# What do you think is the most preppy city and the least preppy city
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 18, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653 "2013-01-18T22:32:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/1 "2013-01-18T22:32:40Z")
What do you think is the most preppy city and the least preppy city .
And preppy I mean people who dress up more or the preppy look like collar shirt or polar shirt.
And least preppy the dress down casual look ( around the house ,for walk or to gym or bed) like jean shorts ,gym shorts ,Jersey shirt ,tank top , plain house t-shirt and jeans or sweatpants or tracksuit so on.
I hear New York and Boston is preppy where Portland Oregon ,Detroit and Philadelphia is very dress down casual look .
---
### Author:  [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/2 "2013-01-18T22:52:07Z")
I always feel under-dressed in Italian cities. They seem to have a lot higher expectation for what should be worn when just walking around.
I imagine some cities in third-world countries have low expectations as to clothing simply because a lot of people can’t afford much in the way of clothes.
---
### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/3 "2013-01-19T00:04:07Z")
Polar shirt?
---
### Author:  [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/4 "2013-01-19T00:10:15Z")
> [@Smeghead](#):
>
> Polar shirt?
They are bunched at the top and bottom.
---
### Author:  [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/5 "2013-01-19T00:23:10Z")
When I think of preppies, I think of the northeast, particularly the ritzier areas of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Non-preppy: Austin, TX, and Portland, OR.
---
### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2013, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/6 "2013-01-20T09:00:10Z")
> [@Simplicio](#):
>
> I imagine some cities in third-world countries have low expectations as to clothing simply because a lot of people can’t afford much in the way of clothes.
Usually much more appearance obsessed, or at least you are not going to see the professional set dressed in potato sacks.
---
### Author:  [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2013, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/7 "2013-01-22T08:52:31Z")
> [@Smeghead](#):
>
> Polar shirt?
Like this
[ ](http://www.chinatraderonline.com/Files/Household/Garment-Apparel-Fashion/T-shirt/Printed-Stripes-Polo-Shirts-20592576452.jpg)
[http://www.miinto.ie/photos/products/henri-lloyd-byron-polar-shirt-315-600x600.jpg](http://www.miinto.ie/photos/products/henri-lloyd-byron-polar-shirt-315-600x600.jpg)
---
### Author:  [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/8 "2013-01-22T09:08:47Z")
> [@sweat209](#):
>
> I hear New York and Boston is preppy where Portland Oregon ,Detroit and Philadelphia is very dress down casual look .
New York City proper is highly snobby and can be fashion-conscious, but I never thought of it as particularly “preppy.” Many of its wealthier suburbs in Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut would, however, fit the bill.
Boston does have that preppy element.
---
### Author:  [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2013, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/9 "2013-01-22T12:06:35Z")
> [@sweat209](#):
>
> Like this
>
> [http://www.chinatraderonline.com/Files/Household/Garment-Apparel-Fashion/T-shirt/Printed-Stripes-Polo-Shirts-20592576452.jpg](http://www.chinatraderonline.com/Files/Household/Garment-Apparel-Fashion/T-shirt/Printed-Stripes-Polo-Shirts-20592576452.jpg)
>
> [http://www.miinto.ie/photos/products/henri-lloyd-byron-polar-shirt-315-600x600.jpg](http://www.miinto.ie/photos/products/henri-lloyd-byron-polar-shirt-315-600x600.jpg)
I think the poster got that. The problem is it is really called a “Polo Shirt” (as one of your links shows) and “Polar Shirt” is considered a misspelling. We get very arsey about these things around here and like to point out anything anyone got wrong and/or show how superior we are.
---
### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/10 "2013-01-22T15:11:53Z")
> [@amanset](#):
>
> I think the poster got that. The problem is it is really called a “Polo Shirt” (as one of your links shows) and “Polar Shirt” is considered a misspelling. We get very arsey about these things around here and like to point out anything anyone got wrong and/or show how superior we are.
Or, perhaps, I just genuinely didn’t know what the OP was talking about and was asking for clarification. But, nah, why not just go ahead and leap to the conclusion that I’m a massive douchebag? Much safer and easier. It must be nice to be able to discern the motivations and underlying attitudes of every comment on the internet.
---
### Author:  [@SweetiePotato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetiePotato)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/11 "2013-01-22T16:53:09Z")
Most preppy: Boston
Least preppy: Portland, OR. Hands down.
