Unabashedly Prep

  • The Hamptons: Food, Family, and History

    Music & Books  

    Food is a beautiful thing. It brings people together. Its preparation is an expression from the heart. And I suppose that is where most great food comes from, the heart. Ricky Lauren's latest coffee table cookbook, The Hamptons: Food, Family, and History is certainly no exception.  She recently signed copies for adoring fans at an exclusive signing event held at the women's mansion on Madison. Many members of the Ralph Lauren company (including a handful of out-of-towners traveling from as far as Houston, TX—loved seeing you ladies), as well as the entire Lauren clan, turned out to support the culinarian matriarch. Lauren frames her time-tested recipes within the four Hampton towns she has called home over the years. While appetite-inducing photographs inhabit practically every page, it's the recipes that will have you hankering. The Curried Butternut Squash-and-Apple Soup is a personal favorite of mine. And for summer? Brussels Sprouts Salad served at room temperature, without question. Despite it being a beautiful hardbound book, don't be surprised if you keep finding this one on the kitchen counter instead of the coffee table.

    The signing was invite-only and hosted not only employees of Ralph Lauren but many media personalities over two nights

    May 29, 2012 | Permalink (1) View/Leave Comments

    Mindy left a comment on 6/28/2012 at 2:38 PM:

    Love the book. Already tried the cheese souffle and tomato tart. Wonderful :-)


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  • The Ivy League

    Music & Books  

    Last week I popped into the Gant Rugger shop on Prince Street to visit with some old friends and new while Daniel Cappello signed copies of his new book The Ivy League. While I had not formerly met Cappello until he was scrawling his name inside my cloth-bound copy, we discovered I had photographed him on the street earlier this year. He’s feeling daring tonight in royal blue slim cargo pants sobered up by a navy blazer and open button down collar. It's a good look.

    “Harvard was one of the breeding grounds of classic Ivy style: that utterly effortless, nonchalant fashion affected by floppy-haired Andover and Exeter alums coming of age in a mix of relaxed athletic sportswear, crest-bearing navy blazers, khaki chinos, and striped repp ties.”

    —Daniel Cappello

    Many precedent books on the Ivy League were born out of admiration from the outside looking in, but Cappello’s homage is birthed from within a 375 year-old crimson crucible. Despite it being a beautiful coffee table book, it’s just not Ivy style eye candy. Cappello actually goes to great lengths to dust off obscure traditions—from all eight Ivies, not just his own Harvard—and share the unique character of each campus. The fact that he acknowledges the Ivy style of dress and yet presses deeper into the richness of these institutions of higher learning is fresher than a breath of Dartmouth air.

    A drawing of the “Sweaters of the Ivy League” depicts letterman sweaters from the various Ivy League schools while poking fun at the so-called gentleman’s C, which many of the them issued in lieu of failing students from influential families.

    May 8, 2012 | Permalink (2) View/Leave Comments

    Brandon S left a comment on 6/23/2012 at 6:33 PM:

    Cappello may have gone to Harvard, but the cover is the gate to Branford Courtyard at Yale!


    Desmond K left a comment on 6/14/2012 at 8:50 PM:

    I heard about the release of this one a few weeks ago. I haven’t gotten the chance to get my hands on it yet though. Eagerly looking forward to it…

    http://chinosandcheesecake.blogspot.com


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  • May 2012 Playlist

    Music & Books  

    Listen on Spotify

    May 1, 2012 | Permalink (6) View/Leave Comments

    Doug left a comment on 6/26/2012 at 4:05 PM:

    Have always loved your playlists but I just plain refuse to join Facebook, which Spotify seems to demand.


    Kate left a comment on 6/1/2012 at 8:55 PM:

    Wish the playlist was consistently downloadable…spoitify doesn’t work up here in Canada. I got a zip of April just fine but it doesn’t look like there is one for may.


    Scotland jerseys left a comment on 5/29/2012 at 1:48 AM:

    New zeland jerseys 

    Northern ireland jerseys 

    Paraguay jerseys


    PS left a comment on 5/23/2012 at 8:38 PM:

    I’ve listened to over a year’s worth of your playlists, this one might be the best. Thanks!


    AK left a comment on 5/22/2012 at 12:14 PM:

    Brilliant stuff as usual. Thanks for sharing.


    NJGlenn left a comment on 5/21/2012 at 8:36 AM:

    You rock Fred! Thanks for taking the time.


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  • New England: Icons and Inspirations

    Music & Books  

    No preppy’s coffee table collection is complete without an oversized art book about New England. As Americans, it’s a place we look to for its history, its landscape, its inimitable style, its cuisine. I just added New England: Icons and Inspirations to my burgeoning collection. If I have one guilty pleasure, it’s stockpiling luxury tomes from the likes of Rizzoli, Assouline, Taschen, and teNeues. This lavish tribute, guided by Tommy Hilfiger, distills the essence of the region through stunning photographs of Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Whether a classic weather vane, a barn, or a lighthouse, the diverse images that make up this beautiful book are a stunning reminder of the inspirations and influences that are New England.

