Socialite Saturday

I'm going on vacation but thought I'd share a fun fact. If you go to Wikipedia and search The Official Preppy Handbook (my bible), I'm listed under the notes. Click Here!!! That is a huge compliment as I'm so excited for True Prep to come out.

I'll be more thrilled to read this than September Vogue. On that note, a few weeks ago an annonymous commenter said "I was so shallow I made them sick." FYI, calling me shallow is not something that upsets me, I take it as a compliment!

Collars up

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Wasp Wednesday

Happy WASP Wednesday. Meet Skip CLICK HERE!, one of my favorite male preppy bloggers.

When did you first learn of the preppy life, embrace it's style?

I first learned about the preppy life during my high school years. I went to an extremely preppy school in Delaware (The Tatnall School) but I must admit that I didn’t embrace it until college. During the first few months as an undergrad, I rebelled by wearing jeans and t-shirts on a daily basis but rather quickly found myself going back to my khakis and polo style from Tatnall. I just felt more comfortable in oxfords and loafers than sweatshirts and sneakers.

Do people call you a "metro sexual?"

I’ve never been called a “metro” mainly because I try to stay away from trends and Banana Republic. If you stick to classic pieces such as owning a British Khaki trench coat, a couple of knit and rep ties, a Timex watch with a few different color watch bands, penny loafers, and a handful of oxford shirts then you’ll quickly realize that you’re not going with the times but rather being timeless.

What do you think of preppy women? Are you married to a fellow prep?

Preppy women are the best! The preppier the better! I love reading Longwing’s Page where he finds pictures of preppies from the 70s and 80s who are straight out of TOPH.

And yes, I am married to a sweet preppy woman who dresses conservatively, adores pink and green, and loves LL Bean just as much as I do. 

Harvard...hmmm..Are you smart?

I wouldn’t say that I’m wicked smart but I would say that I’m a very curious and passionate person. So when I find something that peaks my interest, it totally consumes me until I accomplish that goal. I have to do whatever it takes see it through. Going to Harvard was one of those goals that I couldn’t let go of.  It also helps to have the woman that you want to marry already attending Harvard. 

 Collars Up!

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Happy Monogram Monday!

I'm so proud to announce that my novel, Social Climbers, in on Kindle. CLICK HERE!!!!!

Monogramming will keep me busy today but note: I'm still wearing skirts.

My skirt is from Anthropology, sweater is Garnet Hill and Kate Spade bag. Check out The Preppy Mafia for all of my monogramming. Also if you monogram someone email the pictures to me at beth @ socialclimbers dot net.

Collars up!

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Introducing Hermes!

Happy Preppy Wednesday

I hope this blog finds everyone feeling lovely about the impending holidays

A few weeks ago I won an award and had to list a few items about myself. One of them being that my bff is royal. I've decided rather than keeping her to myself (she is truly my go to girl for all things stylish), I'd share some of her insights with you today through an interview I conducted with The Countess. Hermes is an interesting breed of eccentric-she wouldn't be caught dead wearing Lilly Pulitzer and she has never read The Official Preppy Handbook. However, one of the main characters in my novel, Social Climbers, is loosely based on her and she LOVED my book! Please don't be offended by her blunt answers-she is a countess after all and one of the first insights she shared with me is that titled aristocracy can be vulgar. I figured if I can put up with her for the past 20 years you all will live with one little blog. Without further ado I introduce The Countess Hermes Herman:

"When did you realize your life was different than most of your friends?"   HH- When my private plane landed on top of my friends volvo the first day of school



"What do you think of when you think of the word preppy?" HH-pink and green blood running through your varicose veins

"Who are your style icons and please don't use anyone with the initial JBKO?" HH-The Countess Puni Vacarri

"What is your go to elegant outfit?" HH-All of my outfits!

"What are your favorite chic items for clothes and for the home?" HH-All of my homes and clothes are chic...while you're at it so are my yachts.

"Do you have a favorite stylish movie?" HH-Gone with the Wind

"What tacky behavior do you deplore in others?" HH-Gossiping


"Motto?" HH-Beth is a whore! LOL only kidding....It Takes One Generation to make a fortune, it takes Five to make a Gentlemen.


So there you have it. That is Hermes! I love her, she is my best friend in the whole world. She has a huge heart but she can be a Bitch! And think how hard it is for me to Christmas shop for her.


Let me know if you have any questions for The Countess??? She really has been to The Grimaldi's in Monaco!



xoxo

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PS check out my twitter contest   

http://twitter.com/bethdunn2here

Happy Preppy Tuesday!

