Alright y'all- it's time to talk about one of my favorite words!
My entire life I've always been called "WASPy".
For those who aren't too aware of what a "WASP" is, let me just give you a quick crash course in what I consider to be Southern Style!
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP)
is an informal term, sometimes derogatory or disparaging for a closed group of high-status Americans of English Protestant ancestry. The term applies to a group believed to control disproportionate social and financial power. The term WASP does not describe every protestant of English background, but rather a small restricted group whose family wealth and elite connections allow them a degree of privilege held by few others!
(as defined on our go-to-info site: Wikipedia!)
Think 1950's Ivy-League Prep and you've got the right idea!
Now, I know what you're thinking!
(Enter "What a pretentious bitch!" statement here)
In all honesty, the acronym does evoke a sense of a stand-offish, perhaps slightly racist, well-to-do person.
BUT HEAR ME OUT: When I imagine dressing in a WASPy style, I imagine luxury and class. People who come from a place they're proud to be from and have pride in their looks and lifestyle!
No crop tops and creepers here, folks!
BUT HEAR ME OUT: When I imagine dressing in a WASPy style, I imagine luxury and class. People who come from a place they're proud to be from and have pride in their looks and lifestyle!
No crop tops and creepers here, folks!
AND NO, I AM NOT RACIST JUST BECAUSE I GREW UP BELOW THE MASON-DIXON LINE, FOLKS!
I grew up with that classic preppy style lifestyle. The richest kids had the best cars, the country club memberships and always the nicest clothes. But being rich by no means, I realized EVERYONE has the ability to dress this way! (Thank you, J.Crew!)
SO HERE WE GO;
I've always known that the acronym was a sociologist term. But let's back it up for a second and figure out the history of WASPy!
(Bare with me during the boring and then we'll go crazy!)
The term was actually first used by left-liberal social commentator and analyst Andrew Hacker. (Born 1929) He's pretty famous in his own right; he's a professor and has written some pretty big books on some fairly controversial topics.
And here he is in all his dandy-glory:
He may have been the first man to use the term, but the late
E. Digby Baltzell is credited with popularizing the term.
And guess what? He was a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Crazy, right?
Sociology Blog + Sociology Professor = A+ Material!
Talk about adorbs, look at that bow tie!;
Fun Fact Time: A native Philadelphian and what might be thought of as a "Mainline WASP," Digby always felt that he had an outsider's perspective since he came from a WASP family that was in disgrace with the WASP establishment considering his father drank too much, and his mother had a pretty frowned upon interest in spiritualism.
To shorten a REALLY long and controversial topic: WASP was shorthand for an assumed class of narrow, unimaginative, rigid and bland types of people that could almost always be associated with "Old Money".
But we aren't here to judge or talk about what it use to mean. We're gonna see how we can apply it in modern day life! Now here comes the fun stuff. When I was little, a good book went a long way with a few pictures! Why can't that apply to an equally good blog?
(Visual Learner on Aisle 2, y'all!)
Oh heyyyy, boyyyy, heyyyy!
This picture just gets me! (Cub, can we be them!?)
So let's talk about one more cool dude.
This is James Laver:
So James Laver was a pretty famous gentleman, mainly because he was
"the man in England who made the study of costume respectable."
"the man in England who made the study of costume respectable."
I mean, the man was award the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award; who even knew that existed!? This man was a fashion genius and he came up with a theory that almost everyone uses today and doesn't even know about. I'm not kidding, we use it
EVERY SINGLE DAY!:
EVERY SINGLE DAY!:
Introducing James Laver's Three Principles of Clothing:
1. Utility- Be it warmth and comfort to good ole work uniforms!
2. Hierarchy & Status- Showing off that bank account in fabric form!
3. Seduction- Dressing to attract the hottie in Apartment 3B!
So that's the original WASPy Wear-ers & Do-ers, but shall we apply it to modern day life? Let's figure out how these styles became so famous among the well-to-do and why:
1. UTILITY
This, my good friends, is a sport called polo. Played in towns across the UK and New England- this sport is generally played by the rich. Why, you ask? Because it's really freaking expensive!
There are thousands of UTILITY wear in WASP style but none quite like this. Equestrian style began simply as a way to keep your nicest clothes neat because ,lets be honest; MUD + HORSES...Yeah.
But in WASPy style, anything expensive looking is game.
(Pun intended. Game? Come on- thats funny!)
Hence, privileged elites took a style that was originally subject to being worn on the field and turned it into an everyday look. There is even a company we all know, all too well;
And men sure aren't the only one's getting in on the polo style:
We could talk about these outfits for days.. but you get the general just for Utility, right?
OTHER EXAMPLES: KEDS, DERBY HATS, & FUR COATS.
