Gearing up for Spring

So, it may still be March, but warmer weather for the Northeast is just around the corner (or so we hope).

This is the time of year to start bulking up on your spring and summer wardrobes, and utilizing the art of thriftiness, you can save a bundle.

I've broken down a few essential categories, and will provide some ideas of what to look for in each, as well as some of my findings where applicable.

Outerwear

Summer may be soon, but the transition from winter brings along with it a good deal of cold. With temps in the 40's and 50's, you will most likely not need a full winter coat, but a more lightweight layer is ideal for commutes to class or out and about town.
A fleece jacket or vest is a college prep must have. You can pick up a wide variety of fleece at your local thrift store, but I've had various levels of luck finding the quality of item I'm looking for as these kind of jackets seem to have a longer turnaround time for obvious reasons. In this instance I turned to eBay for a full-zip Patagonia fleece. All-in-all, It cost me $50, but the same jacket retails for about 3 times that. Patagonia has a strong foothold in the New England prep scene, battling it out with The North Face for the college-something demographic.

I personally am not a huge fan of the ubiquitous (and in my opinion clichéd) North Face Denali, as there is nothing significantly preppy about it anymore.

Harken Fleece

Another great option for preps on a budget is this offering from Harken, a sailboat rigging company.
On sale on Amazon for $20, I've owned this fleece for a couple years and it's a good option that will also gain you some recognition down by the docks.

If you can find something of good quality at your thrift store, all the power to you, but outerwear is one area where it often pays off in the long run to pay a little more. If you can save $200 on other areas of your wardrobe, don't feel so bad about dropping $100+ on good quality technical apparel.



Pants

With dreary days hopefully behind us, the topic of Spring and Summer trousers should deserve some attention. Obviously staples such as khaki are year round, but the warmer months of the year allow us to add a bit more color into the mix. Suddenly, whites, blues, reds, (and seersucker if you are really dandy), start to pop up at ocean-sides around the country. The specific shades in question will vary depending on how ostentatious you plan on being, but typically, more subtle is better. Look for shades that seems as though they've been bleached by the sun over a couple summers, rather than something that blinds the eyes.

At the thrifts, The pink whale can be as hard to find as the white whale. 

I've successfully thrifted (or bought on clearance) offerings from Land's End and J.Crew, but these wilder colors are a rare species in many thrift stores (unless you have a really good location). Also look for lighter weight fabrics than you would in heartier winter chinos. As with everything, don't overdo it unless you really know what you are getting into.


Shirts

The button-down shirt never really disappears from the prep wardrobe, but there are some specific variations for summer. You've got your seersucker, and madras, tattersalls, and of course, your gingham style.

I've found a good variety of these across thrift stores and generally will buy anything I like, but to get that specific color combo you may desire it may be worth it to venture to eBay for a wider selection.

In my opinion  you should avoid short sleeve button front shirts as much as possible. You will look twice as good rolling up the sleeves on a regular shirt.

Now onto the matter of polo shirts. These are very easy to come across at thrift stores, so you will most likely be able to build up a large collection fairly quickly and at a much less costly rate than retail.

I look for the following brands typically:

80's Prep.

Polo Ralph Lauren - A bit too popular in my opinion but it's hard to argue with. Fairly good quality. For the love of god do not by anything with the big pony logo. Disturbingly these seem to be their best selling product at the moment.

Land's End- One of the only "logo-less" polo shirts out there, in many different colors. J. Crew also make a few without a logo as well.

Lacoste- A preppy classic, now taking on a slightly different fan-base but I still pick them up whenever I can. Be on the lookout for fakes.

Brooks Brothers- Look for the slim fits if possible. There are different quality tiers as well, try to avoid "346". if you can as they are not made as well. Golden Fleece are the best.

Vineyard Vines- Rarer than the rest, but these make you fit right in place on Maratha's vineyard or ACK.

Southern Tide, etc, if you can find them. 


Shorts

Shorts are a pretty basic item, and it's hard to do wrong as long as you follow a few simple rules. There is a apparent prep/frat embargo on cargo shorts, and while this is up to your own discretion, I myself have transitioned away from them completely. The rationale from what I can understand is that flat-front style shorts are more formal, and more acceptable in a variety of prep friendly situations (which you may or may not ever be in). If you were say, hiking up a mountain or something similar I'd have a hard time hassling you for it, but I do think flat front look a lot better in general.

No.

Yes

Shorts typically aren't too expensive (except when they have whales on them), so it may be worth it to save your time and pick up some on sale at retail pricing just to get the ideal fit and color selection.
That being said however, I did snag a pair of J. Crew madras shorts for $4 which retail for $60, so always keep your eyes open regardless.

You can practically have any color of the rainbow, but the basics are as follows:
khaki, stone, white, light blue (marina blue), Nantucket red, light yellow, pink (for the adventurous , and then a variety of seersucker, madras, or even corduroy. Technical pants such as Patagonia fishing shorts or similar offerings from outdoor companies will win you points with the southern crowd and are useful for boating or a day by the water (these fabrics will dry a lot quicker than cotton). I know Izod isn't the most traditional brand around, but I do actually recommend their saltwater flat front shorts as an affordable option that actually delivers decent quality. They run about $30 (versus twice that for Polo) and available in a good range of colors.

As far as lengths go, above the knee is a must (even if just slightly so), but there seems to be a slightly odd movement of men who want to go as short as possible. I'll leave this up to your discretion but please don't be ridiculous.


Accessories 

I've posted about this before, but spring is the perfect time to debut some of your more wild accessories. Be it hats, belts, or ties, this is the season to go wild with it (to some extent). Pair shorts with D-ring or surcingle belts, and tuck in your shirt if you really want to show them off. If you are wearing a tie, now is the time to bring out the motifs or fun patterns. Depending on where you live, preppy accessories may or may not pop up at your local thrift store, but eBay can help out when all else fails. Otherwise, take a trip to somewhere like Charleston and thrift there!

If you sail, try to score a Mt. Gay Rum hat (or crew hat with the boat name). 

Surcingle season 

Shoes

Sebago 

Many people would feel very weird walking out of a thrift store with a pair of shoes (including Macklemore for that matter). While on occasion you will find nearly brand new shoes at thrift stores (as I did with a pair of docksides), this is another area where you should probably just invest in new if possible.

The old standby shoe is of course, the Sperry. If you want to stand out a little bit (as every college kid preppy or not is practically wearing these now), try out offerings from Sebago or even L.L. Bean.

L.L. Bean Camp moc

For a truly prep look, get a pair of penny loafers, break them in, and lose the socks. For savings, try on a few pairs at your local DSW or wherever you buy shoes, and then order the fitting size on Amazon or other online sites to get the best price. Or if you still have a local shoe store in your area, support them instead of internet retail giants!

If you can find a great pair at a thrift store (as many smart tradsters do) by all means, you probably won't get any diseases, and they might already be broken in as as a bonus. But with all the money you saved on shorts, shirts, and everything else, why not treat yourself to a pair or two?

End Result.    Image from unabashedlyprep.com

As always, thanks for reading, and keep on the lookout for more updates :)