OFFICIAL PREPPY HANDBOOK

'''The Official Preppy Handbook''' is a tongue-in-cheek "reference guide" edited by Lisa Birnbach; it describes an aspect of North American culture she styles as ''prepdom''. In addition to insights on prep school life, it illuminates many aspects of upper-class, old money WASP society. It is a seminal reference for subscribers to the preppy style. Topics range from appropriate clothing for various social events to how to choose the correct college and major. While the book addresses "preppy" life from birth to old age, its coverage is in the greatest depth for the school, college, and young-adult years; coverage becomes thinner for subsequent stages of life.

Contents

Publishing

Athletics

Places to Live

New England

Middle Atlantic

The South and The Rest

"Where the Preps Are: A City-by-City Going Out Guide"

Prep schools

Boarding Schools Cited

Private Day Schools Cited

Colleges and Universities

External links

Notes

Publishing

The book was first published in 1980, by Workman Publishing . It contains approximately 224 pages and was assigned ISBN 0-89480-140-6.

Athletics

The following sports were recommended as preppy in Lisa Birnbach's "Preppy Handbook":

★ Fencing

★ Sailing

★ Crew

★ Field Hockey

★ Ice Hockey

★ Lacrosse

★ Rugby

★ Skiing

★ Swimming

★ Soccer

★ Squash

★ Tennis

★ Golf

★ Cheerleading

Places to Live

The following towns were described as members of preppy culture:

New England

★ Amherst, Massachusetts

★ Avon, Connecticut

★ Bar Harbor, Maine

★ Beverly Farms, Massachusetts

★ Centerville, Massachusetts

★ Chatham, Massachusetts

★ Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

★ Concord, Massachusetts

★ Darien, Connecticut

★ Duxbury, Massachusetts

★ Fairfield, Connecticut

★ Farmington, Connecticut

★ Greenwich, Connecticut

★ Hamilton, Massachusetts

★ Jamestown, Rhode Island

★ Kennebunkport, Maine

★ Lincoln, Massachusetts

★ Longmeadow, Massachusetts

★ Madison, Connecticut

★ Marblehead, Massachusetts

★ Marion, Massachusetts

★ Narragansett, Rhode Island

★ New Canaan, Connecticut

★ Newport, Rhode Island

★ Rowayton, Connecticut

★ Simsbury, Connecticut

★ Southport, Connecticut

★ Truro, Massachusetts

★ Wellesley, Massachusetts

★ Weston, Massachusetts

★ Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Middle Atlantic

★ Alexandria, Virginia

★ Annapolis, Maryland

★ Ardmore, Pennsylvania

★ Baltimore, Maryland

★ Basking Ridge, New Jersey

★ Bedford Hills, New York

★ Bergen County, New Jersey

★ Bethesda, Maryland

★ Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

★ Centreville, Delaware

★ Charlottesville, Virginia

★ Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania

★ Chester Springs, Pennsylvania

★ Chevy Chase, Maryland

★ Cold Spring Harbor, New York

★ Downingtown, Pennsylvania

★ Far Hills, New Jersey

★ Gladwyne, Pennsylvania

★ Haverford, Pennsylvania

★ Henlopen Acres, Delaware

★ Homeland, Maryland

★ Katonah, New York

★ Lancaster, Pennsylvania

★ Larchmont, New York

★ Lionville, Pennsylvania

★ Manhasset, New York

★ McLean, Virginia

★ Middleburg, Virginia

★ Oyster Bay, New York

★ Potomac, Maryland

★ Princeton, New Jersey

★ Roland Park, Maryland

★ Rosemont, Pennsylvania

★ Rye, New York

★ Sewickley, Pennsylvania

★ Wilmington, Delaware

★ Wynnewood, Pennsylvania

The South and The Rest

★ Aiken, South Carolina

★ Alamo Heights, Texas

★ Beaverton, Oregon

★ Bellevue, Washington

★ Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia

★ Chapel Hill, North Carolina

★ Cherry Hills Village, Colorado

★ Clayton, Missouri

★ Edina, Minnesota

★ Gates Mills, Ohio

★ Grosse Pointe, Michigan

★ Hilton Head, South Carolina

★ La Jolla, California

★ Ladue, Missouri

★ Lake Forest, Illinois

★ Naperville, Illinois

★ Palm Beach, Florida

★ Palm Springs, California

★ Pasadena, California

★ Pepper Pike, Ohio

★ Plano, Texas

★ River Oaks, Texas

★ San Marino, California

★ Santa Barbara, California

★ Shaker Heights, Ohio

★ Shawnee Mission, Kansas

★ Sylvania, Ohio

★ University Park, Texas

★ Oakwood, Montgomery County, Ohio

★ Upper Arlington, Ohio

★ Wayzata, Minnesota

★ Winter Park, Florida

"Where the Preps Are: A City-by-City Going Out Guide"

★ Atlanta: Lenox Square, Houlihan's Old Place, Phillips Plaza, Good Old Days, Piedmont Driving Club.

★ Baltimore: Mount Washington Tavern, Alex. Brown & Sons, Alonzo's, Peter's Pub, The Crease, Baltimore Country Club.

★ Boston: Oxford Ale House, Quaffer's, Lulu White, Cricket's at The Quincy Market, Hasty Pudding Club, Club Casablanca.

