J. Press and SWIMS Style!

As above.

At last, the autumn weather is here.  So, a gray, rainy and cool day today here in Mid-Michigan.  Hence the J. Press 3/2 roll tweed sports jacket, ocbd, wool necktie, corduroy pants, and Norwegian-made SWIMS to protect the Allen Edmonds gunboats.  Not shown are the accompanying London Fog trenchcoat that has served me for almost 20 years along with the cream, red, and navy plaid umbrella (with a genuine wooden handle and shaft) by Brooks Brothers.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

So below.

Ivy Style Necktie Tuesday. . .

The upper half, including the limited edition Ivy Style club necktie and a cotton 3/2 roll jacket from Brook's Brothers.

The lower half, featuring socks by Dapper classics and Land's End dress chinos.  A bit matchy-matchy with the socks, but I couldn't manage to locate a plain navy or tan pair in the early morning darkness. Canary yellow might have been interesting though!

Finally, a refreshingly cool October day that doesn't leave you damp and sweaty after walking from one side of campus to another at a brisk pace to make a lunchtime meeting.  A little olive green, tan, blue, and red here today.

-- Heinz-Ulrich von B.

An (Almost) Drones Club Necktie Thursday. . .

The upper half this bright blue October Thursday, featuring a must-iron Brooks Brothers  university stripe OCBD shirt worn with a BB 'Makers' tie that is strikingly like the club tie worn by members of P. G. Wodehouse's Drones Club. . .  save that the stripes slant the wrong way of course.

And the lower half, featuring a chopped off pair of Allen Edmonds chocolate suede brogues and a pair of Land's End dress chinos.

Something between a G. Bruce Boyer and a Bertie Wooster look here in Mid-Michigan today.  Still a bit too warm for tweed and corduroy but a very pleasant lower 70s Fahrenheit (about 22 C. give or take) in any case.

-- Heinz-Ulrich.

Belvest Tuesday One Last Time for the Season. . .

 The upper half during early morning coffee and work email before heading across campus to my office for the obligatory office hours.  In other words, additional prep time before class meets.

And the lower half.

Sunny and warm again here in Mid-Michigan today, so I hauled out the cotton Belvest suit for one final wearing early this morning.  

Other items included a genuine Panama hat sent to me by good ol' Mom last June, a cream-colored cotton pocket square from Put This On, recently recrafted Allen Edmonds shoes, and a peach-colored Italian silk necktie by Kenneth Roberts.  I must get a few pairs of navy cotton dress socks at some point.  The several pairs I have now are wool and too warm for this sort of Indian Summer weather.  I made do with these, but they're a little busy.  Fortunately, you can't see 'em when I stand.

The Belvest suit is something I splurged on last spring, new with original price tags still intact, but I nevertheless managed to pick it up for a mere fraction of the suggested retail price.  The moral here is that if you know what you are after and keep your eyes open, eventually you'll find it.  Inexpensively too.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

A rare standing selfie before I changed into chino shorts and pique polo top after arriving home early this afternoon.  Only two dozen student papers left to read and grade before Thursday!

Ushering in the Cooler Fall Weather (aka J. Press Pheasant Necktie Thursday). . .

The top early this morning, featuring the J. Press pheasant necktie. . .

A chilly, partly cloudy early autumn day here in mid-Michigan today.  Quite a pleasant contrast to the early art of the week.  And a perfect reason to break out some suede brogues, wool socks, a flannel sports jacket by Pal Zileri along with a heavy blue OCBD shirt and, of course, the J. Press tie.  Thanks for looking. 

I think if more guys realized that one can have fun with dressing up, they might not dread it so much.  I certainly enjoy myself, and looking pulled together never fails to add a spring to my step even in the midst of digging out from under a now towering stack of student papers, which accumulated yesterday and today.  The first of several team projects this semester.  Wish me luck.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

And the bottom, featuring Marino wool dress socks by Dapper Classics and some very comfortable suede shoes by Allen Edmonds.

The Waning Days of Summer. . .

A Polo Ralph Lauren Italian-made linen number I splurged for and bought new in May 2016 worn with, among other items, a tie Mom and Stepdad brought to me from Milan in1996 when I house-sat for them that summer -- looking after the dogs and, yes, a parrot -- worn with a pair of recently recrafted Allen Edmonds spectator shoes.

A navy blazer (with heavy metal University of Wisconsin buttons added later) and gabardine dress pants along with a yellow OCBD and a vintage Rooster Madras necktie.  The last item was made in Sri Lanka but purchased from a vintage clothing sore several years ago in Champaign, Illinois.

And finally, a vintage seersucker suit by Abercrombie & Fitch, made long before the company began producing cheap, throw-away fashion for middle and high school kids.

Enjoying the final days of summer-like weather and related attire here in Mid-Michigan. Cooler, more comfortable conditions are here now thank goodness.  Bring on the tweeds, corduroy, and plaid wool neckties!

-- Heinz-Ulrich 

August in September Style. . .

On the top half, a vintage Madras jacket by Corbin that has been in the warm weather rotation for a couple of summers. 

Well, the calendar might suggest that we have started Fall, but the mercury has climbed to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 Celsius) here in Mid-Michigan today.  Hot enough to forego my usual necktie this morning and haul out something that is normally put into storage after the Labor Day Weekend, namely the Madras jacket.  I know.  I know.  But I needed something light and airy in my ongoing efforts to avoid becoming one of the Slob Borg who prevail in 2017.  Needless to say, you don't see too many items like this jacket in real life these days, and certainly not on the typical university campus.  The same can be said of the Panama hat which topped off the ensemble.

-- Heinz-Ulrich von B.



P.S. Saturday

The unseasonably hot weather is slated to continue for another few days, so the seersucker and linen suits will make their final (?) appearances for the season early in the coming week.  Outlandish and rumpled by average standards in 2017, yes, but I'd prefer comfort and style, in a classic sense, to the alternative.   What's funny is that even very poor people in Mexico, a hot country where I have spent quite a bit of time in the last 15 years or so, manage to dress better (yet appropriately for the climate) than the vast bulk of people here in the U.S. when the mercury approaches the triple digits.  Newsflash!  A sweaty t-shirt (or similar item) sticking to your back, stomach, and armpits is not "comfortable."

On the lower half, Land's End dress chinos that have been in the wardrobe or 10+ years, a pair of cotton to-the-knee socks by Dapper Classics, and loafers by Allen Edmonds.