Eco Prep

You might see this Prep on I-84 driving his Volvo wagon with muddied tires through Farmington with a Colby College and Kimball Union sticker on the back. He may have some Mums he purchased in Litchfield on his way back from visiting family in Bronxville. He is a Eco Prep. Eco (by no way in relation to lefty liberal Green Party types) Prep is a sect of the "Preppy" culture that is a more casual and progressive than the rest of the clan, but still Conservative by main-stream views. They can be found in their natural habitat in places like north west Connecticut, Duchess County in New York, the Berkshires, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Virginia. They live in eighteenth century colonials with faded Laura Ashley wallpaper and Liberty print drapes. They usually have a conservatory, (built in the early eighties) and a large shed purchased as a kit and put up by four preps as a weekend project (team building exercise). The children of Eco Preps go to schools like Kents Hill School, Kimball Union Academy, Suffield Academy and Deerfield Academy (very rural and woodsy locations, but still close enough to home or the summer house). There they spend time hiking, kayaking, and gaining preference for Patagonia fleece. Once on to university, its usually Amherst, Dartmouth, Colby, Bates, Williams, or any small private New England liberal arts college (close to skiing). Majors include Biology, History, Art History, and English. Summers are spent at the family compound in Maine and Christmas break at the ski house in Okemo. Skiing, camping, sailing, kayaking and hiking are favorite activities of the Eco Prep. Some Eco Preps partake in hunt and shooting, but are partial to fishing; hunting and shooting is more of a Old Boy Prep activity. Eco Preps dress just like most country/rural living preps (tattersall, tweed, wide-wale cords, Barbour, wool jumpers, Been mocs and wellies) but also have Patagoina fleeces and storm jackets and Marmont puffa vests. They also are more apt for wearing thick LL Bean plaid shirts and barn coats. Volvos and Subarus are the go to autos for Eco Preps; they are practical and made very well. Land Rovers are also popular (room for the farmers market), and a few have Mercedes wagon (if married to a Vogue Prep, it has to be German). If the young Eco Prep lives in the city, he may use a mountain bike to get around town (never a "fixie" bike). The Eco Prep may seem a little un-Prep or off-the-rails at times, but if you get to the core, they are solidly Prep.