Preppy Chic: Why Some Adults Are Dressing for Back-to-School
Image Courtesy: Instyle/Getty Images
In my opinion, school uniforms are a drag. You need to go to a specific store to buy them, they’re expensive, and you have to make sure you wash them enough so you don’t go to school in the three dirty shirts and/or pants you can afford. School uniforms also stifle your self-expression. It’s very difficult to find a style you like or one that suits you when you wear the same thing every day. Instead of wearing a shirt with your favorite band or movie poster on it, you’re forced to wear a plain polo shirt or a polo shirt that displays the school’s logo on it. Perhaps school uniforms are one of the school system’s many ways to prepare you for the deindividuation of working in a capitalist society, or another way an already expensive private school can siphon more of the hard-earned cash out of your pockets. Either way, that hasn’t stopped the fashion industry from appropriating the general look of the average school uniform into their products.
While not as offensive as the idea of “homeless chic,” it is nonetheless just as ironic that those whose entire businesses and art derive from being on the cutting edge of the industry are drawing inspiration from the generic school uniform that some students are compelled to wear. Dubbed “preppy chic,” this style incorporates white button-up shirts, plaid skirts, jackets, or khaki pants that come as the standard for a private school. Perhaps the most famous instance and origin of this preppy style is in Britney Spears’ iconic music video for her 1998 debut single “…Baby One More Time.”
Image Courtesy: Jive Records/YouTube
While the then-sixteen-year-old Spears only appears in about a third of the video in the famous schoolgirl outfit, the image of the young popstar dancing down a school hallway accompanied by female background dancers in similar wear has become inextricably linked with the song and iconic within pop culture. The outfit in question is a white button-up shirt, a grey cardigan, a black skirt, socks, and shoes. Spears also wears her hair in pigtail braids on both sides of her head, echoing what a small child would wear.
What differs from the image of a small child is that Britney’s white button-up shirt is tied in a knot to show her belly. To be fair, according to the director of the music video, Nigel Dick, the idea for the video’s setting, schoolgirl outfit, and the knotted shirt came from Britney. The outfit and the video became a phenomenon whose effects we still feel to this day. The website Jam! ranked the video as the third most influential music video of all time. The video was also voted the best music video of the ‘90s by Billboard, and in 2008, MTV ranked it the most iconic music video of all time. Despite the outfits for the video being bought at Kmart, world-famous fashion retailers like H&M and Forever 21 sell clothing similar to the outfit worn by Spears in the video. Schoolgirl outfits are also a staple at most costume parties.
The modified preppy outfit has become the outfit equivalent of a sex symbol. This begs the question: Why? Why is the outfit worn by mostly underage students seen as sexy? And why do some of us who grew up being forced to wear uniforms at school now wear them out of our own free will? The most obvious answer would be that since people begin their sexual awakening during adolescence, a time when they attend school and their peers adorn a similar outfit, they grow up associating the outfit with attractiveness. It could also be that people tend to look good in formal wear. While those explanations could be part of the reason, it doesn’t explain why you don’t see a lot of men wearing altered school uniforms to show more skin. Most men in preppy chic are covered up, while female preppy chic is associated with crop tops and short skirts.
I don’t want this article to be misconstrued as the ramblings of a prude criticizing women in the fashion industry, show business, or public who show more skin than some. There is nothing wrong with this in the slightest. However, the aesthetic of the sexy prep school uniform is almost entirely a style associated with women. The divide between the genders could not be more evident than in the employees of the nationwide restaurant chain Tilted Kilt. First opening in Las Vegas, NV in 2003, five years after the release of Spears’ music video, Tilted Kilt requires their mostly female waiting staff to wear revealing outfits as part of their appeal. Unlike the restaurant chainHooters, Tilted Kilt has their waitresses dressed in what they describe as “Celtic-themed uniforms with knee-high socks and short, sexy plaid kilts.”
Image Courtesy: The Kansas City Star/Tilted Kilt
The official description leaves out the fact that female staff at Tilted Kilt wear white button-up shirts that are knotted under their breasts with a large plaid bra protruding out the front. While not explicitly described as school-like uniforms, it is very clear what Tilted Kilt’s staff uniform is supposed to call to mind. In the “Casting & Careers” section of their website, the chain describes what they call their “audition process” as “a way for franchisees to evaluate applicants for the Kilt Girl role. Imagine trying to land a role in a Hollywood movie or sexy fitness calendar; you want to look and act your best! These auditions are just the same, “To land the role, you gotta play it up, girl! Grab your favorite outfit, glam up your hair and make-up, and visit a franchise location today for an audition.”
On their page, the restaurant chain assures the reader that they do indeed hire men and that “Kilt Guys™ are HOT too!” Kilt Guys™ are described as those who “know how to work the bar and take care of the girls whether they are bartending, bar backing or bussing.” Again, what this page doesn’t inform you is what the Kilt Guy™ uniform looks like. A bit outrageously, it is an all-black uniform consisting of a T-shirt, a much longer kilt, long socks, and dress shoes. The purpose is clear here: to make the men as unremarkable as possible to highlight the scantily clad women. A bit problematic, but understandable for attempting to appeal to a certain demographic. However, like Spears, the waitresses of Tilted Kilt are dressed in schoolgirl uniforms which appears to be a prevalent trend in sexually provocative fashion.
I think the prevalence of this trend speaks to a wider problem regarding the infantilization and unrealistic dichotomous standards women are held to in our society. The modified schoolgirl uniform projects an image of both promiscuity and a virginal ideal onto the young woman wearing it. In other words, a youthful innocence that won’t shy away from the idea of a sexual advance.
The self-contradicting nature that women are expected to live up to is very visible in attitudes towards them. This nature has also been a topic of discussion in feminist circles. For example, when it was thrust into the mainstream by 2023’s mega-hit Barbie. Part of that ideal including a child-like nature is not talked about as often as it should be and could not be better illustrated than in preppy chic.
Strike Out,
Writer: Matías Civita
Editor: Lindsey Limbach
Tallahassee