★ Chicago: The Second City, Lake Forest Country Club, Pizzeria Uno

★ Cleveland: The Hunt Club, Red Fox, Raintree.

★ Edgartown: The Colonial

★ Minneapolis/St. Paul: W.A. Frost & Company, Haberdashery, University Club, The Commodore, Windfield Potters, Calhoun Beach Club, Woodhill Country Club.

★ New Haven: Mory's, Fitzwilly's, George & Harry's, , West of Eleven, Yorkside Pizza.

★ New York: Swell's, Hoexter's Market, Sugar Mill, Pedro's, The Raveled Sleave, Mudd Club, J.G. Melon.

★ Palm Beach: Peter Dinkle's, Alcazar Lounge, 264, The Bath and Tennis Club, The Everglades Club.

★ Philadelphia: H.A. Winston & Co., Rusty Scupper, La Terrasse, Saladalley, Entrees/On Trays, Hillary's, Lily's, McGillin's Old Ale House, The Commissary.

★ Providence: RISD Tap Room, Graduate Center Bar, Met Cafe, Agawam Hunt, Rue de l'Espoir, L'Elizabeth, Silver Top Diner.

★ Washington: Clyde's, Kramer Books and Afterwords Cafe, F. Scott's, The Tombs, Phillips Collection, Burning Tree Club, Old Glory.

Prep schools

Boarding Schools Cited

★ Cate School

★ Choate Rosemary Hall

★ Cranbrook Kingswood School

★ Deerfield Academy

★ Episcopal High School (Alexandria)

★ Foxcroft School

★ Georgetown Prep

★ Governor Dummer Academy (now The Governor's Academy)

★ Groton School

★ The Hill School

★ Hockaday School

★ Hotchkiss School

★ Lawrenceville School

★ Madeira School

★ Middlesex School

★ The Hun School of Princeton

★ Millbrook School

★ Miss Porter's School

★ Perkiomen School

★ Phillips Academy (Andover, MA)

★ Phillips Exeter Academy

★ Portsmouth Abbey School

★ Salem Academy

★ St. Mark's School

★ St. Paul's School

★ St. George's School

★ The Taft School

★ University School

★ Virginia Episcopal School

★ Walnut Hill School

★ Western Reserve Academy

★ Williston Northampton School

★ Woodberry Forest School

Private Day Schools Cited

★ Agnes Irwin School

★ Albany Academy for Girls

★ Berwick Academy

★ Bryn Mawr School

★ Buckingham Browne & Nichols

★ The Chapin School (Manhattan) ("Also known as Deb City")

★ The Collegiate School

★ The Dalton School

★ The Hackley School

★ The Landon School

★ The Lovett School

★ Episcopal Academy

★ Fordham Preparatory School

★ Holton-Arms School

★ Gilman School

★ Hawken School

★ Key School

★ The Latin School of Chicago

★ Mary Institute ^[1]

★ Nichols School

★ Providence Country Day School

★ The Roxbury Latin School

★ Sewickley Academy

★ The Spence School (Unofficial School Motto: "Spence girls do it better, but really do it best".)

★ St. Albans School

★ Seabury Hall

★ St. Louis Country Day School

★ St. Mark's School of Texas

★ The Walker School

★ The Winsor School

★ University School

★ Valwood School
Delbarton
Also published by the same author (Birnbach) the 1981 Kaleidoscope-The Official Preppy Yearbook for Hampden-Sydney College.

Colleges and Universities

These Colleges and Universities were identified in the Preppy Handbook as bastions of the Old Boy Network and old money WASP culture:
The "Big Three": With associated important "preppy" clubs

★ Yale University: St. Anthony Hall, which the handbook said ''"appeals to the ‘cool element’ of Preppies at Yale; this means Preppies who don’t iron their shirts. It isn’t rowdy: parties there conform to the intellectual self-image Yalies hold dear"'' , also the Elizabethan Club, Skull and Bones, Tory Party, and Scroll and Key.

★ Princeton University: Ivy Club, Cottage Club, Cap and Gown Club, Tower Club, and the Tiger Inn.

★ Harvard University: Porcellian Club, Fly Club, and Delphic Club.
The Rest:

★ Amherst College

★ Dartmouth College

★ Hamilton College

★ College of Charleston

★ Colgate University

★ Babson College

★ Georgetown University

★ Reed College

★ Wheaton College (Massachusetts)

★ Hollins College

★ Hampden-Sydney College

★ Hobart and William Smith Colleges

★ University of Richmond

★ Washington and Lee University

★ University of Virginia

★ Union College

★ Lake Forest College

★ University of the South

★ Gettysburg College

★ Roanoke College

★ Trinity College

★ Middlebury College

★ Vanderbilt University

★ Villanova University

★ Williams College
The following schools were designated as "Out of the League" meaning that these institutions are without a large amount of preppy culture:

★ Columbia University

★ Cornell University

★ Massachusetts Institute of Technology

★ New York University

★ Oberlin College

★ Sarah Lawrence College

★ University of California at Berkeley

★ University of Chicago

★ University of Michigan

★ University of Wisconsin-Madison

External links

★ Review of ''The Official Preppy Handbook'' on CollegeConfidential.com

★ Preps A definition from urbandictionary.com

★ Author Lisa Birnbach's Bio on Greenstone Network

Notes

1. Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School merged in 1993 to create Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS).