Past of Prep: Weekend Polish

Just as the Seven Sisters’ campus casuals spurred a style revolution forever changing the attitudes and wardrobes of young America women, their smart weekend getaway look had an equally alluring and influential effect on the makings of American preppy style.

Putting themselves on the map with their chic “borrowed from the boys” inspired wardrobes, come Friday, Seven Sisters girls underwent a style transformation for a more polished version of their weekday campus classics. The Seven Sisters schools earned the nickname “Suitcase Colleges” because every Friday most students packed a suitcase and hit the road for a weekend filled with proms and sporting events at neighboring men’s colleges, parties and dinners in New York City and Boston, or hit the ski slopes and hiking trails at East Coast resorts.

No matter the destination, a weekend suitcase called for hard working staples and outfits that could pull double duty and keep one appropriately outfitted for a variety of social events. While game weekends and city excursions put Seven Sisters students’ packing to the test, the girls maintained their credo of casual elegance while dressing for the full gamut of weekend activities, inevitably establishing a packing formula interwoven with fashion, travel, romance, excitement, and a touch of exclusivity.

After surviving another week of school, weekend getaways were a personal reward and as always the Seven Sisters girls wanted to have fun, feel smart, and look good. Not leaving all of their campus favorites behind, the weekend look became a refined version of the typical Seven Sisters understated but graceful style. Blouses and buttoned up shirts (from the boys’ department for a slimmer cut) were freshly pressed, buttoned to the collar, and tucked in with a waist-cinching belt. Versatile separates, polished styling, and luxurious pairings of cashmere and silk and black watch tartans and rich jewel tone wools created a weekend look that reflected simplicity, comfort, and smartness.

The heaviest hitter in a weekend suitcase was without a doubt the wool skirt suit. In our world today where athleisure and brunch style rule the weekends, I would never think of dawning a skirt suit for either traveling or the weekend, but in the roots of preppy style, the skirt suit was one of the most versatile and quintessential tenets of a young woman’s wardrobe. I think growing up in such a progressive era when females have begun taking over universities, governments, and industries the world over, the skirt suit has transformed into a finite Monday to Friday professional power piece. That said, looking back on how versatile a good wool suit can be for traveling, I’m enticed to have a go at it. I really love the Seven Sisters style concept of dressing up for travel and the weekends, and while I wouldn’t replicate it altogether, I think incorporating notes of sophistication and polish to weekend wear can make for a very fresh and elegant take on the preppy classics.

I love a good blazer and pencil skirt, but when worn together I can’t help but feel as if I’m headed to the office. To kick the 9-5 effect and create a modern spin on the Seven Sisters skirt suit I went with a mismatched wool combo. The pairing of a neutral pencil skirt with a statement blazer (or vise versa) is the key to casually deconstructing the refined skirt suit. To make the suit even more relaxed, I styled it with two of my favorite weekend staples: tennis shoes and a t-shirt turtleneck.

The beauty of packing a suit for a weekend getaway is the versatility and functionality of the suit as a whole and the skirt and blazer as separates. You can wear the pencil skirt with a t-shirt or sweater for a casual daytime look, and in the evening swap the sweater for a silk blouse and nice jewelry, or pair the blazer with sleek denim and heels.

What I love so much about Seven Sisters style is its reflection of ease, fun, and simplicity. They wore clothes they loved to live in, creating a flawless balance of style, comfort, and confidence. I’m not one for having a style uniform, but I can’t help but be enamored by the uniformity of classic preppy style. Every component of the Seven Sisters packing list was worn and loved for its practicality, sophistication, and elegance, making this style formula just as useful today as it was back then.