Unabashedly Prep

  • The Needlepoint Belt

    Style | Culture | Prep Essentials  

    According to the 80s-penned Official Preppy Handbook, the needlepoint belt is a “must accessory for the collegiate B.M.O.C. (big man on campus)" and typically a gift from women of a certain sort and class...women committed to memorializing young love by stitching a needlepoint belt for their beau. Ironically, it eventually garnered notoriety as the breakup belt. By the time the belt was finished, someone in the relationship had often decided to move on.

    While preppy fashion has gradually evolved over the last 30 years, the casual and jaunty nature of needlepoint belts has not. It's the preppy catholicon for holding up ill-fitting khakis, shorts, and summer suit trousers.

    Victoria Stulgis started needlepointing at age 12 when she and her mom wandered into the Nantucket clothing/needlepoint boutique, Erica Wilson. By 15, she became much more avid. After a day at the stables, she and her equestrian friends would slumber party at each other's homes and needlepoint in front of the TV. "It was rather unconventional, I think," Stulgis recalls.

    "I started working on [my boyfriend] Jack's belt when I was 17. Back then I was rather quick at needlepointing and it only took 3-6 months (I think there was a time when I was needlepointing during history class)."

    When she was finished with the crossed oars design in Georgetown colors (and still in the relationship) Stulgis sent the canvas to a leather shop just outside Lexington, KY, which she had stumbled across while competing at the US National Pony Finals in 2004. They do a top notch job with the stitching and use superior quality leather, as they cater to the equestrian set down in Kentucky. Good thing too, since her boyfriend Jack has been throwing it around his waist almost daily for the past six years.

    Can’t get your auntie, mum, or lovely lady to labor for months over this functional status statement? No worries. You can simply pick one up from Tucker Blair or Smathers & Branson; however, my favorite is one I came across from Rugby several years ago (beautiful repeating gold skull & bones on navy ground, wool thread, and better quality leather than the former). Most ring in under $200. Of course, the most valuable needlepoint belts are those made by moms or girlfriends like Stulgis.

    Sep 4, 2012 | Permalink (1) View/Leave Comments

    Rowboats left a comment on 10/30/2012 at 8:35 PM:

    M’s Canvashouse out of Lexington KY sells the best most extensive variety I have ever seen (and online!). You can also send it back to them to do leathering.  My boyfriend has multiple.


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  • The Cricket Blazer

    Style  

    Blazers, once commonly worn playing or attending traditional 'gentlemen's sports', persist in only some games now, such as cricket, where in professional matches it is considered customary for the captain to wear a blazer with the team's logo or national coat of arms on the breast pocket (at least during the coin toss at the beginning of the match). Those of the striped variety became popular among British mods in the mid 60s and again during the mod revival of the 70s. The likes of The Who's Pete Townsend, Small Faces, and The Kinks were just a few of the bands partying in the cricket blazer. It was really only a matter of time before it found its way into our own American sportswear vernacular.

    Over the past year I have been photographing piped and striped boating blazers from the Ivy League to The Netherlands and have seriously been entertaining the jacket as a fashion piece. Although I have a couple cricket blazers buried deep in the recesses of my closet, I was somewhat uninspired to wear them until I ran across this photograph of Izzie Burch, Tory Burch’s step-daughter. Then it just clicked—maybe it is just about the contrasting tonal shirt/tie pairing, a washed jean, and a Prince Albert slipper?

    Aug 14, 2012 | Permalink (9) View/Leave Comments

    Joey Dee left a comment on 10/22/2012 at 1:08 PM:

    The whole set up is lovely.
    I have been desiring a schoolboy jacket for some time now, i like how hers has peak lapels.


    Mel left a comment on 9/20/2012 at 4:04 PM:

    dying to know who made her shoes…..


    Hope @ Fairhope Supply Co. left a comment on 9/10/2012 at 9:27 AM:

    I don’t like blazers that are too tight or too loose.  This one looks about right.


    DBL left a comment on 9/5/2012 at 3:12 PM:

    Cricket and boating blazers are wonderful things. But to say there’s a high degree of difficulty for men is an understatement.


    Tim left a comment on 9/4/2012 at 7:10 PM:

    I love this style jacket, and as good as it looks on this girl, I can’t help but wonder if it would look good on a young guy.  Any thoughts?  Also, where would one be able to find that style jacket?

    http://oneguysstyle.blogspot.com/


    Whitney Worthington left a comment on 9/4/2012 at 12:36 PM:

    I love the cricket blazer. The fun color just adds a nice punch when an outfit needs it. So classic and Ivy-ish.


