Review: Seven Sisters Style

10.4.14


I am a self confessed prepster so when I was sent a copy of Seven Sisters Style, all my style requirements had been answered!

Written by Rebecca C. Tuite, Seven Sisters Style celebrates the all-American preppy style pioneered by the women of the Seven Sisters Colleges (Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar and Wellesley,) and its twentieth century evolution from its on campus foundations to its enduring legacy in modern day fashion and society.

Some of the most iconic women of our time went to Seven Sisters Colleges (think Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Meryl Streep and Katharine Hepburn,) and their timeless style is reflected in the pages of this great book. Seven Sisters Style is synonymous with a collective sheen of intelligence and a way of dressing that would become a marker of national pride and American status across the world, and this book is in part, a bible for the preppy community.

© Pokorny, Barnard Archives and Special Collections

One thing I learned from reading this book was that admissions to each school came with an unofficial handbook of qualities that each student was to embody, and part of that was maintaining the look that had come to reflect each of the school's culture and heritage. So for example, Barnard girls were more urban, possessing a sophisticated air fuelled by their proximity to New York City, Wellesley for their high achieving athletic tendencies and Bryn Mawr and Vassar were recognized for their politically radical, outspoken natures and fondness for alternative style.

This book is fantastic if you love fashion and the heritage and culture behind it, and of course, perfect if you love all things preppy!

 © Smith College Archives

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