Casual End of the Semester Style. . .

Who IS that dangerously unbalanced man??!! My take on an off Broadway out-of-work actor's (a.k.a. a waiter's) uniform.

While I initially entertained thoughts of sending off the students from my Horror Cinema course with a double-breasted suit of some kind this afternoon, when we met one final time for them to turn in their term papers, I opted for corduroy and tweed in the end.

A slight cold has kind of taken it out me today, and I simply did not feel like suiting up. You know how over-the-counter medications can sometimes clear your head congestion, but at the same time you don't exactly feel 100%? Yeah. It's like that. A bit woozy. Hence the lopsided grin and rather more relaxed combination of clothes along with no necktie above.

Anyway, here's a breakdown of everything shown:

* Land's End Harris Tweed Jacket
* No-name Silver-Gray Italian Silk Pocket Square
* Land's End Corduroy Jeans
* L.L. Bean Shetland Wool Sweater
* Land's End Hyde Park Button-Down Tattersall Oxford Cloth Shirt
* Olive and Cream Argyll Socks
* Allen Edmond's Suede Camp Moccasins
* J. Peterman University College-Dublin Scarf (A Christmas gift from good, ol' Mom sold by The original REAL J. Peterman. It's 20+ years old.)

The combination shown above consists of thrifted items, gifts, and things purchased at huge end-of-season discounts. The point? If you shop carefully, pay attention to getting things that will combine easily with stuff you already own, drop clear hints when gift-giving occasions like birthdays and Christmas are on the horizon, get decent quality items (not necessarily the most expensive), and choose classics over current trendy items, it's not hard to assemble a versatile classic man's wardrobe in fairly short order. It just takes a little awareness, desire, knowledge, and determination.

It strikes me that attire similar to that pictured might also be equally suitable for all but the most formal Christmas- and holiday-related activities, events, and meals in which most of us might be included over the next few weeks. Certainly here in the United States where most people have developed an almost pathologic, unfounded, and irrational fear of anything approaching formality where dress and polite behavior are concerned.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

P.S.
It has finally occurred to me why so many people seem to fear dressing and behaving appropriately. . . lack of familiarity with the concept of doing so. That's it. We tend to shy away from and avoid things with which we are unfamiliar, and sadly, thanks to a variety of social trends over the last almost half century, how to dress and conduct oneself within and outside the home are completely foreign concepts to more people than ever before. I am sure many might take issue with that observation, but I remain reasonably certain that it is true nonetheless. But isn't the notion of presenting ourselves in the best possible light at all time -- a greater awareness of what is appropriate and when as well as greater consideration for others -- something we should all work to reintroduce? I think so.

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. . .

A sleepy first half of the weekend here at Totleigh. Warmer and quite humid ahead of an approaching cool front here in Mid-Michigan. Perfect for yet another pair of chino shorts an a seersucker shirt -- tucked in of course -- with the usual leather deck shoes and ribbon belt. Otherwise, not much accomplished beyond a page or so of writing and monkeying around with audio settings for an upcoming podcast episode. However, I was not completely useless yesterday! I made a huge fruit salad for dinner, which the Grand Duchess and I enjoyed a short while later at the table on the back porch. The Young Master, as is his wont on Saturday evenings, took his dinner on a tray in the TV room upstairs where he whiled away a couple of hours on Flight Simulator, flying some sort of commercial airliner to some destination across the Atlantic or Pacific. I would have loved that sort of technology at about nine or 10 way back during the late 1970s, aka The Stone Age. As it is, my sister and

guyDecember 12, 2014 at 8:22 AM
You have frequently commented on the desirability of conducting yourself well especially in public and at formal events. Very often your guidance has been aimed at the younger generation. Well oldies are just as guilty!

On monday evening I was at a formal dinner and I took along my father as my guest. Three quarters of the way through dinner, this old boy (in his mid 80's) stated going off about something and directed his ire down the table in my direction. This was because I was responsible for organising an earlier part of the evening elsewhere pre dinner and he decided I should take responsibility for this apparent omission.

Now I have pretty thick skin but after he didn't get much of a response from me he turned on at least four others and was pretty rude to them. He even riled my father who had absolutely nothing to do with it but considered his behaviour complaining down the table in front of guests was conduct unbecoming and 'lower deck'.

Thus one fairly minor matter escalated and caused no end of grief. I was always told to think before you speak. I just hope his behaviour has no long term consequences.

regards,
guy
WSTKS-FM WorldwideDecember 12, 2014 at 9:51 AM
Agreed. Sadly, rudeness and coarse behavior are not just the preserve of the young. I am always even more taken aback, however, when it comes from people who are old enough to know better.

Best Regards,

Heinz-Ulrich

Classic Style

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