    Caron left a comment on 9/4/2012 at 11:31 AM:

    Great post, Fred.  I love, love love cricket and schoolboy blazers on both men and women.! It takes a certain type of man to wear them but most definitely the jackets need a modern spin by pairing with distressed jeans.  Anything else would be too precious, uptight and literal.  In 2009 (where has the time gone?), I blogged about the schoolboy/cricket blazer and I am still obsessed.  The jackets I posted were from Balenciaga’s 2007 AW collection.  Unlike a passing fad, I think the jackets look just as good today as they did in 1907, 2007 and on…
    http://queenofcashmere.com/daybook/rock-n-roll-baronial/


    Harry left a comment on 9/4/2012 at 9:55 AM:

    I feel women - esp the daughters of designers - can get away with all sorts of stuff men can’t….including this type of blazer and leather, leather soled loafers which are loosely styled after men’s formal slippers.


    Desmond K left a comment on 9/4/2012 at 8:43 AM:

    I’ve never owned a cricket striped blazer. Maybe just a little too loud for my taste. However, I feel like I would be willing to make an exception and wear it to the polo grounds. I’m a firm beliver that every garment has its place where it would be best received. And I agree that the tonal shirt/tie combo helps keep things from looking too busy.

    Chinos & Cheesecake


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  • Wardrobe XIII

    Style | Dress Code  

    Last weekend, a group of friends and I packed up the car (last minute) and headed south to Firefly music festival despite the wet forecast. My vintage Mighty Mac was one of the few things I grabbed while running out the door. Originally based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Mighty-Mac was a popular sportswear brand up until the late '80s, known for making stylish and functional clothing for boating. Despite closing up shop around 1989-1990, 35 summers of Japan recently acquired the rights to the name and are now recreating the same jackets that were made decades ago in its original quality. I picked up my late 80s model gently used and then had it tailored in all the right spots. Notwithstanding the rain, The Killers did put on the best show I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing and I stayed plenty dry.

    1. FujiFilm X-Pro1 rangefinder camera
    2. Mighty Mac of Gloucester jacket
    3. Ralph Lauren whale embroidered chino short
    4. vintage Omega Seamaster wristwatch with Rugby nylon watch band

    Jul 31, 2012 | Permalink (8) View/Leave Comments

    PSP left a comment on 9/6/2012 at 10:00 PM:

    Great pick on the Might Mac jacket.  Do you know where I can find one?


    Kingston left a comment on 8/29/2012 at 7:52 PM:

    The Gold, Silver and Bronze of Prep: Stylin’ - Prep & Maiden http://www.prepandmaiden.com/articles-1/stylin/


    PSP left a comment on 8/22/2012 at 9:21 PM:

    FEC I purchased the blue and white J Press band really liked it for Summer.  FYI for fans of the Vintage Seamaster there are currently a few up for auction on Liveauctioneers.


    mike left a comment on 8/18/2012 at 4:16 PM:

    Is it possible that you might model the Mighty-Mac for a future post. I’d love to see what it looks like.


    S/Amatourist left a comment on 8/15/2012 at 5:00 PM:

    like the watchband. just got one - almost identical - from J Press in DC earlier this summer. ran into the speaker of the Texas House while there. love it when time and place just come together. i was wondering… how do you shoot your gear? light box? i’ve struggled like hell with mine… everything washes out on white bg, though i think i’ll give colored paper a shot. ~SAM


    F.E. Castleberry left a comment on 8/15/2012 at 4:17 PM:

    @Tom—There wasn’t exactly a tropical storm during Firefly, so yes, my jacket kept me dry.

    @Desmond K—I was in my leather boat shoes all weekend.


    Tom left a comment on 8/15/2012 at 8:08 AM:

    A 25 year old cotton pullover jacket was waterproof?


    Desmond K left a comment on 8/15/2012 at 7:54 AM:

    Eternally jealous of u. The killers have been one of my favorites for a while. Out of curiosity, what kind of footwear did u pack in preparation for the rainy weather?