4 Days left to enter my Sorority Give away! click here to enter!

And to celebrate I have another Preppy Post from Guest Blogger Queen Bee Swain. (Don't worry I have another surprise guest blogger later this week). I connect with her spirit and style so much. You can check out her blog here

I'm dying to know how the Queen decorates:

"Carolyn Roehm meets Cape Cod.  Lots of blue and white with lovingly-worn family and antique pieces.  There is nothing quite as crisp inviting as blue and white paired with pieces that have personal history.  It’s put-together and relaxed all at once and has a dash of personal history."

Seriously from these pictures you can tell how much she loves to read and all the personal family heirloom touches! PS I recognize ALL of those pink book covers. I had to run and look up Carolyne Roehm when I saw her answer.

 QBS adds:

"The mirror above the green bookshelf is from Nanny's patio furniture, the jug is from my other grandmother and a couple of the loving cups are from family.

The hutch is totally me- kind of Cape Cod Shabby Chic- found it at a junk store just after I graduated for $150.  

MoMo just about died when I painted the end table next to my bed white- I am highly pro-Gustavian influences in decor (Gustavian is Scandinavian traditional- white painted wooded furniture with a paired-down Louis XIV style).  MoMo is very anti-painting wooded furniture."

That is what I love about decorating. You can mix old, new, expensive and plain old practical. Throw in your favorite family photos, books and you are Chic in my world. Thank you QBS!

Happy Preppy Day to everyone and wear some fab pants and call me if anyone gives you a dirty look!

xoxo

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Preppy Guest blog Day 3

Sorority girls! enter for a chance to win my novel, Social Climbers, for your entire sorority! Up your chances by twittering, facebooking and joining my fan page!
http://www.facebook.com/beth.w.dunn?v=info&viewas=1509742607#/pages/Social-Climbers/35857479630?ref=sgm
http://socialclimbers123.blogspot.com/2009/10/preppy-sorority-give-away.html



I just love preppy Queen Bee Swain (http://queenbeeswain.blogspot.com/)! So I had to ask her a few more questions:

Do people refer to you as preppy? Were they making fun of you and you were like, wait this is a compliment?

"I was voted Preppiest Girl from my graduating high school class. The day the pictures were taken I was wearing a white button down and a grapefruit-pink argyle vest. Clearly I won it for a reason as it was announced the day of that the pictures were going to be taken- I wasn’t even able to plot my outfit!"

Did you ever NOT embrace the preppy lifestyle for fear that it is elitist or anything for that matter?

"I’ve always been a big believer in wholly embracing and being who you are and cannot imagine going against my grain to please others. I am who I am and you can love it or leave it. Let’s focus on our positives and being the best people that we can be. The best me just happens to be one that shines the brightest when in Lilly, at a CC or regatta or philanthropic event, swooning over some guy nicknamed Wog who played lacrosse for Trinity (or something along those lines), so that is what I roll with. It’s a lot easier to be yourself than someone you’re not!"

Top things you love about the preppy life:

"Above all else, I’d say athleticism is something I love about the Preppy Life. To quote TOPH, “Mens sana in corpora sano”- “A healthy mind in a healthy body.” Clearly, we go to school for a reason, but the best lessons I ever learned weren’t from the lecture hall; I believe that the discipline, tenacity and work ethic that is instilled from long hours on the playing field trumps almost everything I learned in a classroom. Sports gives us an outlet to practice and further hone our abilities at being our most excellent selves. It teaches us how to be a champion and Preppiness is all about living and breathing a winning lifestyle; everything about Preppiness has root in having and being the best. Plus, is there anything more swoon-worthy than an Alpha guy that plays golf/polo/tennis/rugby/rows/skis/sails?"

Isn't she the cutest!!! I hope everyone is enjoying a preppy day!

xoxo

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My First Preppy Guest Blogger

Happy Tuesday!

Don't forget to enter my Preppy Sorority Giveaway from yesterday (if you are not in a sorority keep reading, there are other chances to win).

I LOVE Queen Bee Swain. If I had a little sister I think it would be her. We first bonded over our love for the prep life. If you don't read her blog you are missing out! She is a fun, terrific writer and all around cute class act!
http://queenbeeswain.blogspot.com/

So without further ado I'll let her continue with my Preppy celebration:

Just look at this adorable golf picture, I think it says it all!

I caught up with QBS and my burning first question:

When did you first realize you were a preppy?

