Here’s a fun game you can enjoy at home. First, get some paper and note down all the most unequivocally uncool articles of clothes you wore as a kid. Then, when they somehow crawl
their way into popular fashion, you simply crossed them off. Oh, and by the way, are you familiar with the word “unequivocally”?
Uncool is today’s new cool, significantly impacting how people dress and permitting us to use the word “hip” again. The concept has been dubbed anti-fashion as a middle finger to previously predominate notions of what is fashionable. The latest trend in menswear includes nerdy essentials like oversized fleece coats, corduroy pants, and touristic shoes. Conjure up in your mind the pants in which you could put as much gold as possible playing Slots of Empire. And you have that confident charm that plays into the style. Yet why?
The men’s fashion director at MatchesFashion, Simon Chilvers, offers some insight.
According to him, many of these quirky components are a reaction to the slick athletic and branded goods that have reached their Instagram likes’ saturation point.
“The discussion about dad’s shoes has become so widespread that it is on the verge of
becoming too much. Things like bum-bags, in contrast, have burned more slowly. What happens next in this story is what I’m most interested in seeing. Shoes with square toes, anyone?”
Now on to what it is and how not to fall behind. Think of the girls’ looks from “Gossip Girl”, Velma from ‘Scooby Doo’ or Sheldon from “The Big Bang Theory”. Their images fit entirely into the concept of an intellectual chic, preppy style, as well as a nerd or a geek. Yet, their style has a certain restraint, nobility, and academicism.
Preppy, Nerd, and Geek: the Basic Elements of The Styles
Preppy and nerd styles have become part of street style, a youth movement that originated in elite-level educational institutions. Fashionable clothes are just part of the subculture of outlandish geeks.
Practicality and convenience have become the main advantages of preppy and nerdy
clothing styles. The preppy style is recognizable by its colors, materials, and general outfit. Things are sewn from cotton and other fabrics of uniform colors, usually with prints like:
- non-contrasting “school” or “professor” plaid;
- stripes;
- rhombuses;
- textured braids.
Of the fashionable colors, modern nerds and valedictorians prefer shades of dark blue, graphite, dusty red, chocolate, and bottle-green, complementing them with a delicate creamy beige, pale blue, pale yellow, sand, and wine palette.
A certain snobbery characterizes preppy clothes, but it also brings a certain confidence and spirit of competence. This effect is achieved through:
- the quality of the materials chosen;
- neat styles and colors;
- a perfect fit;
- clean cut lines;
- chaste necklines;
- no inscriptions, ruffles, shiny rhinestones;
It is why the preppy style is associated with good college students, upstarts, equestrians, and fancy tea parties. Of course, without a particular demeanor, good upbringing, vocabulary, etiquette, and education, it might not hold for long, but it’s a start if that’s the image you are going for.
What Does Being a Nerd or a Geek Have to Do With This?
Nerd and geek styles became a thing in the ’60s. Fans looked at their idols: John Lennon and Woody Allen, Austin Powers, Oasis and Beck frontmen. A T-shirt is easily pulled over a turtleneck, round glasses on the nose, and pants with ironing crease lines are successfully combined with sneakers, and skinny jeans – with classic shoes.
The style allows for a plaid shirt under a pinstripe jacket, just like preppy. Sheldon Cooper
and his luggage of absurd T-shirts with prints of superheroes and scientific quotes is also a good source of inspiration. Such clothing is a definite hit with creative types, intellectuals, chess players, and comic book fans.
Preppy style cheat-sheet
Nerd and preppy styles often overlap, mainly in the wardrobes of fashionistas. So let’s take a close look at the basic criteria by which neat preppy styles are clothes evaluated, with no room for protrudig bra straps, sloppiness, or blue blazer in the closet:
- Sports outfits consist only of polo shirts and topsiders, no tracksuits, leggings, or sneakers.
- White clothing is the prerogative of a nerd, geek, and preppy style.
- A trench coat is your everything!
- Piercings and tattoos for preppies are the real deal!
- A confident and fast gait is only possible in classic shoes, leather boots, and cute loafers. The preppy style also loves riding boots.
- Preppy and nerdy styles don’t have to be expensive and exclusive. The mass market and vintage clothes can also be great choices.
