Feel Like a Million Bucks!

Heinz-Ulrich von Boffke models a vintage summer weight Corbin suit, Brooks Bothers necktie, and recrafted Allen Edmonds shoes.

No doubt about it, men. When you wear a suit you enjoy (with alterations of course) along with the right shoes and accessories, you feel like a million bucks. Even when the various elements comprising that ensemble come in at well below that price. The items featured in today's photograph include:

1) A vintage U.S.-made (w/union labels) summer weight glen plaid suit by Corbin @ US$30 (thrifted)

2) Suit Alterations @ US$20

3) Allen Edmonds Shoes @ US$15 (thrifted)

4) Brooks Brothers Necktie @ FREE (from Mr. Midwester, a fellow menswear enthusiast)

Not custom-made bespoke British or Italian items of course, but not too shabby either relative to how so many men look these days. Even those who work in ostensibly "white collar" office positions. This particular ensemble certainly put an extra spring in my step as I walked to campus at lunch and home again later in the afternoon.

And an interesting thought drifted across my mind during the return trip. It dawned on me how much I enjoy dressing nicely, and how good that makes me feel, both physically and mentally. Sports jackets and dress pants certainly achieve that for me, but it is a suit, in particular, that really does it. Silly, vapid, and superfical? Maybe.

But consider this. If more men realized how much dressing nicely can positively affect one's mood, outlook, and attitude about oneself, one's work, and life in general on any given day of the week, these same guys might be more willing to snap out of the perpetual slob man-child aesthetic that dominates the landscape in so many places in 2013. They might, just might then make more of an effort in how they present themselves to the rest of the world. Just some sartorial food for thought.

In any case, when you wear stuff that fits your body type and have a little fun with patterns, you'll find that being dressed up is actually fun, comfortable, and makes you feel especially good about yourself and abilities. So, why not dress up more often than most of us in most walks of life need to these days? It certainly beats the alternative. Likewise, it makes our own lives, and those of people whose paths we cross, just a bit nicer. And isn't that reason enough to leave behind the sagging sweatpants, year-round cargo shorts, flip-flops, unbrushed hair, and backwards baseball caps? As I say, just food for thought.

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Up North Style. . .

Bad Dad makes a friend. YMP and Bad Dad on the shores of Lake Michigan. Or was that Crystal Lake? The Grand Duchess takes a selfie in her kayak. How NOT to impress the girls sunning themselves along the river. YMP and Bad Dad kayaking on the Platte River headed toward Loon Lake. J ust back from a week in Northern Michigan in a charming and spacious house on the banks of the Betsie River outside of Thompsonville. A largely pleasant seven days despite some challenging episodes with the Young Master, who has picked up some very questionable habits and language from his friends in the 8th Grade during the school year just ended. But otherwise, we enjoyed ourselves and contemplated remaining for a few days longer since the house was available. In the end, we decided to return home as planned originally since neither my wife, nor I wanted to spend the remaining days chained to our computers in Zoom meetings from our vacation destination. I actually managed to leave the laptop and ip

Mid-June Thursday Style. . .

A nother pretty typical variation on the theme for late spring, summer, and very early fall. I'm a huge fan of Madras and have several such shirts in the seasonal rotation. Lightweight, exceedingly comfortable, and even dressy when pressed and tucked in, which is the usual way of things here at Totleigh in the Wold. Now, if I had my druthers, I'd still rather be skiing the trails in the upper half of "The Mitten" (of Michigan), in the Upper Peninsula, or Ontario. But summers ain't so bad either, and I'd look pretty funny walking around in cross-country ski attire during June. -- Heinz-Ulrich

A Lazy Saturday at the End of June. . .

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Classic Style

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