 

"Not until early June, 1997 when I found my mother’s copy of the Preppy Handbook.  I still remember that exact moment and subsequent obsession for the rest of the summer (although it never has really waned) with the book.  It should have struck me as odd that my childhood in a liberal university town comprised of golf and tennis in place of softball (we would laugh and honk at the kids playing on summer evenings as we went off to the CC to play a few holes and then go for a dip in the pool), ski trips to Taos, Pagosa Springs and Durango when all of the other kids got to go to Disney during Easter Break, a mother that wore fur-coats over her pj’s to return videos in the middle of a blizzard, watching my father play in the finals of the Men’s City golf championships, a grandmother who was a delegate for our state at many presidential RNCs, a home full of my mother’s side’s (the Southerners) antique silver and duck-motif everywhere applicable and lots of emphasis on manners, charm and noblesse oblige; but it didn’t.  I was already living the dream (saying this with my tongue-in-cheek) before I even knew what the dream was!  Thank goodness my mother had TOPH so I was officially able to understand what I “was.”

And thankfully she did! I told you she is cute. Check out her blog for a chance to win a copy of my novel Social Climbers.

xoxo

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The Official Preppy Handbook challenge

"Have                                          Have Not"
Uphostered pieces                         Vinyl protectors

worn Oriental rugs                         Wall to wall

Prints of boats, birds                       Abstract art
horses

Museum documented                         Flocked wall paper
18th century wall paper

Lots of old table lamps                    track or spot lighting

Portraits of ancestors                     Portraits of U.S. presidents (unless they are ancestors)

Lots of fireplace equipment            Macrame

Ship models, nautical                     Hummel figurines
memorabilia

Dust                                               Dirt

Dishes of beach glass                         Dishes of candy 

OK so this is the list from TOPH! Love it. Check, check! I pass again with flying colors as I would never dream of having dishes of candy in my house---I would eat it all. Plus, I don't even know what flocked wall paper is or macrame.

Have a preppy Thursday!

xoxo

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The Official Preppy Handbook Preppy challenge

The Home:

"If The Look must be pinned down, the look is English-American, with a dash of seaside resort and women's handicraft. It is where the Chippendale secretary meets the needlepoint covered brick doorstop, and the lobster-trap coffee table meets the prized Kerman rug.  Understatement is essential--perfect proportions and clean lines are preferred over ornate detail. The key words are classic, handsome, patina, and Mother's." *

Mommie's needlepoint foot stool I use every day to reach my sweaters and shoes

Our nautical fish door knocker

Our original ship lantern and mermaid that hang over our front door

Check, check! I've passed another preppy challenge. What Mommie did not give me we have purchased from nautical antique store. It probably helps that we live sea side.

How do you decorate? Do you like to mix in the nautical theme?

xoxo

SC

* all quotes taken from TOPH

The Official Preppy Handbook

"Look, Muffy a book for us."

The Duck Motif

"The duck is the most beloved of all totems. The duck suggests hunting, water, Maine--all things worth thinking about. The basic duck is the mallard. The most common view of the duck is the silhouette, although the duck in flight runs a close second.  Three-dimensional decoys are nearly as popular and may appear as lamp bases, planters, doorstops, candlesticks, and paper-weights."

I am so excited with this chapter of The Official Preppy Handbook!!!!  I literally can't wait to take the pictures and do the post as I go around my house and think of all of the cute items I've been collecting that are so appropriate. Check! I pass this preppy challenge with mallard, duck and beak colors galore!!! I will have to sport my duck shoes next as I continue on--I have more ducks to share!!!  I have them all over the house plus, I'm a huge water loving hunting Maine girl.

xoxo

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all quotes are taken from TOPH

The Official Preppy Handbook

TOPH:
Of Mahogany and Macrame
Decorating Haves and Have Nots

"There is only one look in Prep decorating: Not Decorated. Nothing is consciously coordinated, but everything works together through a successful marriage of utility and excellence.  Furnishings have always been in the family, but are not treated like museum pieces.  Everything is used: The Georgian silver is on the table at meals, the Canton china is chipped regularly by the dishwasher. And not using certain rooms except for special occasions would be like wearing curlers in public."

 

CHECK CHECK!! I pass this preppy challenge with flying colors.

#1 My house is filled with Mahogany

#2 I did not hire a decorator (I wanted to do it myself and save the money)

#3 I've inherited close to 90% of my furniture/art

#4We use all of our rooms/china/silver etc

#5 My furniture boasts some of Husbands nick nacks and they all blended beautifully (or they were thrown out)

This is going to be a fun chapter! I can't wait to show more of my preppy furnishings (just wait until you see all the ducks we have)! What's in your house? Did you get it from Mummy???

