Classic Style: Casual Friday

Friday, warm, and with bright blue skies. Springtime just like it out to be, so why not break out some more Madras?

Here's one possible way to do Casual Fridays a bit better than is the sad norm in many places these days. Perhaps the most interesting item pictured here is the vintage Rooster cotton Madras necktie, which was actually handwoven in India and sold at one of the now defunct Carroll Reed Ski Shops in New England. I stumbled on it in a vintage clothing store in Champaign, Illinois two or three summers ago and picked it up for less than US$5. And then there are the Allen Edmonds spectator shoes, something you never see in my corner of the world.

The khakis and shirt are slightly rumpled, which strike me as perfect for a relaxed end-of-the-week morning in early May. The blazer is one of four in my wardrobe -- two heavy flannel ones for winter and two lighter for spring and summer -- and is the lightest in weight. During the summers, when there is little occasion for me to dress for anything beyond shorts and short sleeves, it is my go to jacket for those occasional visits to the dentist, or errands where I need to look more pulled together and like I might possibly know which end is up.

As I always say to my students, "If you aren't interested in what I have to say at the front of the room, then I might at least be somewhat interesting to look at for 50-75 minutes, depending on the day of the week." Attire today notwithstanding, I had 'em rolling in the aisles with my Good Fellas imitation at the end of the 10am class. The context was what might happen if any students in that class fail to deliver finalized term papers by the appointed due date in about ten days' time. Don't mess with the Godfather!

-- Heinz-Ulrich

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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. . .

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

Classic Style

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