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7th out of 13 books
—
17 voters
True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World
“Wake up, Muffy. We’re back.”
From Lisa Birnbach, the author of The Official Preppy Handbook—and designer Chip Kidd—comes a whole new take on the prep world that Birnbach turned into an international best-selling phenomenon thirty years ago.
True Prep is a contemporary look at how the old guard of natural-fiber-loving, dog-worshipping, G&T-soaked preppies adapt to the ne...more
From Lisa Birnbach, the author of The Official Preppy Handbook—and designer Chip Kidd—comes a whole new take on the prep world that Birnbach turned into an international best-selling phenomenon thirty years ago.
True Prep is a contemporary look at how the old guard of natural-fiber-loving, dog-worshipping, G&T-soaked preppies adapt to the ne...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
September 7th 2010
by Knopf
(first published August 10th 2010)
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This wasn't a Must Read book, except that when your life seems to be a blend between the Preppy Handbook and the JAP Handbook, well, this really was a Must Read.
The version I read was an ARC, and I really hope that the layout was not final because each page was crowded with text and photos, while the first Handbook had more white space. There were some typos (it's just Emma Willard School, no "the") and omissions (Vera Wang attended Professional Children's School, as did Yo-Yo Ma. George Hamilto...more
The version I read was an ARC, and I really hope that the layout was not final because each page was crowded with text and photos, while the first Handbook had more white space. There were some typos (it's just Emma Willard School, no "the") and omissions (Vera Wang attended Professional Children's School, as did Yo-Yo Ma. George Hamilto...more
Dearest Lisa,
Did the trust fund run out? Did Mummy and Daddy cut you off? Why else would you follow up "The Preppy Handbook" with this poseur of a book called "True Prep?"
Your brilliance shone in your clever, tongue-in-cheek satire of the White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) world that you wrote about in 1980. Your Jewish perspective gave you a special vantage point to view "preppies" in their element when you attended Brown. You came, you saw, you wrote famously about their nicknames, picking t...more
Did the trust fund run out? Did Mummy and Daddy cut you off? Why else would you follow up "The Preppy Handbook" with this poseur of a book called "True Prep?"
Your brilliance shone in your clever, tongue-in-cheek satire of the White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) world that you wrote about in 1980. Your Jewish perspective gave you a special vantage point to view "preppies" in their element when you attended Brown. You came, you saw, you wrote famously about their nicknames, picking t...more
If I could give this book 10 stars, I would, if only because the Classy Closet, my consignment shop only a block away from my house in Evanston, is one of the two shops listed as *the* place to go for thrifted vintage prep gear in Illinois. No wonder Emmanuel, the owner of the Classy Closet, has True Prep displayed in his store. As a side note, I have run into Emmanuel at the Rich People Salvation Army twice now when I pop in there on my way home from work. He still gives me grief over me findin...more
Loaded with photographs, phone numbers, and other such colorful and classy decorations (good job, illustrator), I was initially very excited by “True Prep.” But like being force-fed banana cream pie, this book started delicious and ended up making me ill, confused, and pukey. I realized by the end of this guide that I, an impoverished Californian with an immigrant father, was Not Prep. In fact, everyone I knew in my life is Not Prep. In fact, I had never met anyone who was not (?) Not Prep. As s...more
The Official Preppy Handbook came out in 1980 and changed my life. Everything that I think I know about appearing calm, cool and collected I learned from that book. That book explained away the apparent contradictions between possessing wealth and consuming Triscuits, and persuaded me not to throw out my grandfather's hand-me-down cashmere topcoat even when it got a little worn at the sleeves.
This book, Lisa Birnbach's reboot of the original insanely lucrative and mind-bogglingly influential fra...more
This book, Lisa Birnbach's reboot of the original insanely lucrative and mind-bogglingly influential fra...more
First book I read on my new Kindle (thank you, too kind in-laws) because I knew it would have some diagrams and I wanted to see what images looked like on the gray screen (they look great, by the way). Very funny book, and I learned something about myself: my husband and I are preppies. We both have educational backgrounds/careers in fields that have nothing to do with money or the greater economy around us, and are both tied to higher education. As Birnbach says, "Any job that has a vaguely hel...more
Quarter 3 Review
In todays culture, style is about everything. Some people even breath, sleep, live fashion. In particular, the preppy style, it is classic, clean, and especially fashionable. In the book True Prep: It’s A Whole New Old World, written by “Lisa Birnbach” is about of a coming of age story about the modern day life of preppies, and how they have changed from the past thirty years. True Prep brings you into the world of fashion, etiquette, and your family’s old money. It let’s you d...more
In todays culture, style is about everything. Some people even breath, sleep, live fashion. In particular, the preppy style, it is classic, clean, and especially fashionable. In the book True Prep: It’s A Whole New Old World, written by “Lisa Birnbach” is about of a coming of age story about the modern day life of preppies, and how they have changed from the past thirty years. True Prep brings you into the world of fashion, etiquette, and your family’s old money. It let’s you d...more
Lisa Birnbach's "Official Preppy Handbook" (1980) was a national best-seller, despite being a repository of in-jokes for East Coast old-money country club members. Since it's out of print and reaps a fortune on eBay, the publisher roped Birnbach into writing a 2011 version; "True Prep" revives the lists, maps, charts and goofy photo shoots of the original.
