Older New Yorkers sometimes complain they don't recognize their city in the "reality" programs of Bravo TV, which over several seasons has constructed a kind of Potemkin Manhattan populated by flighty fashion designers, cartoonish housewives and bratty private-school children.

But the young have no such qualms. Walking around the city this summer, it seems the popularity of shows like "NYC Prep" (whose season finale is tonight) has created a kind of boomerang effect as the visual style of the television fantasy filters back down to the streets. And the Prep-ster who has spawned the most obvious imitators is PC, the moneyed proto-villain whose personal style runs to tight tee-shirts, low-buttoned cardigans and a signature scarf.

Peter Carey "PC" Peterson is the 18-year-old grandson of former Nixon Commerce Secretary and Blackstone billionaire, Pete Peterson. (The society gossip web site CityFile has a neat summary of where PC and family sit in the New York hierarchy.) His good looks and murky motives have made him the most compelling character among a cast who, should any of them mature into self-awareness, might deeply regret participating in the program.

"I actually think his style is cute because he has a signature look which is pretty advanced for a teenager," says Paper magazine fashion guru Mickey Boardman, an admitted fan.

PC-alikes in New York have copied his product-heavy vertical hair-do, unshaven jaw, and large cotton scarf looped once around the neck in the style of the Arabic shemagh. It is accompanied by a tight tee in white or a pale color, and a v-neck cardigan buttoned just below the chest. His occasional blazers with contrast trimmed, notched lapels are not yet so common, but may start to appear in the fall.

PC is less successful when he tries to dress older than his years, sometimes opting for a suit jacket and thickly-knotted tie which makes him resemble a minor DC Comics villain called Klarion the Witch Boy. But perhaps his true fictional antecedent is Alexis Colby, the "Dynasty" diva whose scheming became synonymous with her style and the embodiment of '80s excess. No doubt his grandfather is thrilled.