    “In New England, style is never about what’s ‘in’ or ‘out.’”

    —Tommy Hilfiger

    Apr 12, 2012 | Permalink (16) View/Leave Comments

    Jack Carlson left a comment on 5/17/2012 at 3:24 AM:

    Hi Max—I’m the author of the rowing blazers book Fred’s been shooting for.  Glad to hear your excited.  No fixed date yet, but will keep you posted!  As for the clubs/teams/athletes featured: many of the usual suspects in terms of American universities and schools, but also a lot of British and international clubs and university teams.  Quite a few Olympic rowers and world champions among the athletes featured!  That’s all I can say for now! - Jack


    damenfrost left a comment on 5/12/2012 at 3:38 PM:

    i like penny loafers and tassel loafers, i bought some from delicious junction for chicks.
    Have you had any luck finding a good pair of black penny loafers? I’ve too been looking for a while.


    Soren Yace left a comment on 5/6/2012 at 11:23 AM:

    I believe the title of the book should convey that Tommy Hilfiger doesn’t need to know anything about New England to be inspired by it.


    Max left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 8:00 PM:

    Whoa guys.. heated !  heated ! .. so… Fred.. when is your rowing book coming out?  Now THAT is something to get excited about !

    Perchance can you give us a teaser of locations/ crews/boat clubs you shot? 

    Also.. was wondering if you ever got a chance to check out the 80’s rowing coffee table books “Regatta” by Ivry and “Rowing” (rather Canadian centric) by Peter King (not the SI writer :) )  for inspiration?


    emjkmj left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 5:00 PM:

    I thought TH has spent the last decade in Greenwich, during his fashion exile.


    Madras left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 2:18 PM:

    De Tocqueville didn’t have any insights on American either since he was French . . . I haven’t read the book nor do I own very much TH . . . maybe a tie or two, and I’m not really a huge TH fan.  But should I throw away my button downs since I don,t play polo?  Or my polos since I don’t play tennis?  I hope you don’t have a madras jacket or pants or shirt, because that really needs to be used only in a sari or salwar kameez.

    I don’t see anything wrong with an “outsider” producing a book of images and icons from an area that he likes.


    K left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 12:08 PM:

    -Fred is a “prep”.
    -Fred posts what he likes (be it gifted or bought, who cares anyway).
    -He likes this book.
    -This book happens to be written by TH.
    -TH likes New England.

    I see no sin or wrongdoing in the above line up, because there /is no/ sin or wrongdoing.


    k left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 11:48 AM:

    Would you like to come shopping with me? His pants are too tight in the calf but large at the waist. I have a long waist, his polos are short and barely cover my midriff. Try again.

    If you continually dislike Fred’s posts as above, I don’t know why you waste so much time disapproving. Sometimes you’re on the dot about a fit of a garment being too tight, etc, but posts like these—Fred likes it, it’s his blog, so be it.


    K left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 11:41 AM:

    New generation? I’m probably your age and don’t own a single TH item. Not that I dislike it—it doesn’t fit me well. I’d hardly call his appeal to urban youth disastrous. What’s so disastrous about street artists wearing what they like? Or is wearing the same polo shirt an urban guy is sporting below a proper prep’s value of self esteem…. I smell snobbery.


    AEV left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 11:38 AM:

    K - Nothing, at all, is wrong with a clothing company endorsing hip hop artists….assuming the brand/heritage/looks/lifestyles make sense and work together. The point, again, is clear - Tommy Hilfiger attempted to start what he hoped was a ‘preppy’ clothing company back in the late 80s. Instead, urban, street artists and kids latched onto the aestetic (mostly because the clothes were anything but classicaly preppy and were flashy, cheaply made, gaudy, etc.). Facing flagging sales, Hilfiger briefly embraced the urban music/lifestyle scene. It didn’t help, and the company was forced to sell to a bank. The bank coulnd’t do anything with it, and sold it again…this time to the company that sells Van Heusen shirts. Now, TH is back….trying to refurbish his brand on the back of a neo-preppy trend (and the blogs that largely sustain it). TH is hoping that a new generation (you?) will ignore/forget the brand’s disasterous history and that he can try again to manufacture his namesake brand’s heritage as one tied to New England and based on a traditionally “American/prep” style and lifestyle. It’s neither - the brand strikes me as a desperate hobby of a confused man who’s trying to fit in, aggresively social climb, and prove that his blood runs blue.

    If you think it all works just fine, go right agead and dress like The Royal Tenenbaums grab that is TH’s current attempt/campaign at redemption….


