Northern Preppy vs Southern Preppy, From Winter Tweed to Summer Seersucker

What the two versions share

Both versions come from the American preppy and Ivy League wardrobe that grew up around north-eastern universities and preparatory schools in the first half of the twentieth century.

Both rest on the same foundations: the Oxford cloth button-down shirt, the navy blazer, chinos, knitwear and leather loafers.

Our guides to the Northern preppy style and the Southern preppy style cover each version on its own in more depth.

Why the two versions differ

The main reason is climate.

New England winters call for wool flannel, tweed, heavy knitwear, waterproof boots and warm coats, while summers in much of the South are long, hot and humid, which favours open, lightweight cotton and linen.

Local events add their own customs, such as college football games and autumn walks in the North, and garden parties, summer weddings and horse races in the South.

Seersucker is the clearest example of a regional association with a documented history.

The puckered cotton came originally from the Indian subcontinent, and the Historic New Orleans Collection has found seersucker suits advertised in New Orleans as early as 1867.

The New Orleans clothing maker Haspel later did much to promote seersucker suits in the twentieth century.

In 1996 Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi began Seersucker Thursday in the US Senate, a summer day when members wore seersucker; it lapsed in 2012 and was revived in 2014, when Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, then a congressman, brought it back in the House and the Senate followed.

Northern and Southern preppy garment by garment

The table shows typical choices in each region, and each column describes a tendency rather than a uniform.

Scroll horizontally to see all columns →

Northern preppy in more detail

The Northern wardrobe is built for changing seasons.

A navy blazer, an Oxford button-down and grey flannel trousers form its most familiar outfit, and a tweed jacket replaces the blazer in autumn.

Shetland and cable-knit jumpers are worn over shirts for much of the year, and a rugby shirt is a common weekend alternative.

For snow and rain, rubber-soled duck boots and a duffle or pea coat are typical.

Striped Breton shirts often appear in nautical outfits on the coast in summer, though the shirt began as a French naval garment rather than a New England one.

The colours are mostly dark and muted, which hides wear and suits grey winter light.

Southern preppy in more detail

The Southern wardrobe is built for heat.

A blue and white seersucker suit or jacket is its best-known garment, worn with a white or pastel shirt and loafers.

Linen and madras jackets, pastel Oxford shirts, gingham shirts and light chinos fill the rest of the summer wardrobe.

Accessories carry much of the colour: bow ties, needlepoint belts stitched with small motifs, straw hats and pocket squares.

Southern winters are generally mild, so a navy blazer over a light jumper often replaces a heavy overcoat.

Colour

The Northern palette centres on navy, grey, brown, burgundy and forest green, and the Southern palette adds pink, mint, yellow, light blue and faded red to navy and white.

Light colours reflect more sunlight than dark ones, which is one practical reason pale clothes are popular in hot weather.

Navy works in both regions and in every season, so a navy blazer is the easiest starting point whichever version you prefer.

Fabric and weight

The weight and weave of the cloth matter more for comfort than any regional label.

For cold weather, choose wool flannel, tweed, corduroy and heavier cotton twill.

For hot weather, choose seersucker, linen, cotton poplin, madras and open-weave or lightweight wool, which let air move and dry more quickly than dense cloth.

Check the fibre content on the label and hold the cloth up to the light: the more light that passes through, the cooler the garment is likely to feel.

Outfit ideas

These suggestions can be built from clothes many readers already own.

Combining the two

Most readers will mix both versions as the seasons change, and that is the most practical way to use them.

Good combinations include an Oxford button-down with a needlepoint belt, a bow tie with a tweed jacket in autumn, and penny loafers with pastel chinos in spring.

Before an event, check the weather, the dress code on the invitation and how formal the venue is, because those decide what fits the occasion far more than whether a garment counts as Northern or Southern.

For five ready-made warm-weather looks, see our Southern preppy summer outfit ideas.

Quizzes and personal help from The VOU

None of these tools is needed to wear the outfits above, but some readers like extra help when choosing clothes.

You can read about choosing an image consultant and what an image consultant does, and our guides to dressing for your body shape and seasonal colour analysis explain two optional frameworks for thinking about proportion and colour.

For more on dressing for the setting, see styling by occasion, location, season and time of day.

For the vocabulary behind this guide, see our explainers on clothing, garments, fashion accessories, menswear silhouettes and outfits.

We also cover heritage luxury brands and how logo-heavy luxury designs come across, and our fashion style guide explains personal and historic styles.