The Official Preppy Handbook Turns 35!

"The Official Preppy Handbook" turns 35 this year!  This book was totally my reference guide back the 80's.

My outfits back then consisted of wrap skirts, Lanz dresses, espadrilles (monogrammed of course), white blouses with Peter Pan monogrammed collars, Topsiders, Bermuda bags, pearls, add-a-bead necklace, and grosgrain pony bows.

I have aged but my outfits remain much the same!

The good thing about remaining true to one style is that clothes and accessories last for many years.  These are the staples of my conservative, preppy-style wardrobe:

Puffer vests, Ralph Lauren crew neck sweaters, fair isle sweaters, and J Crew cardigans.

Burberry Brit quilted jacket

This pink J Crew pea coat is actually on my search list!

Love my Chanel cap toe flats, Ferragamo Varas, and Tory Burch Revas

Last year when I left Florida to live in Georgia, I had one pair of boots.  Now I have nine pair!  Love the Ralph Lauren tartan boots, the Burberry Brit check boots, Hunter boots, and monogrammed boots.

Ralph Lauren ocbd shirts NEVER go out of style and look great under vests or sweaters.

Tartan is a must for a preppy wardrobe and I'm constantly adding new pieces to my collection.

Of course, the Lilly Pulitzer classic shift is my go-to outfit during the summer.

I still love Bermuda bags today and love finding cute ones on eBay.

Ferragamo headbands are very classic and preppy.

I do love pocketbooks and these are some of my favorites from my collection...The Louis Vuitton Speedy, Chanel Classic Flap bag, Ferragamo bags with the Vara bow, and Kate Spade Quinn bags.

Love the totes from Lands' End.  They are a classic and sturdy way to haul loot!

This classic double-breasted blazer with gold monogrammed buttons has been a staple in my closet for 30 years!!!  The material is a very thick knit and is very warm in the wintertime with a turtleneck sweater.

I wear pony caps all the time and have a bunch of them.  The monogrammed cap and plaid cap are nice accessories to a preppy wardrobe.

I have been a fan of Sperry Topsiders for over 30 years and love wearing them during the summer months.

Gingham blouses are so versatile and I love wearing them layered with sweaters under vests or just with a cardigan.  I also think they look cute with Lilly Pulitzer patterned classic shifts.

Last, but not least, you have to have a cute umbrella.  These two by Lilly Pulitzer and Burberry and just a couple from my umbrella collection.  Of course, my umbrellas coordinate with my outfits!

Dressing for my Age

I get all kinds of e-mails from my readers...some like my "Here's What I Wore" posts and some don't. I know that I can't please all y'all, but recently, I received an anonymous comment from a reader who said she thought my "obsession to wear clothes fit for only 20 year-olds" was out of control. She also mentioned that I should "focus on bloggers my own age for my 'Friday Style File'." Lord have mercy!

First, I think that my wardrobe is rather prim & proper.

Second, I feature bloggers whose style I admire. When I look at their outfits, I don't want try to copy them; I am inspired by them and get ideas from them. Then, I create my own outfit and make it my own! I am featuring stylish bloggers in no certain order. {Some of my very favorite style bloggers are still in my queue} Coming up this Friday, I will be featuring a blogger who has fantastic style and she is also close to my age!

My style has always been a bit prim & proper, classic, and preppy. In the photo below {circa early 80's}, I am dressed in a very preppy style and that has remained my fashion style of choice since then.



In the photo below {taken 30 years later during the summer of 2011}, I'm still rocking that same style...preppy skirts, Bermuda bags, and the same ponytail!
By now, y'all should know that I adhere to my own strict dress code when attending church...no bare arms, no low-cut outfits, no see-through outfits, and stockings are a must, along with closed-toe shoes. My 'Vara' Ferragamo pumps are the perfect choice for my church shoes. {Dressy pumps for the grown-up girls} Too young? I think not!


This Lilly 'Sabine' shirtdress is preppy and also prim, paired with hot pink tights and Revas. I don't think this outfit looks too young for me! In fact, the day I wore this, I received numerous compliments and one lady who was around my age commented that she loved seeing me wearing the tights with the dress and said that she was gonna start wearing them also!
This Lilly 'Havana A Good Time' shift is perfect for summer church services, when paired with a pink cardi, stockings, and closed-toe Revas! Full of color and yet just prim and proper enough for church!