    K left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 10:55 AM:

    What’s wrong about a prep endorsing a rap artist? Just because he’s preppy, he’s only allowed to endorse chinos with lobster print and Smirnoff raw tea? I find this conversation amusing (here’s hoping Fred doesn’t delete it (; ) , that because someone wasn’t born or raised in that area, than they apparently know nothing of the culture and whatever they design/sell is only a farce. And he’s not claiming to be from New England, he’s showing his love for it, so therefore I see nothing wrong with the man producing a book set in a place he likes. Whether or not he bows to “the man”, the guy likes boat docks and lighthouses. He doesn’t have to be from there to provide commentary next to the snapshots.


    AEV left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 10:10 AM:

    K - in this instance, TH is a brand….so, yes, I do feel it’s fair for me - as someone who’s been subjected to his marketing nearly my whole life - to comment on the brand.

    If you don’t feel TH’s brand/clothes/etc. are forced, that we’re simply not approaching this from the same universe. You do know that TH officially endorsed the hip-hop/R&B artist Aaliyah in the 1990s, yes?

    TH - the brand - has nealy gone bankrupt twice, first being saved by a private quity firm, and then being sold again to Van Heusen. So, no, TH doesn’t just “design what he likes” - he makes what his holding companies believe will sell…and it’s cross marketing like this book that continue to develop the myth that the brand is somehow tied to New England and the decades of New England style that TH has been bastardizing his whole career.


    k left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 9:52 AM:

    “So, this book - from TH’s perspective…”

    Don’t think anyone can use those words except T.H. himself. ;)

    It would be quite dull, reading books written only by people from there. And TH has plenty of experience in New England. I think the chap has visited there more times than we can count. I don’t find TH’s clothing empire forced. He designs what he likes. You can tell he loves the preppy aesthetic, not as if he’s sitting in his flat pinning away for the day he can be his true self and design goth clothes.


    AEV left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 9:38 AM:

    K - My general point is fairly simple: people who write books on specific subjects should have experience with those subjects. An American can certainly write a book about Paris, but unless that American has specific, significant experience with the city, most Parisians would probably question the credibility of the information contained therein.

    Beyond that, TH brings to the table a very unique background - one based on a business that was built on an exaggerated, forced sense of New England style (owned by a private equity firm and largely produced in overseas sweatshops) and that continues to churn out hyperbolic copies of traditional styles. So, this book - from TH’s perspective - is about marketing and continuing, rather desperately, to connect his brand to tradition, geography, and lineage that simply doesn’t exist. If you want to read a book about New England written by a guy from Elmira, NY - go right ahead….it sounds about as useful and informative as a book about Las Vegas written by someone from Birmingham.


    K left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 9:18 AM:

    I think it’s wonderful T.H. has taken an interest in an area he has not grown up in. What a thing to say… that a person must be from there to avoid being tacky. Following your line of thinking, an American can’t write a book about Paris, a Southerner can’t write a book about Las Vegas, a white person can’t write a book about the persecution of Indians… because they weren’t born into it…doesn’t make much sense. The literary world is not divided into categories, those categories being only the ones you yourself have grown up in and have experienced. Usually I agree with you, AEV, but not on this one.

    Fred, where did you obtain your copy?


    AEV left a comment on 5/4/2012 at 8:57 AM:

    This looks to be nicely produced, but - as a New Englander - I question why Tommy Hilfiger has any unique expertise or experience with the subject matter. He spent his early life in west central NY (Elmira, not New England) and has spent most of his adult life in NYC (not New England). It just strikes me as tacky that a guy who didn’t grown up in New England and who’s spent his professional career creating a caricature of traditional American (largely New England inspired) clothing would edit/write a book like this….


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  • April 2012 Playlist

    Music & Books  

    Listen on Spotify

    Apr 2, 2012 | Permalink (11) View/Leave Comments

    mFa left a comment on 5/11/2012 at 4:01 AM:

    Thank you so much! These playlists are always a highlight to my month!


    Andy M. left a comment on 5/1/2012 at 7:26 AM:

    So glad to see the return of the playlists… and to see you’re still posting!


    Christina left a comment on 4/23/2012 at 11:50 AM:

    Yay!


    dlee left a comment on 4/19/2012 at 11:22 PM:

    Finally! Thanks! gdnight.


    JW left a comment on 4/19/2012 at 2:48 PM:

    I’ve been waiting months for this, and I must say, I am impressed. Well done!


    SK left a comment on 4/19/2012 at 11:04 AM:

    Made my day, Fred, Thanks!


    NPHAF left a comment on 4/19/2012 at 10:59 AM:

    Great playlist, thank you very much Mr. Castleberry for your time and effort sharing this.


    Lost left a comment on 4/19/2012 at 8:14 AM:

    Is it my Spotify, or is something wrong with the playlist? Nothing appears for me.


    megan left a comment on 4/19/2012 at 7:49 AM:

    the return of the monthly playlist (at least for now) has made my night ♥


    Gatsby left a comment on 4/19/2012 at 1:56 AM:

    The New beach house record is NICE!!!


    JNG left a comment on 4/18/2012 at 10:05 PM:

    oh hells yea. you know I love me some playlist action.


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