Unabashedly Prep

  • December 2011 Playlist

    Music & Books  

    This holiday season, I took the liberty of selecting my favorite Christmas tunes from Sufjan Stevens' Songs For Christmas. While the entire five CD set is a worthy soundtrack to the longest of gift wrapping sessions, if I had to choose 20, these would be it. Happy holidays.

    Listen on Spotify

    Dec 1, 2011 | Permalink (5) View/Leave Comments

    John left a comment on 12/24/2011 at 1:39 PM:

    I’ll echo the comments of others - why not have the best of both worlds? Spotify + downloads. Seems like a no-brainer…


    Jerry left a comment on 12/22/2011 at 11:10 AM:

    Spotify isn’t available in my country.  Where did the option to download go?!!


    Olivia left a comment on 12/3/2011 at 12:56 PM:

    Should we still be able to download from itunes? I haven’t been able to do so with the past few playlists!


    NPHAF left a comment on 12/3/2011 at 9:31 AM:

    So glad to see that you’re using Spotify, makes me proud to be a swede!


    John left a comment on 12/2/2011 at 10:57 PM:

    Yes. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” is a favorite of mine.


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  • Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy

    Culture | Music & Books  

    It’s a side of Jacqueline (correctly pronounced Jack-uh-lean) Kennedy only family and friends knew. A voice so seldom heard, funny and inquisitive, clever and cutting.

    For the first time Americans are afforded the opportunity to hear the shy, quiet former first lady—in her own words—talk about her experiences campaigning with JFK, her frank feelings about the newsmakers of the day (including Martin Luther King Jr. and Charles de Gaulle), intimate thoughts on her marriage to Jack, and a behind-the-scenes look at life in the Kennedy White House in the recently released book Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy.

    The book includes 8 1/2 hours of original audio. It’s a primary source oral history recorded only four months after her husband’s assassination in a series of interviews with friend and longtime Kennedy aide Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. The tapes were kept under seal by the Kennedy Library for the past 47 years and reflects an era when the fascination with “Kennedy” was at its height.

    Nov 30, 2011 | Permalink (1) View/Leave Comments

    Rebecca left a comment on 12/14/2011 at 3:19 PM:

    I pre-ordered this as soon as I heard about it and it was well worth the purchase. What a fascinating insight into Camelot!


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  • Preppy: Cultivating Ivy Style

    Music & Books  

    “Preppy has always been acknowledged as an inherently American phenomenon, a fashion—or anti-fashion as some have called it—whose imagery perpetually connects us to idyllic college days, sport, and the spirit and vitality of youth.”

    —Jeffrey Banks

    From the authors that brought you Tartan: Romancing the Plaid, comes the new definitive volume from Rizzoli on the history of the roots, growth, and offshoots of the quintessentially American preppy style. Preppy: Cultivating Ivy Style, by co-authors Jeffrey Banks and Doria de La Chapelle (with a forward by Lilly Pulitzer no less), is a stunning tribute to an American phenomenon brimming with vintage ads illustrating prep life and gorgeous photographs (familiar and never-before-published alike)—photos which I’m proud to say include several of my very own. If you look closely enough, you may even find my ankles...ankles about which de La Chapelle muses, “Maybe the ankle really IS the new erogenous zone."

    Nov 3, 2011 | Permalink (4) View/Leave Comments

    V. Karna left a comment on 12/26/2011 at 11:41 PM:

    I bought this book as I was intrigued and inspired by this post, it took 4 weeks to ship from amazon.com to Finland. Verdict: totally worth the wait! I enjoyed the experience of reading this. Thank you F. E. Castleberry for influencing my taste in reading, too.


    Bevin Elias left a comment on 11/4/2011 at 12:11 AM:

    Fred it has been a pleasure becoming friends with a talented brother I was on my New England tour and stopped at Brooks Brothers and an associate said your in a book, then I look it’s your money shot that circulated 100 times.  Great 2011 with all your success. I’m out researching for my Home Decor line so see you in my Look BOOK.


    F.E. Castleberry left a comment on 11/3/2011 at 3:52 PM:

    @JD—In order to see which images of mine were published in the book, yes, you would have to purchase the book.  A library will likely not be carrying this coffee table book.


    jd left a comment on 11/3/2011 at 3:27 PM:

    so we have to buy the book to see your shots ......or go to a library?


