TOP PICKS SPRING 2011: MINIMAL PREP

Let's see what happens when you mix the beachcombers and tea drinkers then add a splash of vodka.
You get the best part of the whole show, that's what — an all-expenses-paid free pass to ride the ride with and watch the pristine wallpaper peel up and curl at the edges. The idea of free and easy preppy keen in soft and silky silhouettes makes my nerve endings tingle with glee. I love the addition of a tassel here, an exposed collarbone there... but most of all I love the introduction of loose, comfortable fabrics into an otherwise statically-defined prissy wardrobe. (Need I mention I'm a prepster part time?)

My top picks for minimalistic prepster: Yigal Azrouël, 3.1 Philip Lim, ADAM, Band of Outsiders, BCBG Max Azria, DKNY, Karen Walker, Lyn Devon, Michael Kors, Organic by John Patrick, Ruffian, Steven Alan, Theyskens' Theory, Tibi, Tommy Hilfiger and United Bamboo.