Once a reliably cliched hallmark of last-minute Pottery Barn Teen Christmas gifts, elementary school backpacks, and the earlobes of Regina George wannabes, monograms have suddenly acquired a brand new potential for impeachable coolness in my brain. I'm not sure if I'm behind or ahead of the curve on this recent inclination to emblazon my initials on all articles of clothing, but I do know that I have visited the J. Crew online monogram shop every day for the last week.
I have my eye on the cashmere sweatshirt and plan on perfecting it with a little HHR action in the upper right quadrant come J. Crew's next 25% off sale.
 |
| Bette Davis SLAYS IT |
So what is it about the ability to tangibly stitch my identity onto anything and everything that is so newly appealing? I'm not quite sure, but let's start with the fact that I wore ballet flats yesterday and didn't hate it. I am definitely on an unprecedentedly preppy kick when it comes to my wardrobe leanings, but let me qualify that it is a particular breed of preppy. Instead of OMG PINK AND GREEN PLEASE SWALLOW ME, my heart thumps for a more understated, old school, and sophisticatedly quaint iteration with an unexpected accent here or there (at least ideally also P.S. am I the most annoying?).
And really, what's more old school than a monogram? They remind me of being anciently young-- of the days when my mom wrote my name or initials on every single thing ever because of my youthful tendency to misplace stuff. (Note: eventually she grew tired of pioneering individual labeling efforts for the various different possessions of my two sisters and me and therefore resorted to ordering a batch of personalized iron-on tags with "This Belongs To A Ross Girl" inscribed on them. So now you know why I'm such a bucket of charm and character.)
At this point you're probably wondering if what I really want to look like is (to put it succinctly) a well-cared-for female toddler who takes many a style cue from classic boarding school novels like A Separate Peace but with a slightly modernized edge. WELL GUESS WHAT CHAPS YOU TOTALLY NAILED IT. Have our moon cycles synced up yet???
 |
| The coolest customizable t-shirts by Parisian label Maison Labiche |
Ultimately, what I'm truly loving most about the preppy aesthetic in my post-post-irony fashion mindset is its rather timeless ability to allow clothing to speak for itself-- no frills, no meta commentary, no hologram of Justin Bieber's face. The wonderfully literal mine-ness of a classic monogram is prep's answer to this absence of sartorial sarcasm. Unless, of course, you forego your own three initials in favor of LOL.
For further LOLZ, awkward silences, and tomayto throwing, follow me on twitter and instagram.