Back in the day, you could find me sunning on the beach in St. Thomas wearing bikinis. Well, nowadays, I'm rocking this cute Lilly 'Grasshopper' one-piece...usually with a cute Lilly cover up! Cute and colorful suit for the grown-up girls!
The Lilly Amberly 'Twinkle' dress...Oh my...When I walked into the Lilly store, this darling strapless dress caught my eye. However, at my age, I think this style is too young for me! *le sigh*
While I realize that the fashion industry caters to young women, I think that the older ladies can still have fun with fashion. The Lilly Cherry 'Twinkle' dress...it's the same pattern as the strapless number above and a much better choice for the "little old lady" in me.
Years ago, I would have totally rocked this Lilly Isabel 'White Mariposa' halter dress...
But, the grown-up Miss Janice now chooses to wear this classic Lilly 'White Mariposa' Margot shift dress...with a green cardi over my shoulders and grass green Revas.
I can't ever remember wearing a skirt that was 13 1/4" long--even when I was young...but I do love the Lilly 'State of Mind' pattern...I tried on both of the shifts and the Bermuda shorts, but none of them were a good fit for me.
So I picked up the Lilly Roslyn skirt in the 'State of Mind' pattern...18 /14" long. This is a great length for me, since I'm only 5' 4" tall.
Oh my goodness...I totally loved this Lilly Bowen 'Chorus Girl' dress in the strapless style. This is the pattern I chose for my Easter dress, but y'all know I'd never walk into church wearing a strapless dress...even with a cardi. *le sigh*
So, I chose the Lilly Eryn 'Chorus Girl' dress below and thought my Easter frock dilemna was solved! Not!!! When I got it home, this dress looked so dowdy on me. I absolutely loved it, but it wasn't made for short girls...or this short girl! Took it back and now the hunt for the Easter frock is still on!!! I may actually have to look inside "Miss Janice's closet" for my dress...Lord have mercy!
I first saw this Lilly 'Bowen' strapless dress in turquoise with the 'Laroc Panel Embroidery' at Dillard's. I wanted it so bad, but again, the style is just too young for me...
So, I bought the Lilly 'Roslyn' skirt and I LOVE it!!! Can't wait to wear this cutie after Easter.

I do try to choose fashion that is appropriate for my age. I don't wear low-cut tops or mini-skirts, I've never worn stilletos in my life nor have I worn tops that show my midriff.

My ponytail. Hmmmm. A lot of y'all probably think that I'm too old to be wearing my hair in a ponytail with grosgrain ribbon bows and headbands. The only thing I can say is that my ponytail keeps getting shorter and lower...maybe almost in a low chignon. I will NEVER stop wearing the ponytail and will probably still be adorning it with cute grosgrain bows when I get to the Rest Home. It's all just me...and my style!

Monograms and Madras

Nothing says "Classic and Preppy" more than monograms and madras. Both are must-haves for the prepster. This is the time of year I love to wear madras. Take a look at some of the pieces I wore recently...lunching and shopping.

The skirt and light blue cardi are by Lilly and the white tee is monogrammed in light blue.

I wore my Lilly blue thong sandals and carried a white Bermuda Bag. Along with my pearl necklace and stud earrings, I wore my Cartier rollring wedding band. My nail polish was 'Lovie Dovie' by Essie and my lipstick was 'Laser Pink' by Chanel. My ponytail was adorned with a white grosgrain ribbon bow and my fragrance of choice for the day was 'Wink' by Lilly.

These madras capris are by Ralph Lauren and the pink button down oxford cloth shirt is also by Ralph Lauren.
I wore the 'Loopy 50th Jubilee Pool Party' flip flops by Lilly and a blue pony cap by Lacoste. My earrings are gold script monogrammed drop style and I wore my 'Oyster Perpetual' Rolex watch along with my rollring wedding band by Cartier. My ponytail was adorned with a pink grosgrain ribbon bow and I carried my pink monogrammed Bermuda Bag by Lilly. Lipstick--'Laser Pink' by Chanel...nail polish 'Lovie Dovie' by Essie. I've now developed another obsession y'all...my beverage containers simply must coordinate with my outfits!!! Love this white tumbler with my monogram in blue...too cute!!!These madras capris and the white polo shirt are both by Ralph Lauren...comfortable and cool!
I wore my blue Polo flips flops, a navy pony cap monogrammed in white, and a white grosgrain ribbon bow adorned my ponytail. I wore these cute silver monogrammed earrings with the matching ring, my rollring wedding band by Cartier, and my 'Oyster Perpetual' watch by Rolex. My lipstick...'Star Red' by Chanel and my fragrance of choice for the day--'Lauren', by Ralph Lauren.