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  • November 2011 Playlist

    Music & Books  

    Listen on Spotify

    Nov 1, 2011 | Permalink (17) View/Leave Comments

    Dom left a comment on 11/23/2011 at 10:58 AM:

    I’m with the others here who are sans spotify. However, I just wanted to say thanks for the past months of music. It was a good run, and my office enjoyed your playlists. smile

    Cheers,
    Dom


    SK left a comment on 11/22/2011 at 4:40 PM:

    Come on, spotify is not available here! Why not let everything like it was before?


    ANK left a comment on 11/19/2011 at 11:03 PM:

    While I am enjoying the Spotify option, it would be nice to be able to download the playlist. Your playlist’s have provided tons of entertainment on roadtrips.


    james left a comment on 11/17/2011 at 3:45 AM:

    Shame about Spotify and obligation to have an FACEBOOK account. Thank you for your blog, love it!


    A. Spence left a comment on 11/9/2011 at 6:39 PM:

    This isn’t showing on the normal blog’s RSS feed.  Is there anyway to download for those who were tardy to the party?


    Bryce left a comment on 11/8/2011 at 10:01 AM:

    Can you release a downloadable playlist? I have taken a few road trips with your playlist providing the soundtrack.


    marguerite left a comment on 11/8/2011 at 4:23 AM:

    boo, hopefully spotify will come to Ireland soon? these were always a beautiful way to begin my month.


    Valerie left a comment on 11/7/2011 at 9:59 AM:

    I echo the same sentiments of having looked forward to the monthly download. Hope that you consider doing both.


    Megan left a comment on 11/6/2011 at 8:56 PM:

    Mourning the loss of the monthly downloadable playlist, not available in my country! Any way we could have the best of both worlds? Thanks for the great music.


    Brian left a comment on 11/6/2011 at 3:48 PM:

    I echo the others sentiments, I too looked forward to this download every month and am sad to see it go.  Thank-you Fred for all the music you have shared.


    ghl left a comment on 11/6/2011 at 3:07 PM:

    Sorry to see that the ability to download the playlist is gone. I looked forward to one of these every month. Thanks so much for all the great music you have shared in the past.


    MAF III left a comment on 11/6/2011 at 2:48 PM:

    Will these ever be available for download again?


    Annie left a comment on 11/6/2011 at 2:27 PM:

    i always enjoyed the downloads- i’m an international reader and spotify isn’t available in my country.


    JM left a comment on 11/6/2011 at 9:06 AM:

    no more downloads, this was my favorite thing to look forward to each month?!


    AMS left a comment on 11/6/2011 at 7:45 AM:

    Anyway to download this sans spotify?


    Ice left a comment on 11/6/2011 at 5:54 AM:

    Is the non-Spotify option still available?


    G.O.S left a comment on 11/5/2011 at 10:54 PM:

    spotify was a great idea smile thanks.


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  • A Humorous Guide to Heraldry!

    Music & Books  

    Did you know a cockatrice is a mythical creature with a rooster’s head and a dragon’s body? Or that the 14th century ushered in the heater shield? Do you even know what a heater shield is? Right, neither did I. Jack Carlson’s A Humorous Guide to Heraldry! explains everything you need to know and everything you didn’t know you wanted to know about heraldry. This guide “for little tykes and old folks alike” is not only a fun read, but notably thorough. Partitions, tinctures, wreaths, helmets, blazon, and much more are whimsically illustrated by hand. I don’t know what’s more impressive, that Carlson managed to turn a potentially vapid subject matter into an entertaining read or that he illustrated and wrote this book at the ripe age of 14. Either way, that heraldic tie in your closet just became a little more interesting.

    Oct 7, 2011 | Permalink (4) View/Leave Comments

    AdeCdeP left a comment on 10/29/2011 at 8:20 PM:

    Shouldn’t it actually be “Everything one needs to know about Heraldry, presented in a humorous fashion”? Prince Charles does speak in the third person, after all!


    Abigail S left a comment on 10/16/2011 at 4:37 PM:

    I’ll definitely have to check out a copy of this—Jack was the year above me at BB&N


    txsailorboy left a comment on 10/12/2011 at 6:58 PM:

    Good show….jolly good show…....


    Tad Allagash left a comment on 10/10/2011 at 9:33 PM:

    Interesting post.  Heraldry is actually a rich subject as most heraldry comes from a time when not many people could read - so these seals/crests/banners/flags convey a lot of information if one knows how to read or interpret them properly. Though fashion designers ripping off (or drawing inspiration from, depending on your POV) historical motifs is a post for another day.


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