    Chinos & Cheesecake


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  • Grace Pearson

    Style  

    I love hearing from you ladies and gentlemen. Whether it's an impromptu introduction on the street, an encouraging comment, or in this particular case, a personal email...I appreciate it all. Cue Grace Pearson, pictured here in her favorite bespoke French navy suit. She wrote me to simply say "thank you." In a recent interview with the New Zealand Herald, Pearson rattles off style icons such as Jackie Kennedy, cites Unabashedly Prep as her principal style inspiration, and discloses that she makes her own bow ties. And if you can believe it gentlemen, it actually gets better.

    Photographed by Babiche Martens for New Zealand Herald

    The young kiwi works in a man's world—that of made-to-measure tailoring. Pearson is cutting her teeth at the contemporary Auckland tailoring house Crane Brothers, who not only cut suiting for men, but women as well. If Pearson was the last woman to ever fold inspiration gleaned from Unabashedly Prep into her personal style, I could stop blogging a happy man. And the admiration is mutual. In fact, she's the newest addition to the Dream Girl file.

    Read the rest of the interview as she goes into the finer details of her personal style and the nagging premonition she's the only preppy girl in the entire country.

    Jun 26, 2012 | Permalink (13) View/Leave Comments

    Dora left a comment on 7/20/2012 at 8:38 PM:

    i’m curious to know what your wife says about your “dream girls” pinboard. they are all babes!


    F.E. Castleberry left a comment on 7/19/2012 at 10:35 AM:

    @Elizabeth—I’m imaging a classic leather closed toe heel in walnut.


    Elizabeth left a comment on 7/16/2012 at 3:12 PM:

    She looks spectacular! I wonder what sort of shoes she was wearing with this?


    Leslie left a comment on 7/16/2012 at 12:50 PM:

    Love your blog, but I wonder why I have received this and many other posts three times in the last week?


    emjkmj left a comment on 7/13/2012 at 4:38 PM:

    @ Trailer Trad, if that’s reason #425, I’d like to see #1-10!  p.s.  great name BTW.


    Trailer Trad left a comment on 7/13/2012 at 12:30 PM:

    New Zealand is great, Reason #425.


    F.E. Castleberry left a comment on 7/12/2012 at 6:23 PM:

    @Andrew—Did you not read the first paragraph? :) Miss Pearson is the one who passed this along to me.


    Andrew left a comment on 7/12/2012 at 4:56 PM:

    Assuming the New Zealand Herald isn’t a daily read of yours, did you find this because tit popped up on your google alert for UnabashedlyPrep.com? Either way, an amazing and gorgeous girl. Sigh…


    Saturdays left a comment on 7/12/2012 at 1:53 PM:

    She is definitely an interesting person. And that interview was fantastic, I’ll have to watch Valentino: The Last Emperor to better understand what drives her.


    Y.L. Hollander left a comment on 7/12/2012 at 8:19 AM:

    It’s as if Annie Hall and Gordon Gekko had a love child.

    A terribly bright, engaging and gorgeous love child.


    Desmond Kinlaw left a comment on 7/12/2012 at 8:17 AM:

    She is just fascinating. Her look is classic. She looks like a woman who can command respect and attention. I think that’s very important and honestly one of the most attractive traits one can posses.

    Chinos & Cheesecake


    Robert left a comment on 7/12/2012 at 6:56 AM:

    Stunning…I wish my tailor looked like her.


    David left a comment on 7/11/2012 at 11:27 PM:

    Good to see a New Zealander here.


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  • Tickled Pink

    Style | Dress Code  

    Sara Kerens, a budding fashion photographer and friend of mine, recently shot a few frames of me for her blog series "People I Know." It's quickly becoming a collection of friends in her life doing what she finds to be interesting things. I am honored to be photographed by her and hope that through this interview, you might stumble upon a thing or two about me you didn’t know before.

    Photographed in New York, NY by Sara Kerens

    What inspired you to start Unabashedly Prep?

    I was thumbing through a Teen Vogue issue (January 2009) and stopped at an article about a teen shoe blogger. Straight strawberry blonde hair framed these youthful milky-skinned cheek bones—she'd just been awarded the opportunity to design a capsule shoe collection for Urban Outfitters. She was only 17 and publishing her wildly popular style blog out of my backyard (Dallas). All I could think was, "Why am I not doing this?"  It was inspiring. Seventeen seconds later I was brainstorming what would later become Unabashedly Prep.

    What men's brands and styles have influenced your own taste?

