March 18, 2010

THE OFFICIAL PREPPY HANDBOOK or of The Virtues of Wearing Pink and Green


There are a few book in this world that are atemporal and very much enjoyable. Lisa Birnbach's The Official Preppy Handbook (also known as TOPH) is by far one of my favourites.



Written in a half-satirical half-serious manner makes it a highly enjoyable read for anyone who is at least slightly familiar with the Prep culture of the United States. I personally dislike it when people over-analyze it in their reviews as I think Mrs. Birnbach wrote it such that it requires taking it just as it was written, flippantly serious.



I have attached the scanned version of the book for all of you who are having a harder and harder time to secure a copy, although I would suggest eBay or Amazon (new versions start at $179.99 however) if you would like a physical copy of the book.



Besides some of the less updated items in the book, like stores and addresses, most of the information is very much current and applicable although I sheepishly remind you not to take it too seriously ( we all know from history where that lead in the past when another book that chronicled it was followed word-by-word) ! Some of you might discover, either to your liking or to your dismay that you are a prep, while some of you might learn a little about the world that has always seemed so inaccesible for us mere mortals.

If you would like to convert to "Prepianity" however, I would suggest investing seriously in some etiquette classes (The Emily Post Institute can do wonders with all but the most entrenched of troglodytes), a country club membership and of course Prep attire (Ralph Lauren, Rugby Ralph Lauren, J.Crew, L.L.Bean, Vineyard Vines and sometimes Lacoste are all great choices IMO).

Enjoy the book and if you wish to read it offline, please click on the Follow Blog button on the right side and you will receive a message containing the download link for the book in pdf format!


Comments are always appreciated. Let me know what you think about the book, do you think it's contents still apply to our modern society? Is Prep dying out?





I would also like to introduce you to the long awaited True Prep: It's a Whole New Old world, which is an updated-to-modern-times version of the TOPH. Order True Prep here.





True Prep looks at how the old guard of natural-fiber-loving, dog-worshipping, G&T-soaked preppies adapts to the new order of the Internet, cell phones, rehab, political correctness, reality TV and…polar fleece 



Authors Lisa Birnbach and Chip Kidd, giving us a glimpse at the process of getting True Prep ready for publishing!



Here it is:

18 comments:

  1. George HW "Pappy" Bush AND Humphrey Bogart attended Phillips Academy aka Andover, NOT Phillips Exeter Academy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thank you so much for sharing, but the pdf file is broken :(
    do you also have 'take ivy'?
    have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Fiyero,
    I´m sorry but the download still fails - even using the links you posted.
    Any idea?
    best regards & have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you!!! I really wanted to read these! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would love to download the pdf but can't seem to made it work. Any help would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I searched for this book for almost half a year. Unfortunately I cant buy it in Hungary. Would you be so kind as to send me the pdf version? I would be so glad! Thanks in advance. Greetings from Hungary, Kata

    ReplyDelete
  9. i've pressed the follow button, signed in.. but where is the link.?(
    please help me.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello Lovely!
    I've followed, and now I would super love to read the guide as well, how can it be emailed to me? x

    ReplyDelete
  11. How exactly can I read this offline? Dying to get the PDF of this. Love your blog by the way! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey Toni, pressing the follow button on the right sidebar (look under unconditional prostrators ;) ) you'll receive directions in your e-mail! Thanks for reading/following!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello. I also followed Your blog, but I didn`t get the download link as well. Can You please send it to me?

    Good job with the blog, by the way:).

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gee, after 9/11 what social dinosaurs even give a hoot about this kind of nonsense? Are you still in a G&T induced hazed from the 70's. Yawn...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks so much for sharing this! I'm waiting for the e-mail ;)) Kindest regards from italy!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Better World Books has a number of copies available in prices from the teens to seventy dollars, depending on condition.

    http://www.betterworldbooks.com/the-official-preppy-handbook-H0.aspx?SearchTerm=the+official+preppy+handbook

    Tabaqui

    ReplyDelete
  17. can you do a pdf file for cheap chic,as it will appeal to a similar demograpic jospar@hotmail.co.uk

    ReplyDelete