I do, actually, one which figures quite prominently into my day to day. Workout wise, I hit the gym six days a week, with an eye towards mixing cardio and weights (3 days and 3 days, respectively, splitting up which areas I’m targeting re:weights.) There’s a lot of pseudoscience out there with respect to women and the gym, but know that a balanced routine includes both cardio in some form and weights, which is both the only path to the rather glib sounding “toning” and a long term investment in bone density and metabolism.  Try to mix in a little of both, and to mix up what you do; the elliptical or the treadmill exclusively is a good start, but will ultimately not reap the same rewards as mixing in other, new types of exercise. Food-wise, I minimize my intake of simple carbs, sugar, and saturated fats while maximizing my intake of protein, leafy greens, good fats, and whole grains. “Eating better” for most people leans heavily on “no,” but often works better with a “yes.” That is to say, if you simply cut food intake, you will inevitably end up loading up at some point out of hunger and likely sabotaging yourself. Try transitioning instead to “food of substance” that will leave you fuller longer than simple carbs. My staples are things like greek yogurt, spinach, eggplant, squash, and lean meats like chicken and tuna. But again, liking much of the above was an evolving process; I found ways of preparing all of these foods that made them feel like a treat instead of some form of deprivation from the “tasty stuff.” (Pumpkin spice in the yogurt, for example, or mashing the squash to a potato-like consistency.) It’s basically a bit of an attitude shift; don’t think about “depriving myself of things I like” but rather “trying to find new things I like” or “getting creative with food.” Long term fitness and diet changes can only be made with an eye towards making them immovable things; pencil it in, stock the fridge, and so forth, and you will set yourself on track for better shape. 

Check out these for starters, then consider adding in some J.Press and Jack Spade (which have their own standing stores) and mixing in from labels like Burkman Bros, Ovadia and Sons, Run of the Mill, Scotch and Soda, Vanishing Elephant, Mark McNairy, Left Field NYC, Saint James, and generally cruising the brands the San Francisco vint-y menswear goldmine Welcome Stranger carries or any Barney’s.  

Ask and ye shall receive; though “Prep 101” will continue to highlight answers to questions I consider particularly relevant/basic “Prep 101” reading/a good place to start getting into this blog’s style methodologies, all the ask answers will now be archived under the “PG Says….” heading up at the top- starting with this one!

Tommy Hilfiger Bed makes quite a few great preppy sets, with the added and advantage that many color palettes are intentionally mix and matchable. The US polo association also has one worth considering for girls, and for men or a more masculine leaning bed set, Nautica’s seaworthy geometrics aren’t a bad choice. (Or if you’re looking to go Lilly-esque, Paige Megan offers a pretty close thing.) 

Step one: put HYPs in a bag

Step two: pick one

Step three: there is a 33.33% chance you are holding the name of my school.

(Short answer: not telling!) 

Good to hear it was helpful! In my opinion, one should never be afraid to challenge sartorial icons over style quibbles simply because they are sartorial icons or seem to know what’s up in terms of style; I know that I personally have benefited from this, as it actually pushes me to concretely define what I like about certain styles and what I don’t like. Likewise, style is intensely personal, and is thus a touchy topic- but also because of this, means it’s totally subjective and thus there will always be cases of agree to disagree. I like what I like; I don’t like what I don’t like, and even if we can’t see eye to eye on it, it can certainly be the spark for an interesting conversation. 

Those big felt numbers have been making themselves seen around Soho, and are a great number to throw on with oversized shades to signal fashion forward…under wraps. Other than that and, say, the requisite oversized derby number or floppy straw beach piece with a touch of monogram, what I’m feeling for street wear instead is the chic silk carre scarf as hair ornament in place of a hat. (Hermes makes booklets with all kinds of different wrap styles, fyi.) 

Depends on the nature of the tear- can you patch it unobtrusively with light blue thread, i.e., is it a straight or razor tear with no jagged pieces? If you’ve actually shredded several lines of stitching so that the white fibers are showing, though, your only option for a fix is an actual patch; there’s no pretending it’s not patched, as generally the denim will wear to its own unique shade of blue, so why not go bold with a statement fabric? Gingham, gold glitter, or other J.Crew-y fabric in a neat square patch is a chance to inject something a bit of wink wink nudge nudge to the piece, and is a fashion risk worth trying in such an all or nothing situation. 

Things in the “you can never have enough thoughtful and timeless” category occupied by things like monogrammed jewelry and pearls are an easy out, but my gift MO is a bit different. (Short answer: do something really great that shows you’ve thought about what she likes but also comes with the afterglow of great memories, rather than just a new thing.) 

For starters, avoid the full-price Black Label pieces that can top out in the thousands, and go instead for sale items or indeed their younger, cheaper dispersion line Rugby. (Which frankly is cuter anyway.) If you must have those BL beauties, your best bet for finding them cheaper is to shop some form of resale, be it high end consignment in major cities or eBay.