    While most Americans possessed, at the very least, an ambient awareness of Polo by Ralph Lauren in the early 90s, I wasn't wearing it. I loved the sensibility but the fit wasn't what I wanted. There was this baggy thing going on at the time—all the kids were practically drowning in their clothes. What did fit was Abercrombie & Fitch. I remember meticulously pouring over the first ever A&F Quarterly and seeing a pair of slim denim with a slight taper that actually fit properly. I thought, "That's it. That looks great." I grabbed my mom, flipped on the charm (hey, somebody had to pay for the Shetland sweaters, chinos, and oxfords I was feverishly circling in the catalogue), and we were off to the nearest A&F shop 40 miles away. The next day at school classmates stared at me like I was sleepwalking the halls naked. I couldn't care less because it didn't feel juvenile...it felt cool. I was 15 at the time.

    Eventually, Abercrombie & Fitch mutated into the sex-peddling, logo-flinging jeans and T-shirt monstrosity you see today—a brittle shell of its former nouveau-prep glory. They lost me when they quit designing sport coats, sweater vests, and ties. When Ralph Lauren introduced Rugby in 2004, a line with the silhouettes and sensibilities of a younger guy, I started pulling their new takes on old classics into my wardrobe.

    Three years later, I met Sid Mashburn when I interviewed him for Unabashedly Prep. It was then that I began to appreciate the beauty of a "uniform." There is an ease about a great jean, an English bench-made shoe, a dress shirt, tie, and blazer that still looks put together.

    Check out the rest of her interview with me accompanied by additional images over at her blog.

    Rig:
    • Randolph Engineering aviator sunglasses
    • Ralph Lauren cashmere cable knit sweater
    • Rugby white denim
    • vintage Omega Seamaster wrist watch
    • Smart Turnout nylon watch strap
    • brown Alden snaffle bit loafers (not pictured)

    Jun 5, 2012 | Permalink (6) View/Leave Comments

    F.E. Castleberry left a comment on 8/9/2012 at 12:32 AM:

    @Alice—No worries at all. Glad to hear that you’re enjoying the site. For the record, I was subscribing to Teen Vogue at the time because Bruce Weber was shooting for them, often. His work still serves as a huge inspiration for me.


    Alice left a comment on 8/9/2012 at 12:15 AM:

    Oh shoot!

    I forgot two quick things in my super long comment.

    1. I love your comment box! It’s so cute and a nice throwback to the days of paper and pens. Those were the good ol’ days.

    2. Sorry for commenting on such an old post! It may seem a little creepy so my apologies!


    ~Alice
    The Ace of Hearts


    Alice left a comment on 8/9/2012 at 12:13 AM:

    Hello hello F.E. (if I may call you that)!

    I came across your blog a while back and absolutely loved the idea of it!
    However, today is my first time commenting so I was trying to find something special to share my insight on.
    I originally was planning on commenting on your newest post (about Barbour coats) but I somehow landed on this page.

    First, oooh I know who you’re talking about! Jane from Sea of Shoes! I love that she’s from Dallas since that’s where I grew up. It’s pretty cool that you’re from near there too! :)
    Wait…you’re a 27 year old man reading Teen Vogue? Okay. I’m not judging! It’s a free country and everyone does strange stuff!
    Oh Abercrombie&Fitch;...what happened?
    My older brother used to work at A&F and I remembered loving the clothes there. Then, as I got older, I realized that all they did was sell sex. Tight shirts, short skirts, A. Fitch written on anything. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve owned anything from there in a while. It feels nice being able to say that.

    Anyways, before I ramble on and on anymore, I just want to say that your blog is awesome! Even though it isn’t really like the other blogs that I currently read, it’s very inspirational and full of lots of pretty clothes and pretty people.

    Awesome sweater here by the way! It’s such a happy color and so vibrant!

    Have a lovely day! :)


    ~Alice
    The Ace of Hearts

    P.S. This is totally random but I feel like you would get along really well with my older brother. He seems to have the same taste as you (and a bajillion other people in the world I suppose).


    PSP left a comment on 7/17/2012 at 5:03 PM:

    FEC, you should consider posting the back of the Omega Seamaster, very cool.  Also if you need to remove scratches from the crystal headlight restorer works pretty well.


    F.E. Castleberry left a comment on 7/10/2012 at 12:09 PM:

    @Thomas—As a photographer, Bruce Weber is one of my chief photographic influences and often shoots for Teen Vogue. That’s why I had a subscription…for the tears.


    Thomas left a comment on 7/10/2012 at 10:08 AM:

    What is a 27 year old man doing reading Teen Vogue?


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