---
### Author:  [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/12 "2013-01-22T17:20:54Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#):
>
> Non-preppy: Austin, TX, and Portland, OR.
I remember reading a restaurant review in the _Austin Chronicle_ that said something like, “Dress at this place is ‘formal,’ which of course in Austin means ‘clean shorts after 5’.” I thought that was apt.
For preppiest city I nominate Washington DC. At least downtown, the general dress style strikes me as much more conservative and buttoned-down than other major cities. There’s probably a greater density of actual prep school grads there, too. I would wager there is a greater density of men in nonironic bow ties.
---
### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/13 "2013-01-22T19:49:14Z")
DC is close, but I’d say for full-on preppiest it’s probably Annapolis Maryland. The DC preps are largely visitors, while the real population has serious style. If you see a polo shirt in a DC night club, you’re almost certainly looking at a tourist or an intern. In Annapolis, it’s hard to find anything else in the shops.
I’m not sure Lily Pulitzer even has a DC store?
---
### Author:  [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/14 "2013-01-22T20:41:02Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#):
>
> Non-preppy: Austin, TX, and Portland, OR.
> [@SweetiePotato](#):
>
> Least preppy: Portland, OR. Hands down.
Come on! Have you guys ever \*been \*to Florida?
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/15 "2013-01-23T00:20:38Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#):
>
> When I think of preppies, I think of the northeast, particularly the ritzier areas of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
>
> Non-preppy: Austin, TX, and Portland, OR.
So does non-preppy = hipster?
---
### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/16 "2013-01-23T00:31:07Z")
> [@Simplicio](#):
>
> I imagine some cities in third-world countries have low expectations as to clothing simply because a lot of people can’t afford much in the way of clothes.
Not necessarily. In African cities I’ve been to, everyone (at least everyone relatively well-off) seems to wear a suit, or at least a smart shirt and trousers.
---
### Author:  [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/17 "2013-01-23T00:39:50Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> So does non-preppy = hipster?
There’s definitely some overlap, but not completely. I don’t think of Los Angeles as preppy, but it’s not really hipster either. You’ve got to go farther north for that scene. But I can’t really think of any places that are both preppy and hipster. Are there any white-collar preppies working in Manhattan but living in Brooklyn alongside the Williamsburg hipsters?
---
### Author:  [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2013, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/18 "2013-01-23T09:26:29Z")
> [@Simplicio](#):
>
> I always feel under-dressed in Italian cities. They seem to have a lot higher expectation for what should be worn when just walking around.
Absolutely. Especially the north. I live in the north of Italy and I feel continuously under-dressed. When I go home to The Netherlands, people always comment on how smart I’m looking these days and I start to believe it until I get back to Italy and I feel downright scruffy.
The Dutch, I suppose are very casual. Like, the material and quality of the clothes are fairly good, but they value practicality over looks definitely. However, the most casual place I’ve lived in was a small town in rural Ireland - I was among the dressiest people in town there. 🆒
---
### Author:  [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/19 "2013-01-23T12:13:34Z")
Don’t know if it true but I hear France people really dress up there way more than the US.
I hear Southeast Asian countries they dress very casual more so than people in the US it not command to see people dress like this in public [http://static.sglinks.com/assets/pages/4c/30/4c3008eaaee101eef5db4d371b915a88\_330.jpg](http://static.sglinks.com/assets/pages/4c/30/4c3008eaaee101eef5db4d371b915a88_330.jpg) or [http://radiantdreamer.net/wp/singapore/singapore06/singapore06\_71.jpg](http://radiantdreamer.net/wp/singapore/singapore06/singapore06_71.jpg) or [http://www.sixthseal.com/images/rhb/movie.jpg](http://www.sixthseal.com/images/rhb/movie.jpg) or [http://www.sixthseal.com/images/kl/ebanking.jpg](http://www.sixthseal.com/images/kl/ebanking.jpg)
I have not seen the sweatpants thing in public there like in the US and people more likely to wear shorts there.
I have not seen thug thing there the baggy pants sagging like in the US.
---
### Author:  [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653/20 "2013-01-23T14:41:26Z")
Most preppy: Nantucket, Rhode Island
Least preppy: Modesto, California
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-most-preppy-city-and-the-least-preppy-city/647653.md?page=2)