipsters conform just like everyone else.''

1 comment:

You Are My Fave said...

I definitely have a little bit of both of these in me. Hipster only because I despise Walmart but I'm obsessed with Target so that makes up for it. I'm preppy mostly because I love anytihng JCrew.

Thanks for the link love.