The 'preppy' look is changing, and it involves a lot more pink and bowties

• The look and meaning of preppy fashion have shifted multiple times over the decades.
• A new variant of preppy has gone viral online. And it involves pink clothing, cartoons, ribbons, and bowties.

Preppy fashion has changed significantly over the decades, and it's going through another shift in the 2020s.

The newest variant of "preppy," led mostly by Gen Alpha over the last year, refers to bright clothing, lots of pink, and specific accessories like ribbons, bowties, and Stanley water bottles. TikTokers have described the new look as "very girly" and "colorful," involving smiley-face designs and brands like Lululemon.

While some internet users are pleased to learn the term has evolving features, older internet users are baffled, considering previous versions of "preppy" involved actual prep school-inspired clothing and popular 2000s brands like Abercrombie & Fitch.

The TL:DR history of how preppy has changed over the decades

For many, "preppy" is closely associated with clothing worn by wealthy people and preparatory school students. In the second half of the twentieth century, it became associated with attire for sports like lacrosse and rowing (for its stripes and nautical themes). It was later linked to fashion brands like Tommy Hilfiger that designed with those aesthetics in mind.

In the late 1990s and 2000s, there was yet another iteration of the trend: "preppy" became synonymous with "basic" or styles that were more-or-less uninspired and in mainstream trends. In that era, brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, North Face, and Uggs reigned.

Now, the word refers to all things pink and colorful — with yet, another short list of in-vogue brands in association.

In a video by the "preppy" Texas boutique @dearhannahprep, three girls described the look as "very girly" and "comfy." In a video posted in late December, a middle school teacher filmed himself asking his Gen Alpha students to describe it, and was told it included the color pink, smiley faces, and Stanley cups. (They said he couldn't be considered preppy because he had a Stanley knockoff and not a legitimate one.) In a viral TikTok from November, a millennial woman's Gen Alpha sister and her friend told her that preppy referred to brands like Lululemon and Lily Pulitzer.

How 'preppy' has now become a meme

The new "preppy" aesthetic became a viral sensation in late 2023 after a sound bite in a @dearhannahprep video from July became meme fodder. In the clip, a girl was filmed walking into the store, which was full of colorful clothing and decorations, and saying, "It's so preppy in here," while cupping her mouth in disbelief. The phrase sparked a trend where people made POV videos pretending to enter various rooms and calling them "preppy."

Gabriela Vasci, a TikToker who makes the videos for @dearhannahprep, said in a video that she came up with the phrase and didn't expect it to become a meme.

Preppy content nowadays toes the line between serious and satire. The account @preppy.guccislayqueen gained traction early in 2023 with videos that appear to ridicule the preppy aesthetic while also providing guides on how to participate in the trend. One video with 1.5 million views urges people to get an iPhone ("having a Android is so un preppy," on-screen text read), wear lots of makeup, and use emojis like the pig nose and lollipop. It also tells people to "be super rich." (In a successive video, the account apologized for offending preppy lovers by making the quip.)

A significant amount of content about the new preppy style is also by people baffled by it, saying the "preppy" they remember was vastly different. In a TikTok with over three million views, a woman said she remembered preppy in the 2000s, when she was in middle school, as wearing head-to-toe Abercombie & Fitch and essentially trying to look like a "rich mother."

The user @lenidubs said she stumbled on the new preppy side of TikTok and didn't understand it. She said she went to middle school in the early 2010s, and preppy then meant wearing collared shirts, layered sweaters, and nautical-themed brands.

"Don't get me wrong, it's super cute," she said. "It's just not preppy."

Other creators have made clips directly comparing the old and new versions of preppy. In one video, a poster said the old preppy involved dress skirts, collared shirts, and tennis outfits, while the new interpretation seemed to include a lot more pink, glitter, and dresses with ruffles. Another poster yearned for the 2000s preppy era of argyle sweaters and tailored dresses.

The poster @mmarkroberts said he thought the end of preppy fashion was with boat shoes and Vineyard Vines T-shirts, which peaked in popularity in the late 2010s. He said he was surprised to see a resurgence in the term "preppy" because of how bad some of those outfits were.

"Preppy is omnipresent and we must resist," the TikToker wrote in his description.