Lawnparties is an excuse for Princetonians to break out their preppiest possessions and drink champagne to live music on the lawns of mansions, fulfilling every stereotype the University has to offer.
Ladies this year rivaled the classiest of Kentucky Derby attendees with bright dresses and oversized hats, and the men, outside the realms of TI’s “sun’s out guns out” attitude, sported a palette of pastel button-downs. Below are a few of Sunday’s best-dressed:
Walking around campus today you might have spotted some particularly well-dressed young men and women standing around some particularly vintage vehicles. Though the models may have been noticeably more attractive than the average Princetonian, the clothes did not seem entirely out of place, something the directors must have reckoned when choosing our gorgeous campus as the backdrop for Ralph Lauren Rugby‘s 2012 fall collection.
Here’s a sneak peek at next fall’s fashions and some fangirls that found them:
Princeton circa 1965: poster child for "Ivy Style"
Apparently the U Store’s selection of Princeton-themed Brooks Brothers sweaters and ties wasn’t enough to fill our insatiable, stereotype-fulfilling demand for all things preppy. Coming soon to Palmer Square: an entire Brooks Brothers store, scheduled to open September 1st – just in time for Lawnparties. (Coincidence? I think not.)
Of course, given Princeton’s sartorial reputation, it’s probably more surprising it’s taken them this long to get here. Brooks Brothers will move into Banana Republic’s current location (don’t worry, Banana fans, though the Palmer Square shop closes March 24, they’re relocating just up US 1 in Marketfair), meaning the actual change in your in-town shopping choices will be…almost nonexistent.
Still working on the perfect look for formals? Computer science students Daniel Chyan ’14, Angela Dai ’13, Tiantian Zha ’13 and Amy Zhou ’13 might be able to offer some advice.
They took first place at the Facebook Camp Hackathon last weekend, beating teams that qualified at earlier competitions throughout the country. Their creation? Color Me Bold, a program that analyzes a photo and offers jewelry and accessory suggestions. Whether you want to give your outfit an extra splash of color or just want to see what it takes to win a hackathon, you can test it here.
Some tips from Zha:
If you’re skeptical about taking fashion advice from a computer algorithm, well, Facebook’s seal of approval is pretty convincing. It’s even more impressive considering they had just 24 hours to put it together.
Princeton’s team was also the only one with more women than men, which might account for the fashion-forward hack. Zha said she got the idea when thinking about day-to-day problems she’d like to solve – “accessorizing can definitely take up as much time as I have available. The girls were totally onboard–and outvoted our one male team member.”
Check out an interview with the Princeton team and video from the hackathon here – considerably tamer than the Hollywood version, but the Ripsticks do look pretty cool.
Designing t-shirts to raise awareness about under-the-radar social issues? Now that could start a revolution.
At least, that’s the idea 22-year-old Ben Kung ’10 had in mind when he founded Re-Verb Apparel, a company that donates its profits to support philanthropic efforts around the world. “We don’t just want customers to buy the t-shirts, but for them to use t-shirts as an educational tool,” said Kung. “We want people to ask their friends, ‘Where did you get that shirt?’ and go from there.”
The company’s name underscores this belief. ‘Re-Verb’ has two meanings. First, as a reference to the kind of ‘reverberations’ Kung hopes to create in building social awareness — reflected in the company’s logo, which portrays dominos falling — and second, as a theme around which to organize future spring and fall lines. Each season, Re-Verb will change the verb to draw attention to another social justice issue: think ‘re-concile’ for post-war healing processes, or ‘re-build’ for recovery from natural disaster.
Read more at The Trentonian.
So I was browsing through the U-Store today, wondering why everyone was outfitted in business attire. The click of high heels clacking around the hummus (yes, still Sabra) display, range of ties displayed by various dudes standing in line, and stream of blazer-clad people gingerly picking their way through the snow outside all struck me as a little strange. And then I realized that it’s that time of year again – the Season of Internship Interviews.
Now that the bicker/sign-in craze is dying down (okay, except for Terrace. Keep an eye out for offerings all this week), we’ve moved on to worrying about our IIP/PICS/Bain/Goldman/Google/other-hopeful-options interviews. For those of you who haven’t been poring over Case in Point and preparing examples of a time you overcame an unexpected trial or had to demonstrate leadership under pressure, though, never fear: Career Services is offering a host of last-minute interview how-to sessions.
Tonight, Boston Consulting Group will be at Career Services from 6:30-8:00 p.m. to share tips for mastering the infamous case interview. On Tuesday, Career Services is holding another workshop on general interview skills and strategies. And for B.S.E kids, the “Interviewing for Engineers” session at the Friend Center next Wednesday will teach you how to sell your social and scientific skills.
Seriously Mom, how could I go to my interviews without a light charcoal Aubrey jacket in Italian wool? Girl, please.
But perhaps most exciting of all for Princeton’s prep kingdom is this: J.CREW FASHION NIGHT. Stop by our two-story J.Crew in Palmer Square on Wednesday from 7-9 pm, and enjoy exclusive extra hours just for Princeton students! J. Crew associates will be there to outfit you in business and professional wear, plus you get a special 20% discount. Need I say more?
