[eyedoc2180]

GTH means fun. On Christmas Eve, I wore a nice white BD shirt with plaid tie from Lands End. And I wore a pair of Vineyard Vines wide whale cords in Maui Blue (light blue?) and some winter Sperrys. It was a great look, fun and I got tons of compliments. We should wear GTH more often.

Great stuff. I get the GTH idea alot better now. I needed to look past a few of the curmudgeons that I know. In a long-ago post, I remarked about walking past a 4th of July party on Water Street, Edgartown, where the guys were wearing blazers with madras shorts and Sperrys. I remember being jealous, thinking my wife wouldn't let me get away with that. Well, maybe she will just have to? Bill

 

[eagle2250]

^Yes she will but, there will be payback, there is always payback...and so it is written!

 

[eyedoc2180]

^Yes she will but, there will be payback, there is always payback...and so it is written!

Wait.....you mean, you've met her? :devil:

 

[eagle2250]

^LOL! Well no but, while I have not had the pleasure of meeting your lovely wife, I do have one of my own...and with age, comes wisdom!

 

[Zot!]

The Preppy Handbook is one thing, and usage here is quite another. Posts here show that GTH is indeed a nebulous term. Don't defer.

+1

I'm also surprised nobody's pointed out the fact that decreeing the Preppy Handbook as the ultimate authority on the Trad forum is somewhat problematic, given all the posts about the manifold distinctions between "preppy," and "American traditional" or "TNSIL."

A book is just somebody's point of view. Some books are extensively citied with references to other authorities (somehow I doubt The Preppy Handbook has an extensively annotated bibliography), but even then which authorities are incorporated and which points of view are endorsed are a reflection of the author's judgment. So unless your opinion is just way off base (i.e. "GTH is a look that incorporates a lot of Addidas track suits") it's probably as valid as anyone else's here.

 

[Cowtown]

+1

I'm also surprised nobody's pointed out the fact that decreeing the Preppy Handbook as the ultimate authority on the Trad forum is somewhat problematic, given all the posts about the manifold distinctions between "preppy," and "American traditional" or "TNSIL."

A book is just somebody's point of view. Some books are extensively citied with references to other authorities (somehow I doubt The Preppy Handbook has an extensively annotated bibliography), but even then which authorities are incorporated and which points of view are endorsed are a reflection of the author's judgment. So unless your opinion is just way off base (i.e. "GTH is a look that incorporates a lot of Addidas track suits") it's probably as valid as anyone else's here.

Preppy as depicted in the OPH does bear a relationship to TNSIL. I believe preppy is most likely a more youthful version of TNSIL. Those described in the book wore preppy in their youth and then graviated to TNSIL upon entering the workforce. While you are correct that the definition cited in the OPH by rojo is one person's opinion, the authors grew up in that world and I would put some credence in their opinion. :icon_smile:

 

[moss01]

+1

I'm also surprised nobody's pointed out the fact that decreeing the Preppy Handbook as the ultimate authority on the Trad forum is somewhat problematic, given all the posts about the manifold distinctions between "preppy," and "American traditional" or "TNSIL."

A book is just somebody's point of view. Some books are extensively citied with references to other authorities (somehow I doubt The Preppy Handbook has an extensively annotated bibliography), but even then which authorities are incorporated and which points of view are endorsed are a reflection of the author's judgment. So unless your opinion is just way off base (i.e. "GTH is a look that incorporates a lot of Addidas track suits") it's probably as valid as anyone else's here.

I thought this book was complete satire. Satire taken seriously = really good satire.

 

[vwguy]

I thought this book was complete satire. Satire taken seriously = really good satire.

Satire, but dead on in a lot of respects.

Brian

 

[moss01]

Satire, but dead on in a lot of respects.

Brian

Without a doubt.

 

[Wyvern1138]

I'm a little young to know one way or the other, but I'd rather assumed that the OPH actually coined the term "go-to-hell pants." Was the usage around before 1980?

 

[Ron_A]

If I'm not mistaken, the phrase was coined by the writer Tom Wolfe. FWIW, I also believe that the OPH "definition" of GTH clothing (specifically pants) is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the term. Lilly Pullitzer pants, for example, are an obvious example of something that falls into this category.

 

[hbs midwest]

If I'm not mistaken, the phrase was coined by the writer Tom Wolfe. FWIW, I also believe that the OPH "definition" of GTH clothing (specifically pants) is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the term. Lilly Pullitzer pants, for example, are an obvious example of something that falls into this category.

I recently read Tom Wolfe's account of a New Yorker attending a summer cocktail party dominated by New England blue blazer types, written sometime in the 1970s...he described the gentlemen as almost uniformly clad in navy blazers and odd trousers in "go-to-hell" (his term) colors, such as lemon yellow, red, or (if I remember correctly) Madras.

The term did not originate with Lisa Birnbach and the OPH.

hbs