Too bad it's unfunny and insular to yacht clubs. How odd that a book about contemporary preppy culture could utterly ignore the wild populari...more
Too bad it's unfunny and insular to yacht clubs. How odd that a book about contemporary preppy culture could utterly ignore the wild populari...more
At some point, probably at a garage sale in the mid-1980's, I stumbled across a copy of Lisa Birnbach's original send up of WASP culture The Preppy Handbook. And being in my early teens and having no concept of satire, I took it completely and totally seriously. I aspired to have a lobster trap for a coffee table, begged my parents to let me go to Exeter, wanted to wear nothing but ribbon belts and headbands.
Years rolled by, my life wandered betwixt the preppy and the less preppy. Nevertheless...more
Years rolled by, my life wandered betwixt the preppy and the less preppy. Nevertheless...more
A truely charming rendition of the 1980's Preppy Handbook. Expetionally entertaining and throughout reading the book, I kept going are people really like this, and then my summer on Nantucket would come haunting back to me.I am not quite nearly as much of a preppy dresser as I once was, as I no longer wear two popped polo shirts at once with a matching ribbon belt. After reading this book I do not think I am preppy in the least bit besides some vv here and there because I honestly don't think I...more
I cherished my paperback copy of "The Preppy Handbook", reading and re-reading it over and over in the early 80s...sharing it with friends and even adopting one of the required nicknames. Hey, I was a tween, what can I say. So I had to take a look at this title and ouch, what a disappointment. Cluttered, boring and lacking in the magic of the original, this book seems to be slapdashed together in an effort to make a deadline. The text is way too small. One positive standout in the book is the "p...more
The introduction epigraph is, "Wake up, Muffy, we're back." Birnbach's older and forty years later (forty?!) is updating The Official Preppy Handbook. This one, like the other, is mildly satirical and a mildly amusing glimpse at prep culture. it's updated in that it now isn't just about straight WASPs, but includes just about everybody, including Jews and gays. Lots of name-dropping and cataloging and tongue-in-cheek (mostly) illustrations.
Not a book to read straight through, but glancing is fun...more
Not a book to read straight through, but glancing is fun...more
What a waste of reading time! I thought the first book was hysterical, and the Wall St Journal gave this a good review, so I gave it a shot. The book takes itself waaaayyyy too seriously, doesn't have the catchy diagrams (or as many pictures) as the first book, and now that the prep universe is more inclusive, a lot of the elitism is gone (not that I look for elitism in a book, but come on - it's the Preppy Handbook). Anyway, now that the club is pretty much open to anyone, it's a lot less inter...more
I read _The Official Preppy Handbook_ when I was about 12 and thought It was hilarious. It was irreverent and politically incorrect and full of fun. This sequel, in short, is not. It tries to touch on all the changes in the world over the last 30 years, and it is, frankly, a buzzkill. The funniest part about the original is that it was a little snippet of that late 70s world of privilege-- as seen by this one woman, in relation to the wider world. This one just isn't funny. Or maybe I'm just too...more
As a proud owner of The Official Prep Handbook after finding it in a used book shop, I was gifted True Prep from my 'bestie' from college. More reflective and ironic than the original, True Prep summarizes the realities of the Prep lifestyle and how ultimately every American has a bit of Prep in them. Definitely a good read on Americana pop culture and a good book to leave around for guests to keep them entertained. Prep generosity for sure.
Ugh, my eyes! Did the original have such tiny print? And the typos? Dear me.
Parts of this were a delight, others just wearing. A chapter on funeral etiquette without much humor or irony is really a downer. It went on a bit long, without updating some of my favorite parts of the original - specifically, preppiest bars and universities.
I did appreciate the takedown of faux-preppy Gossip Girl. I mean, I watch it, but still.
Parts of this were a delight, others just wearing. A chapter on funeral etiquette without much humor or irony is really a downer. It went on a bit long, without updating some of my favorite parts of the original - specifically, preppiest bars and universities.
I did appreciate the takedown of faux-preppy Gossip Girl. I mean, I watch it, but still.
This book was so nerdy. I guess there was a book like 30 years ago, a tongue and cheek look at preppy-ness and so much has changed since then! This book was just all about what makes people pretty, where do preps live, what they wear, where they go to school, how they talk, etc etc etc. Very tongue and cheek, especially from a west coasters point of view. Swap out prep for emo and you have the westside. A fun, easy read.
The original Official Preppy Handbook puts this one to shame.
