Muffy Aldrich’s Preppy Brand Ranking and Scorecard, 2010
Company Name (Links to representative Daily Prep reviews) | Great Items Currently Available Men/Women | Ratio of Great Items to Bad Items Currently Available1 Men/Women | Heritage2 | Change3 | |
| 1. | Barbour | A / A | A- / A - | A | ▲ |
| 2. | J. Press | A / | A / | A | ► |
| 3. | Polo Ralph Lauren4 | A / A | C / D | B | ► |
| 4. | Orvis | A / D | B / D | A | ► |
| 5. | L.L. Bean | A / F | C / F | A | ▼ |
| 6. | Leather Man Ltd/Eliza B. | A / A | A / B | B | ► |
| 7. | Patagonia | A / C | B / C | B | ► |
| 8. | Sperry Top-Sider | A / A | B / D | A | ► |
| 9. | Burberry | A / A | C / D | A | ► |
| 10. | Lands’ End | B / C | C / D | B | ▲ |
| R | Brooks Brothers | A / D | C / D | A | ► |
R | Vineyard Vines | B / D | C / D | C | ▼ |
R | Coach | B / F | D / F | B | ▼ |
| R | Lilly Pulitzer | F / F | F / F | A | ▼ |
| R | Vera Bradley | / F | / F | B | ▼ |
Examples of pure but niche Prep Companies:
- Vermont Originals
- Nantucket Knotworks
- Cape Madras
- Mercer & Sons
- Quoddy
- Bills Khakis
- Jack Donnelly Khakis
- Filson (review here)
- Eddie Bauer
- Talbots
- Abercrombie & Fitch
- J. Crew (here is why)
- JoS. A. Bank
- Gap/ Old Navy
- The North Face
1This grade considers how much caution one must take in buying from this company. For example, Sperry Top-Sider has some perfect women's shoes (Great Items = A), but also has a significant number of unattractive shoes (Ratio of Great to Bad = D).
2The number of iconic preppy items produced by the vendor and its early influence in the Preppy aesthetic.
3Getting Better (▲)/Staying the Same (►)/Getting Worse (▼) over the last three years and predictive over the next two against other Top Ten Prep Stores.
4Polo Ralph Lauren's high rating here surprises many men, but PRL remains one of the few sources of consistently classic Women's items, despite the need to wade through a slew of unattractive options.
15 comments:
First and foremost, I must say that I agree with almost every point you have made in this post. However, I would say that J. Crew has a few mens items that I would definitely classify as preppy. I will say that their women's offerings are nowhere near the preppy mark, so to speak. But I do think that a few timeless mens items have lasted through the overall transformation of the brand. Please respond with your thoughts on the issue. And once again, a great post!
I also agree with almost every point you made. My one comment would be: I think Abercrombie and Fitch has been purchased and "re-positioned" to such an extent that the present company is simply using the name without any real heritage at all.
Hi John. Good point. I really do miss the old Abercrombie and Fitch. I still use two of the walking sticks I got there every day when we take our walk.
I know I'm late to the party, but do you really think L.L.Bean's offerings for women score an "F"?!!! One needs only to look at the lovely Double L cable cardigan (I have 3 of them!) to know there are some items available that are quality, timeless, classics. It's true, you have to dig through some pretty matronly items, but surely you can see that some of the "good ol' standbys" are still being produced!
http://grosgraingarage.blogspot.com/2010/05/latest-beanies.html
http://grosgraingarage.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-beanies.html
http://grosgraingarage.blogspot.com/2009/11/wish-list-ll-bean-christmas-catalog.html
Thank you for a thought provoking comment! I know what you are saying.
In the past, I have been a huge fan of the Double L Sweaters, and have purchased a great number of them. One problem is that L.L. Bean keeps tinkering with the fit and design, so you just never know what you will be getting. They have changed the chest measurement as well as the length. (I do not care for the cut of the current version, too narrow and too long.) They also keep changing the styles of the sleeves (The cable crewneck had set-in sleeves in 2004; raglan sleeves in 2007 (although the plain crewneck had set-in that year); and now again have set-in sleeves in 2010.) I loved the v-neck version, but they discontinued it. (See my entry "Four Classic Items That Aren't Anymore" under the L.L. Bean label.)
L.L. Bean has been changing the cut of a lot of other Women's basic items, and if one reads the reviews on their website, there has been quite an outcry. Therefore, they wisely have been returning to their original cuts on many of these items including Bayside Twills; Oxford Cloth Shirt; Pinpoint Shirt; Cordoroy Big Shirt; and I am waiting to see what they do with the Classic Chinos, for they have just changed the name of the re-design to Casual Chinos, and I am hoping they did this to free the way to bring back the original design of their Classic Chinos.
Ultimately, I based my rating on the fact that over the last several seasons, I have not found even a single Women's item that I wished to purchase for myself. (I know many females in many different categories who have found the same problem.)
However, I have purchased a great many items for myself from the Men's department, like the Ragg Sweaters; the Norwegian Crewneck Sweater; Flannel Shirts; Chamois Shirts, etc..
I am a third generation devoted customer of L.L. Bean, and am looking forward to their return to what made them great to begin with.
Thanks again for commenting!
You have excellent taste and a great perspective. I look forward to reading your reviews in the future. Thank you!
Muffy,
Check out KielJamesPatrick.com .... The quintessential preppy bracelets, sailing belts, and more. Products are skillfully handcrafted in the Ocean state of Rhode Island. tell them Susan sent you!
You'll love his site and his products.
Susan
What about Southern Tide?
This is classic. Love the analysis. Impressive.
Lacoste? I've always had the notion that they were prep.
Muffy I am sure will have her own take on Lacoste, but I'll throw on that I own vintage Lacoste and recent Lacoste, and the older Lacoste (made in France or made in USA via Izod) lasts and lasts. The new stuff is made in Peru and... Doesn't.
An Izod rep and I had a discussion about this last week.
Muffy, I love how your older blog posts keep getting comments. Keeps the discourse fresh and interesting. Thanks for your recent comment and I have some more LL Bean posts coming my father grabbed some items and I need to snap photos...
Oh dear me. I write this from the UK as a concerned Brit. The most un Preppy of all brands is now Burberry. They have become silly and far too fashionable. If you must purchase one thing it has to be their classic trench coat for women or raglan sleeved, fly fronted rain coat for men. Those two only! Be warned. Secondly; Barbour has started to go down hill after introducing ill thought out collaborations with 'designers' and ditching what they were outstanding at; old fashioned outdoor clothing. Please please do not purchase any of these fashion items, only what remains of their classic items.
Burberry and Barbour are no longer Prep brands. Too many recent changes to styles. I write as a concerned Brit to warn you all. Both have become silly and far too 'fashionable'. Only purchase the most classic items from these brands as they are now a bit too 'inner city' what with their collaborations with 'designers' and their ilk. Perhaps a classic trench coat for women or raglan sleeved, fly fronted rain coat for men. With Barbour make sure it is only the most old fashioned items that you purchase; oiled and heavy weight outer coats, nothing to make you look trendy. Trust me. As for Church's shoes, since being purchased by Prada they too have had a rush of blood to the head and are no longer worth purchasing. Best ready to wear shoes in the UK now are by Edward Green ($850.00 upwards).
Hands down, the preppiest store is Brooks Brothers! Ribbon belts, Madras and seersucker, navy blazers, etc. It just doesn't get better than this!
Oh please do another scorecard! Love this, and it's been 2 years since the last scoring.
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