Confessions of an Ex-Preppy

BERKELEY, Calif. — Hastings Hart, a writer in Berkeley, California, has started a blog on men’s fashion, titled Confessions of an Ex-Preppy (http://www.confessionsofanexpreppy.com/).

It is an unusual move for Hart, 43, who has spent most of his free time in life obsessively reading the news, writing about political psychology, and avoiding popular culture like a politician avoids responsibility. He has not thought about what he has worn since high school, when he learned to dress like the Southern preppy he was.

Hart, who for years had been wearing the same style of khakis every single day and whose shirts were nearly all the same, said, “I used to think that anybody concerned with fashion was as dumb as a box of rocks.” But then he fell in love with a woman who is fascinated with fashion and who is smart as heck. “Naturally, I had to conclude that the empirical evidence was strongly indicating that thinking about men’s fashion wasn’t going to lower my I.Q.”

“I still want to publish my book on politics, because it would bring about world peace, but if this fashion thing takes off, then that will have to wait,” Hart said.

Because of this psychological aspect, Hart’s blog is an unusual take on the fashion world, which by definition is all about extraversion. For example, in one recent post, he wrote about a fashion advertisement, but he wrote hardly anything about the clothes. Most of the post was analysis of a psychological complex of Hart’s that had been triggered by the ad. “If my blog becomes a movie, it will be titled Revenge of the Introverts,” Hart said.

Ex-Preppies Start 12-Step Organization
by Sue Flay

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A group of former preppies today announced the foundation of Preppies Anonymous, a 12-step organization to help ex-preppies escape their addiction to L.L. Bean.

Biff Stanwick, the founder, said that a blog by Hastings Hart, Confessions of an Ex-Preppy (http://www.confessionsofanexpreppy.com/), was the catalyst that led to the group’s formation. “I had been in denial,” said Biff, whose addiction to L.L. Bean cost him several hundred dollars and led his wife and kids to leave him for Dolce and Gabbana.

Reading Confessions of an Ex-Preppy helped Biff see specifically how he’d been buying the wrong kinds of clothes and helped him to make amends. “I’ve been wearing collars without buttons for three months now,” Biff said. “I know I’m only one Bean catalog away from being a preppy, but as long as Hastings keeps posting, I’m confident that I can stay this way.”

Yet Another Blog Created
by Hugh Jass

BERKELEY, Calif. — According to Technorati, there are more than 112 million blogs in existence, with 175,000 being added every day. But after thinking hard for years about all the world’s political problems, Hastings Hart decided that what the world needs now is one more blog, Confessions of an Ex-Preppy (http://www.confessionsofanexpreppy.com/).

One of Hart’s friends, reached by phone, told a reporter, “Great, another damn blog to keep up with. Tell Hastings thanks.”

A Berkeley liberal named Tom, who asked that his last name not be used because of Hart’s well-known propensity to take revenge on his enemies with blistering sarcasm whose erudition makes it undefeatable, said, “A blog on fashion? We’re trying to save the whales, Free Tibet, and stop the occupation of Berkeley by the Marines. Hastings wants us to give up our tie-dyes?”

When asked why he felt he had to foist yet another blog on the world, Hart said, “The empirical evidence strongly indicates that there’s never ever been a blog like mine!”