Seven Sisters Style: The All-American Preppy Look

“...a beautifully illustrated, intensively researched celebration of the all-American preppy style pioneered by the women of the Seven Sisters Colleges. The Seven Sisters' style changed how all women dressed and it became known the world over as inherently American. A lot of ink has been spilled in the past few years celebrating male Ivy style — Seven Sisters Style is, finally, the companion piece we've been waiting for.”

-REFINERY29

“Tuite is the author of the sensational book, Seven Sisters Style: The All-American Preppy Look, a nostalgic look at the birth of prep on the prestigious female-only campuses of Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar and Wellesley, where style icons such as Katharine Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy and Meryl Streep spent their college days.”

-DUJOUR.COM

“[seven sisters style is] an unusual, delightful book born of diligent research. Rebecca, who studied briefly at Vassar, has realised the book as a labour of love and an earnest attempt to show the world a different side to women’s fashion – an elite world made entirely of remarkable women doing remarkable things.

-Irish times

“HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHERE TRUE STYLE OR FASHION KNOW-HOW COMES FROM?[…] SWOT UP ON College STYLE IN THIS FASCINATING BOOK. REBECCA C. TUITE HAS DONE HER HOMEWORK WITH FLAIR AND PANACHE.”

-VERVE MAGAZINE, NZ

"Fashion Titles You Need to Read This Spring: This is a fantastic photo and essay collection on the underappreciated role of women’s college campuses in establishing the codes of preppy fashion."

-InStyle.com

"Billed as a response to Take Ivy — the 1965 Japanese photo book documenting the preppy style of male Ivy Leaguers — Seven Sisters Style celebrates the style evolution of the American college girl, from calico and cardigans to Bermuda shorts and, eventually, jeans. Icons include Katharine Hepburn (Bryn Mawr class of 1928), Jackie Kennedy (who attended Vassar for two years before transferring to George Washington University), and Meryl Streep (Vassar class of 1971)."

-New York Magazine

"Ralph Lauren and Perry Ellis appropriated Seven Sisters style to their own ends, making huge amounts of money. Prep became a bona-fide catwalk look, with the ragged jeans getting a clean-up and the scratchy camel polo coats reworked in luxurious silk mixes. The preppy look became something to aspire to as opposed to something a woman would wear on the way to lectures. […] Tuite’s book is a thorough look at exactly how and why these changes happened, but it’s not just about fashion. It’s a book about strong, smart women. The fact they were so well-dressed is a welcome side- effect of their personal innovations.”

-Irish times

Interior Photographs of Seven Sisters Style via TomboyStyle/The Reed Blog