While written as a tounge-in-cheek examination of preppy culture, Birnbach unleashed on society a new interpretation of the collar. Popping became a staple at prep schools along the east coast and was featured in the 80’s classics
Trading Places,
The Breakfast Club and
St. Elmo’s Fire.
Nowadays, the trend has hit the mainstream. The look appears on everyone from college frat boys to flamboyantly gay men to entertainment high rollers. Rap mogul Kanye West has often sported one. Usher Raymond had a 2001 single called “Pop Ya Collar.”
More recently, Smirnoff has used the look in its YouTube viral video entitled
“Tea Partay”, a promotion of their hard tea drink. The video, a rap parody, includes a shout out to “MV” (Martha’s Vineyard) and asks, “Where my WASPs at?”
So the look is pop-ular. Do people care? Adopting a preppy look is solely a personal prerogative. Fashion is ideally considered an unalienable personal choice, right?
In this case, that’s not entirely true.
Despite logic, a debate is raging among college students and bloggers over this fashion trend. Is the popped collar a mark of confident self-expression, or a symbol of preppy arrogance?
Some say the latter. Detractors of the popped collar movement include www.poppedcollarsarelame.com and the Anti-Popped Collar Club (APCC). The sociological impact prompted the APCC chairman “Jason” to request anonymity for fear of retribution from his friends who are members of Popping Nation.
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