2. Hierarchy & Status
So your child is the next Einstein (& sometimes they're not!)and you've got millions stored away in some off shore bank account. What's your next step?
Ivy League, of course!
WASP's are born and raised to go to schools such as Princeton (Hey there Princeton Mom!), Dartmouth, Harvard and especially Yale!
So what better way to show you've got butt-loads of money then wear the emblem of your Alma Mater on every single thing you own?
P is for Preppy Princeton Pididdler!
& we will talk more about the Kennedy's later, but hello H sweater!
So you might think, "So what? Is that the only thing they do to show off money?" But let me just remind you of something most people not born in the South don't know about.
So this little emblem was a very simple way to show off your school. School uniforms usually have a crest; you can find them on school flags, architecture and almost all class rings have them. But this little emblem sparked a CRAZE among designers.
You could still look preppy and of ivy-league status AND show off the designers name? But how on earth could you do that?
A Monogrammed Crest.
(Fun Fact- This also made monogrammed clothing a BIG DEAL! But don't even get me started on monogramming because that's a whole different subject that we could talk about for DAYS!)
Designers LOVE their own monogram. Take Tommy Hilfiger for example; the man can't keep his logo off of any of those blazers!
PS- Even FIT got in on the "Ivy League" style!
OTHER EXAMPLES: EMBLEMED TIES, LOUIS VITTON, AND PERSONAL MONOGRAMS!
3. SEDUCTION
Want to know of one thing that can never go back to NOT being sexy?
A school- girl outfit.
Ask any teenage boy what his wildest fantasy is and it's gonna have something to do with a school girl skirt.
In the totally opposite direction of it's original purpose, the school-girl outfit exudes sex. Short pleated and plaid skirts with long legs? Thank the WASPy style for that little gem!
It's depicted in everything! Even our television shows will take a matronly uniform and sex it up a bit:
Sending your (Einstein or not) child to the best prep-school possible is, of course, the WASPy way. There will be benefits + fund-raisers and lots of community service will look great on your application to get you into Harvard, but you'll wear the uniform as well. What starts off as both Utility & Hierarchy turns into much more with just a hike of that hem and ta da:
SEDUCTION!
Here's a little personal story for all the people of the world:
When I was 14 I thought I was a really cool cat. Now, if I would of known that even in my 20's my body would resemble that of a 12-year-old-boy, maybe I wouldn't of tried so hard- but wanting to show that I knew a thing or two about class and maturity beyond my years I decided to find a way to show my nonexistent sexy-side.
(You should all be saying LAWLS!)
Of course my very strict Southern parents would of killed me, which when they found out- they did; but I went in search of a sexy school girl skirt that was JUST long enough for my school's equally strict dress code. The next day, I went to school in one outfit and the minute I arrived I changed into my sassy new get-up.
10 minutes and I was already in the office.
(Enter parents ready to strangle me... NOW!)
BUT ANYWAY:
The school girl outfit is such a huge phenomenon in our world today, and it all began as a way for the rich to make their children equal in school. Crazy, huh? But designers love it. Here is an
examples to sooth your traumatized minds from my story:
So here we have it. Just a few ways the WASP style has seeped into your fashion blood stream. Wanna see some people who have been linked to the WASP lifestyle before?
OTHER EXAMPLES: SUNDRESSES, TEA PARTY OUTFITS, ETC!
STYLE ICONS + TELEVISION DEPICTIONS:
You know this blog would be completely pointless without the
Queen B herself, right?
Jackie'O. The style icon of the masses was the epitome of WASPy!
And her hubby is right there beside her.(Literally!)
The Royal Family of WASP.
And if you haven't gotten on board with this show, then what are you doing with your life? Honestly- we're all mad about Mad Men!
Betty Draper is a WASP if I've ever seen one!
But don't take her crazy attitude as the norm- that's just the stereotype society wants you to think!
DESIGNERS:
The obvious designers to include here would be the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren. But let's think outside of the box. Being from the Southern district of the US, there is one designer who reigns SUPREME. The woman took wasp looks and added a pattern different than plaid and made MILLIONS. And she just so happens to be my favorite designer that ever lived!
My girl, Lilly Pulitzer:
The woman could make a simple shift dress look like a million bucks!
And can we talk about how cute she was? I rest my case.
And if you really wanna go high end, Carolina Herrera is pretty sassy and super stylish!
So to wrap up this extremely long, but highly informational blog post- just remember that WASPy isn't just a fashion choice but a way of life. And feel free to call me WASPy all you'd please- it means a lot more than just what you could at first imagine.
Share your style with me & I'll feel free to share mine with you!
Hope y'all have a great and WASPy day!
-L
