BoomerGirl Diary

Summer will soon be here, and this widely misunderstood and underrated style can be your best style for sunny or rainy days, especially with heat and humidity serving as a challenge to the stylishly inclined. Preppy looks great when neatly worn for business or dressed-up events, but also lends itself well to the unself-conscious un-ironed look that suits your casual days.

So, “Preppy,” how do I love thee? Let me count the ways (well, here’s just a few) ...

1.You bring out a tan (or at the very least a healthy glow), with vibrant colors such as hot pink, apple green, citric yellow, aqua, bright orange, and cobalt blue amongst them.

2. Preppy can be as conservative as you like (think LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Britches, Talbot’s) or you can up the ante, as I would urge you to, by using it as your core look with a “twist” (think Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, J Crew)

3. Preppy style is timeless.

4. Preppy pastels worn with black, such as a light blue-cropped jacket paired with a black knee length skirt, are so much more youthful and modern than, say, a primary-colored red jacket with a black skirt.

5. Preppy styles in pastels such as an orange polo with navy bootleg jeans are youthfully classic and not a bit aging - as opposed to the non-preppy use of pastels too often witnessed in the form of polyester or nylon exercise outfits favored in “adult” communities.

6. Used as a core style with simplicity, it serves as a great open canvas for accessories.

So you folks that think only black is cool, challenge yourself to re-think this well-founded style that can be individualized and continuously reinvented.

Lily Pulitzer may not be your style nirvana, but it captured the imagination of many, and gave the rest of us the nudge to dream in color.