The Prepsters

Woody Hines '12 and Chris Callis '12 run the fashion blog prepidemic.com. Street sat down with Woody and Chris to talk about their take on prep, dressing well in a recession, and the best and worst campus fashion trends for guys.

Q: How do you define "prep" style?

A: Chris Callis: It's classic all-American: rugged and relaxed.

Q: What motivated you to start a blog?

A: CC: We were sitting around and we just said, "Let's start a blog." Gradually, we realized that we were pretty good at this fashion stuff.

Woody Hines: We each had an interest in it, and last year, as roommates, we argued about rules for jeans. It evolved from there. We redesigned the site in January, and it's now very sleek and getting a lot of attention.

Q: Why do you think prep has come to have such a bad connotation?

A: CC: People don't want to be a part of this aristocratic, boarding school, snobbish vibe that the word and the style give off. Like we said, in its purest form, prep is fun and very authentic. But some slightly more snobbish people take it up, and that's what people notice.

Q: Whether for prep style or not, what are your secrets for dressing well on a budget?

A: CC: While we're very much in tune with the designer and runway stuff that's exorbitantly priced, you'd be surprised at how much you can find in consignment stores. As college students, we don't have the budgets to go and buy everything that we want, but we find ways around it, like going on eBay and plowing through the consignment stores.

WH: We frequent Gentlemen's Resale and INA Designer Consignment in New York. You can get a Gucci jacket in the stores there for $150 that will normally retail for $1500. And you need to know where to go for the smart, simple basics. Uniqlo is really hot now.

Q: What are your style essentials that are always in your closet or your suitcase?

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A: CC: For our essentials, we've gone more to the investment side of it. We'd rather go and get a nice pair of APC jeans for $150 that you'll wear almost every day for the next four years, rather than running through a pair or two of Gap jeans every year. Every guy should have a good Oxford shirt, a white dress shirt, a blue blazer, a suit, a good pair of brown dress shoes and a tuxedo if you're going to be going to any sort of formal events. While it may seem pricey when you go for the initial buy, renting a tuxedo will add up over the course of time.

Q: What are some trends that you've seen guys wearing? Both ones that you like and ones that you don't like?

A: WH: Bean boots are pretty cool. We argue about whether or not they're fashionable, but they're fun as a preppy staple. I don't think that they're aesthetically the most beautiful work, but they're classic and they hearken back to Princeton's golden era.

CC: Every season or year, the fit of clothing changes. While we're all for trim, well-fitting jeans, we're seeing people around campus with basically spandex jeans. And we're confused about that.

Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Guy Wood.