Southerners love to monogram their stuff! We put our own initials on everything in sight! I'll admit, I probably need to enter a Monograms Anonymous program, but who has the time? Showing off your monogram is a darling way to make your clothes, dinnerware, linens, stationery, jewelry, and almost anything personal.

Here's a few of my monogramming rules:

~Monograms may be used with the first/last initial only. I am not a fan of the single letter monogram because I don't think it is as personal as the full monogram.

~For a single lady--Janice Kay Sessums would use the first initial of her given, middle, and

family surname; i.e., Janice Kay Sessums---jSk.

~In the South, after Janice Kay Sessums marries Kenneth Craig Gibson, she drops her middle name Kay. Sessums would then become her middle name and Gibson would be her surname. Her name would then be Janice Sessums Gibson and her monogram would be jGs. (This Southern tradition of dropping your middle name after you have married and using your maiden surname as your new middle name, allows people to recognize your name throughout your life.)

~If Janice uses a joint married monogram for items such as crystal, china, linens, et cetera, she would use the first letter of her given name, the first letter of her husband's surname, and the first letter of her husband's given name--jGk.

It's important to remember that Janice Kay Sessums may still use the initials of her maiden throughout her life, even if she marries. I still have jewelry from my single days, with my maiden monogram.

~When monogramming clothes, men's monograms are usually small and women's are larger. A man's monogram is always on the left side of the shirt or the left cuff, in small block letters in the order of the names; i.e., Kenneth Craig Gibson--KCG.

A traditional monogram consists of three initials. Your surname is in the middle and larger. For example: Janice Sessums Gibson is jGs.

I love the interlocking tradition font, the circle font, and the diamond font.

The interlocking font...

The circle font...

The diamond font...

Is there anything you should NOT monogram? Right off hand, I can't think of a thing! I'm getting ready to have a window valance monogrammed! Can you every wear too many monogrammed items at the same time? Probably so and I'm certainly guilty of this all the time.

Make it personal y'all. Monogram it!

A Staple to the Preppy Wardrobe...Bermuda Bags

The Bermuda Bag, one of the most favorite accessories of 70's, is a staple to the preppy wardrobe. It's a round or oval-shaped pocketbook with a wooden handle and a removable cloth cover. What a relatively inexpensive way to have a pocketbook to match every outfit! I'm always on the lookout on the Re-Lilly site or Ebay for these bags. Here's my collection...

Solid and cute Lilly print covers...

Adding your monogram makes them extra cute and real Southern!

A few of mine are reversible. After they are monogrammed, obviously you cannot use the reverse side:)

One of my blog readers recently asked me about my Bermuda Bags. She was curious about 'What's inside my Bermuda Bag'. Well, I never leave home without my Chanel lipstick and there's no way I could live on a deserted island, 'cuz I'd just die without my Burt's Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm...so the lip balm is never left behind either! My iPhone is pretty much attached to my hand {so, I'm either holding it or it's in the bag} and just recently I had to start wearing readers, so the Lilly 'Beachy' readers are a must-have as well. I always carry a sample size of Lilly 'Wink' cologne and Hall's mints--which are another addiction of mine:) My Cartier writing pen is a must and of course I don't leave home without my debit card and ID card in a Gucci card case. My keys to the BMW are on my Lilly 'shift' keychain.

You really don't want to put large items {like a big folding wallet} inside, 'cuz you don't want these bags to be bulging with stuff!

This is a photo that is also on my sidebar...it's me in Bermuda in the early 80's...dressed VERY preppy and carrying a pink Bermuda Bag, probably just like the one in the photo above...and monogrammed of course!

Thank you for visiting with me today! I'm very nervous about the American Idol Results Show tonight. Lauren Alaina did a fabulous job last, but ...I still hope Scotty wins!!!