Preppy style sailed along in its coastal elite enclaves throughout the 20th century until the ’80s, when the look exploded into the mainstream thanks to The Official Preppy Handbook, a satire on how to 'attain' the preppy lifestyle. The success of the book coincided with that of Ralph Lauren, both of which focused on the preppy; together, brands like these helped pull the style out of university campuses and into the real world. ’80s preppy is now seen as a pure expression of the style, but even then, outsider designers were reinterpreting “traditional” preppy hallmarks.