XOXO

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The Official Preppy Handbook Challenge

Prep Persona

"Because Mummy and Daddy instruct their children in all matters of Taste and tact, Preppies don't really have to worry about going astray.When the time comes, the children will know what to write on Prep school application essay, who to marry, and how to ensure serenity and security for their children by putting their tooth fairy dollars in a money market fund. Like everything else, Preppiness begins in the home." TOPH

This is from lunch the other day with my gbff. Now do we think my preppy rearing taught me to wear crazy leopard boots and carry a very logo'd LV bag? Probably not...but the boots are Lilly Pulitzer. So I'm giving myself a check for this...next up "The Home."

Stay Preppy

xoxo

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Preppy Challenge winner!!

Thank you to everyone who entered, twittered, followed!!! Our winner is

Katie B of http://taleofagrits.blogspot.com/  please get me your address so we can send you.....

A signed copy of my novel, Social Climbers and....

Now you can drink and read yourself beautiful!!!!

Congratulations!!!!

I also want to do a big thank you to Carrie from Just a girl who nominated me for a blog award. She is adorable and I'm always flattered to hear someone is reading my blog.  You can check her out at

http://justagirl-carrie1.blogspot.com/

I hope everyone is having a beautiful Tuesday.  I'll be back with more preppy challenges this week. Also, a sorority themed give away as well as some preppy guest bloggers!!!

xoxo

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The Official Preppy Handbook Challenge

Before I forget!!! Enter my give away--
http://socialclimbers123.blogspot.com/2009/10/preppy-challenge-give-away.html

Nicknames
"A nickname is a gift. Whether given deliberately by the family or unintentionally by a peer, it bespeaks a certain In-ness and inaccessibility to outsiders.  It's like being tapped for a secret society, minus the degrading rituals. It's tangible proof that you've gained entrance into an exclusive camaraderie."  TOPH then goes on to list the most popular names
Muffy, Missy, Buffy etc.

My real name is Elizabeth. In high school my bff called me Bunny and I called him Bink. Beth is my nick name.  This is a picture of my college bff Allegra and I in Maine. I'm going to have to give myself a 1/2 check for this preppy challenge.  Have a great weekend and don't forget to enter my give away from Monday October 5th!!

XOXO

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Family Preppy Challenge

Enter my Preppy give away below on blog post 10.5.09--Good luck!!!!


TOPH:

"No use sacrificing Bermuda vacation money for tuition for a kid who's going to run off and join a modern dance truope. Nor does the Prep parents' responsibility stop with simply ensuring their children's acceptance at a school: They've got to make certain that once the progeny are enrolled, they're not going to lock themselves in the computer lab for the whole four years and miss out on house party invitations, 'after-hours alcoholic sprees,' and the joy of shopping for madras."

Here is my Mommy at The Ocean City Yacht Club this summer! She smokes with a cigarette filter and is very eccentric!  We love her and we all have fun stories to share about our relatives. Do feel free to share some with me!

TOPH "When you spend all your time with your family and other Prep families at the beach, on the slopes, at the country club, and at innumerable family reunions; when all your birthday and Christmas presents are either monogrammed or have Izod labels, it's unlikely that you will have the normal childhood aspirations of becoming a fireman or a nurse."****

Preppy challenge complete--eccentric parents who instilled preppiness in me--skiing, sailing, monograms, needlepoint, etiquette school, debutante dancing class. (just to name a few) Check! I passed with flying colors. And I"m only on page 18!!

Preppying through Wednesday!!!

xoxo

SC

****these are direct quotes from The Official Preppy Handbook. I think being a nurse or fireman can be preppy too.

Preppy Challenge

Quotes are taken directly from The Official Preppy Handbook.
The Family
"A Preppy begins grooming for Prep school at the moment of birth.  Mummy and Daddy have carefully selected first and middle names (at least one of each) for the newborn that correspond to the names of dormitories at their Prep alma maters. An announcement of birth is sent by messenger to the alumni newsletter to alert the school's admission office of a future applicant. And Prep tots are carted along on Homecoming weekends so that the campus will seem like a second home by the time they are fifteen."

Yes we sent engraved birth announcements to friends/family and alumni news letter--check! We are still meeting the preppy challenge!! Tell me about your family. Are you a Mummy?

Don't forget to enter my give away from Monday...see yesterday's post for details.

xoxo

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