Lisa Birnbach Quotes & Sayings

Cynicism is more than a pose; it's also a handy time saver. By deflating your companion's enthusiasm, you can cut conversations in half. — Lisa Birnbach

Dartmouth Winter Carnival opens, proving once again that bitter cold is no obstacle to going completely out of control. — Lisa Birnbach

Preppy clothes are built to last, since they certainly won't go out of style. — Lisa Birnbach

If you tell a friend a secret, she will keep the secret by telling only one other person. — Lisa Birnbach

Even if you're starting from scratch and buying a new wardrobe, preppy clothes are very fairly priced compared to high fashion. They're very easy to absorb into your wardrobe. You probably already have stuff you can wear and there's a safety factor. You're dressed for success, in a way, if you look like you grew up with success. — Lisa Birnbach

Always underdress. The goal is not to look as if you made an effort for the particular event. If you can dress for a different party (i.e., wear black tie to a cocktail party, or tennis clothes for lunch), so much the better. You give the impression of being much in demand. — Lisa Birnbach

Sarcasm mascarades as the Preppy's sense of humor. — Lisa Birnbach

A tip: if you're invited to your friend's country club to go the lost and found bin and pretend that you left something there. Next thing you know, you have a fabulous sweater ... — Lisa Birnbach

The Head of the Charles in Cambridge, Mass., is the great American crew event, athletically and socially. It occurs the second weekend in October; secondary schools and colleges send shells in all categories in the three-mile race up the Charles River. Drunken Preps line the banks and bridges at Harvard, ready to howl with glee as a coxswain rams his shell into a stanchion of the Eliot Street Bridge (where the river narrows and curves with treacherous suddenness). — Lisa Birnbach

It is the inalienable right of every man, woman, and child to wear khaki. — Lisa Birnbach

In crew, contempt is important. In Boston, Boston University and Northeastern crew are treated with contempt by the college up the river. Intramural crew is treated with contempt. Nonathletic coxswains (Chinese engineering majors, poets) are treated with contempt. A true coxswain is a diminutive jock, raging against the pint size that made him the butt of so many jokes at Prep school. He runs twenty stadiums a day, his girlfriend is six feet one, and he can scream orders even when he has the flu (which he catches at least three times a winter). — Lisa Birnbach

Prep clothes are sensible: rain clothes keep you dry; winter clothes keep you warm; collars are buttoned down so they don't flap in your face when you're playing polo. Layering is a natural response to varying weather conditions. — Lisa Birnbach

You can't regret what you can't remember. — Lisa Birnbach

Grandmother. The true power behind the power. — Lisa Birnbach

In a true democracy everyone can be upper class and live in Connecticut. — Lisa Birnbach

Wool, cotton, and the odd bits of silk and cashmere are the only acceptable materials for Prep clothes. They look better. They require professional maintenance. They are more expensive. — Lisa Birnbach

Like everything else, Preppiness begins in the home. — Lisa Birnbach

from The Prep Pantheon: An All-Time Great Alumni Association

Caroline Kennedy. Concord Academy '75. Harvard '80. On technical points Preppier than Mummy. During four years at Harvard Square, an unnatural fiber never went near her body (except for the shell of her L. L. Bean down vest). Her lacrosse game was ruthless, her brunch technique dazzling (smoked heavily, sat with the descendents of three other presidents). — Lisa Birnbach

Looking, acting, and ultimately being Prep is not restricted to an elite minority lucky enough to attend prestigious private schools, just because an ancestor or two happened to arrive here on the Mayflower. You don't even have to be a registered Republican. — Lisa Birnbach

The University of Miami is not a campus with visible school spirit, just visible tan lines. — Lisa Birnbach

Bloodies are the centerpiece of the Sunday Brunch--they are also, perhaps, the #1 Prep mixed drink.....

1. Place ice cubes in a large glass
2. Pour in two fingers of vodka
3. Fill glass almost to top with V-8
4. Season with: 2 drops Tabasco, 4 drops Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp. horseradish, 1 tsp. lime juice
5. Add wedge of lime, stir and drink
6. Repeat as needed — Lisa Birnbach