Not funny, not catchy, takes itself too seriously and actually isn't a representation of "preps" at all.
Luckily my sister and I each have our own copy of the Official (before it was worth a fortune on Amazon). Thank God, and thank you mummy for being truly preppy before it was cool.
Sorry guys, Obama is not the new prep...
Not funny, not catchy, takes itself too seriously and actually isn't a representation of "preps" at all.
Luckily my sister and I each have our own copy of the Official (before it was worth a fortune on Amazon). Thank God, and thank you mummy for being truly preppy before it was cool.
Sorry guys, Obama is not the new prep...
I thoroughly enjoyed being made fun of... While it is neither as "new" or as surprising as the Preppy Handbook from decades ago, this book has caught up, reminding us what we grew up to be (and worse, what we are likley to be in the future). If you can't laugh at yourself and your social status, then don't read this... unless you are in fact not a preppy in which case you canread this and make fun of us...
This book is more than disappointing. It's an embarrassing attempt to be inclusive and updated. Ironically, of course, a real "true prep" would never update! This sad sequel suffers from an utter lack of clarity and cohesiveness, shrouded in product-placement overload (enough with the Tory Burch, Lis). The original is a classic for a reason. Stick with that. True Prep is pretty pathetic.
I read some reader reviews of this book and a lot of people seemed disappointed. I thought it was just as funny as the original and thoroughly enjoyed it. Totally LOL'ed at this passage on etiquette: "It is not entirely your fault if you've grown up in an etiquette wasteland. These days when you offer a sincere 'thank you,' you are apt to hear 'no prob' or 'sure' or worse, 'no worries.' Who was worried? Waiters or--here it is--waitpersons like to ask you if 'you're still working on that' salad/m...more
Funny and affectionate look at the preppy world.
Follow-up to "The Official Preppy Handbook."
Highlights:
The Preppy Mix-tape
No Texting at the Table, Please!
- NTP: Not True Prep
- NEP: Not Enough Plaid
- ILYLAAS: I Love You Like an Argyle Sweater
Logology
Fashion Rules (We do not display our wit through T-shirt slogans.)
The True Prep Pantheon
Follow-up to "The Official Preppy Handbook."
Highlights:
The Preppy Mix-tape
No Texting at the Table, Please!
- NTP: Not True Prep
- NEP: Not Enough Plaid
- ILYLAAS: I Love You Like an Argyle Sweater
Logology
Fashion Rules (We do not display our wit through T-shirt slogans.)
The True Prep Pantheon
Having grown up in the prepdom that is Great Neck, NY, and having attended an Ivy league university, I was particularly invested in this satirical books perspective on a lot of things I just never understood, but felt compelled to emulate growing up.(The ever-present Vineyard Vines whale haunts me to this day.) I found the book charming and a fun read, but I wouldn't think so hard about the content; after all, that would be trés unprep.
Is it "preppy" to rehash a 30-year old idea? Lisa Birnbach thinks so -- and "True Prep" represents a faithful contemporization of her iconic "Official Preppy Handbook." However the fact that I purchased this book -- unread -- from the dollar shelf at the Harvard Club library speaks volumes about the collapse of interest in the WASP way of life.
Parts of this book were laugh-out loud funny for me. The section on travel, clothes, frugality--on the mark. Lots of it, I didn't identify with--didn't go to prep school, don't do cocktails in the afternoon (or morning, or evening for that matter)--but still does describe a world I recognize. Popped collars and penny loafers unite!
I know it's supposed to be a satire, and it's billed as humor, but basically, this book was about me. Like when "Clueless" came out, and everyone thought it was making fun of valley girls, but I just thought it reminded me a lot of my friends and my high school... same thing with this book. I found it entertaining.
Not as satirical as the original; It actually read more like a catalog. I think in its attempt to be all-inclusive, it missed the mark and disappointed those who appreciated the exclusivity and old world fantasy of the original. That said, the drawings are clever throughout and every so often you'll find a nugget of humor.
I don't imagine this would ever get the same devotion as the Preppy Handbook did back in the day, but there is way too much competition now for people's personae. I'd be curious though if I went back to my old high school to see if the styles have changed at all or if basic prep style is truly timeless.
An updated spin on Lisa Birnbach's immensley successful "The Preppy Handbook", which no respectable madras-wearing child of the 80's was without. Occasionally severe but always humorous, Ms. Birnbach's new guide is as helpful in guiding preps and their admirers now as the original was in 1980.
Not as useful as the original Preppy Handbook in terms of being filled with catalog suggestions and fashion guidelines (and thus not likely to cost me quite so much money, this is nonetheless a lovely, gently satirical, affectionate, charming update. Thirty years on, the Prep world in America is adapting itself to the new century while holding on to key values. Birnbach's "True Prep" is a re-assuring book about What Really Matters. (Contrast it with Peter York's nightmarish updating of the Sloan...more
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Sep 11, 2012 07:27am