Even if you don’t have an interview, it might be worth going just for the sale, and to satiate the prepaholic inside you. Come on. Lawnparties is sort of close, right?
Space is limited, so sign up now.
That’s OK. Since the whole point is really to see and be seen (Though I think we can agree that this year was unusually successful on the music side of things), we’ve got photos of some of the best-dressed (or just the preppiest) revelers. Click for larger images.
If these cheekbones could talk: Jane in action (source: The CW)
If you were following our blog these past few months, you know that The Amazing Race isn’t the only reality series with a Princeton connection this fall. This season (or, as the show’s creator/judge/host/resident eccentric Tyra Banks insists on calling it, “cycle”) of America’s Next Top Model features junior Jane Randall among its bevy of smizing beauties.
Randall, a former member of the lacrosse team who hails from Baltimore, MD, is back at Princeton while the show airs (Wednesday nights at 8 pm on The CW). So far we’ve only seen Jane in the show’s casting episode, in which she had a scant few minutes of direct screentime. Still, that was enough time for Jane to: 1) receive the first profanity-bleeping of the cycle (for her reaction to the show’s new grand prize, a cover and two spreads in Vogue Italia); and 2) be labeled “privileged” by one of the show’s judges for attending Princeton and owning horses.
How the 5’9″ History major did going forward in the competition is everyone-but-Jane’s guess. But while Jane can’t reveal her ultimate fate on the show, she did call us last week to talk about her Top Model experience.
The Ink: What made you want to apply for the show?
Jane: In October in I was in New York with my mom, and a photographer approached me in Starbucks and asked if I was a model, and I said no. But it was always something I kind of wanted to do. So I went back to my dorm and actually took a couple pictures in my dorm room with my roommates. I sent it in to some agencies and got some calls back. And then I sent them in to Top Model — I was watching Gossip Girl on the CW website, and there was actually a link to apply for the next Cycle…
Why was modeling something you always wanted to try?
It’s always been something I’ve thought about doing, I guess ever since my growth spurt. People have always said, “Oh, you’re tall and lanky, you should be a model.” But I never had any idea about how to go about doing it. And then I kind of took it as a sign when the photographer approached me. I figured, why not send in some pictures and find out if I could actually do it?
Before the show, who or what did you think of when you heard the word “model”?
Mainly editorials in magazines. I wasn’t very familiar with runway [modeling], I’ve never really watched fashion shows. I guess an image in a magazine was what I thought of when I heard the word.
And now? Do you think of yourself? Do you consider yourself a model?
That’s a good question. Before the show, I definitely did not — it’s something I [just] wanted to do. But through the course of the show, you’ll see I’m trying to figure out if I can.
Editor’s Note: For full Jane Randall coverage, check out our archive here.
This fall will be all about reality TV for Princeton students–before CDY and Jonathan Schwartz ’10 even make their Amazing Race appearance (Sept. 26 on CBS).
Cycle 15 of America’s Next Top Model begins next month (Sept. 8 on the CW) with Jane Randall ’12, who played lacrosse for the Tigers until this year. Check her out the show’s US Weekly spread (via Jezebel), and see her video on the ANTM website.
The winner of the cycle–whoever masters the art of smiling with her eyes–will be on the cover of Vogue Italia, not Seventeen, as usual. That’s thanks to judge Andre Leon Talley. From the LA Times:
“Tyra really wanted to take the series to sort of another level,” explained Dawn Ostroff, the CW’s president of entertainment, after announcing the change Thursday at the network’s upfront presentation at Madison Square Garden. “When Andre Leon Talley, who is editor at large at Vogue, came on board, she wanted to really make these models high-fashion models. And high fashion, if you are in the fashion business, is Italian Vogue. Anybody who is in Italian Vogue literally makes it in the fashion business, so this is a really big step for the show.”
We featured Jane in a Press Club Style Guide video last spring:
Update:
Here’s Jane’s video on the ANTM site (via BuddyTV):
Update II: Pictures and spoilers after the jump.
This is a real thing! (from stylelist.com)
Lilly Pulitzer has collaborated with, um, animal crackers? to bring you the cutest animal cracker box ever!
“Rather than the classic red circus-train design, the rectangular boxes are illustrated with a menagerie of animals. It’s a distinctively Lilly look, with a breezy, sketchy style and a bright pink, green and yellow palette.”
Appropriate: The proceeds will go to tigers! Get it, you guys? Apparently, Kraft Foods, which owns Nabisco, which owns Barnum’s Animal Crackers, supports tiger conservation efforts in Sumatra, through the World Wildlife Fund.
Anyway, I saw them at the C-Store and was going to get a box, but then I remembered this and backed away quickly. Which means there are still boxes left for you, dear Inkblots! Like ten of them!
Ever wonder what Princeton would look like in a German infomercial? We hadn’t either. That is, until we saw this video, which refashions Princeton as a German clothing store:
To see the whole video, go to the post.
