Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Traditional vs. Prep?

Here's a question for any one out there who still might be reading this blog, is there a difference between being traditional which I have recently seen abbreviated as "Trad" and being "Preppy"? I'm at work this week and things are quite and slow so I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The Daily Prep and found this post discussing the subject. I had always considered the two things to be somewhat synonymous but reading the post and the comments was interesting. It is true that there has been an explosion of "preppy lifestyle" blogs recently, not that this is a bad thing but it seems like "Prep" may be slightly more flamboyant than "Trad". I personally do not fit the classic definition of "Prep". I grew up out West in California and although I attended college at a small New England university, returned home for law school and live in the Bay Area now. I have however, always been traditional, both in dress and actions. I have variously been described by family and friends as conservative (although not politically), traditional and preppy. I believe in manners and write thank you notes on my monogramed stationary and so do my kids. I value education and charity and believe in giving back. All of these seem like traditional values and yet some what prep. The comments on the linked post above seemed to say that someone who was "trad" was a grown up "prep" but one commenter seemed to sum it up best and said ""trad" can be used to described a person with quiet good manners, a preference for classic clothing, a decent education or at least good critical-thinking skills, a preference for a quite lifestyle and a good strong sense of ethics. There are more descriptors I could use, but basically a trad is someone with good taste and good manners who tries to do the right thing and feels a sense of obligation to others and to the world." That says it all. It certainly describes me as I see myself. Trad or Prep, does it matter?



1 comment:

  1. Like you I have usually assumed that they were one in the same. Perhaps as you have so nicely worded it but Traditional is the grown up version of preppy. I guess I am traditional. But I feel classic fits too.

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