The Stylish Man Has "Character". . .

An interesting post yesterday at The Daily Prep on the nature of "character" has prompted today's thought here at The Average Guy's Guide to Classic Style. Here it is. The truly stylish man has character.

What exactly is character? Off the top of my head, character includes various intangible traits like selflessness, charity, kindness, consideration, benevolence, and forbearance. The Josephson Institute's Center for Youth Ethics describes character in considerably more detail, breaking it down into six distinct pillars, which are: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. Finally, The Art of Manliness featured an interesting post on the subject of character here.

It strikes me -- taking into account our incredibly self-absorbed, superficial, LOL, OMG, celebrity-obsessed, and reality TV-flooded era of false bonhomie (look it up) -- that few people seem to have any notion of character. And you certainly never hear character discussed within the general hubbub that passes for public discourse anymore. At least not in the United States. Nonetheless, average guys who want to kick up their everyday style several notches would do well reacquaint themselves with the concept. It costs nothing.

Here's a little challenge, then, to readers of this blog. Let's do our utmost to abide by and practice the concepts outlined above in our daily lives and interactions. It would certainly help us to help the world become a marginally better place in which to live. And hey! No mention of shoes or attire at all. What's going on here?

-- Heinz-Ulrich

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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

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