Classic Style

The top half for today, featuring a Canali flannel sports jacket, Brooks Brothers OCBD shirt, a 1990s vintage Ralph Lauren necktie (a little wide, but not unattractively so), and an orange-brown and black silk pocket square (actually a lady's scarf).  Given the rain and wet this morning, the bottom consisted of my rainy day gear: a pair of old Levis Docker chinos and a pair of Johnston Murphy penny loafers.  Not the greatest items, but they help me save the better shoes and pants for nicer weather. A nother necktie that I like a lot although it is a bit wider than the (apparently) preferred 3" (or so) width. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Today's tie, a vintage handmade silk number by Orvis.  The shirt is a Lands End 'Original Oxford' (like you can't get anymore) that I've had since 2003 or maybe '04.  It's beginning to fray a bit around the edges of the collar and cuffs.  The missing jacket is an olive green cotton sports jacket by Brooks Brothers. N eckties.  My narcotic of choice. --Heinz-Ulrich

The Outer Banks of North Carolina in the vicinity of Duck, Nagshead, and Kitty Hawk where we sometimes spent two weeks in the summer during those years when we were not able to join everyone else -- or chose not to -- in South Carolina at the family house in North Myrtle Beach. F eeling a bit nostalgic for family vacations of the past this morning.  The Upper Midwest, the lakes of Minnesota, the forests of Wisconsin and Michigan, not to mention the Great Lakes are wonderful in their way, but it just ain't the same thing.  Nope.  This morning, I'm a bit homesick for the places along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States where I grew up, and where my family spent so much time in various coastal areas during the summers through the late 198os. One of the places that was popular with the family when I was young, and throughout my mother's childhood and teenage years from the 1940s to the early 60s, was the Outer Banks region of North Carolina.  The last year we ren

    O ne can never be overdressed in my opinion, especially on this campus where there are plenty of male professors and administrative muckety-mucks walking around who know what they are doing when it comes to matters sartorial.  My own garb today included a vintage Corbin Glen Plaid silk-wool suit, a recrafted pair of Allen Edmonds shoes, a Black Watch regimental striped tie by Reis of New Haven (one of my very best Central Illinois thrifting finds ever), and socks by Dapper Classics.   I know, I know.  A bit much in the sock department given the other patterns and colors.  But I mistakenly thought I grabbed a pair of plain navy Merino wool socks in the dim light of morning.  It was not to be however.  I was pressed for time this morning and went with what I found easily in the overstuffed sock drawer.  Not shown are the white linen pocket square and the blue and white seersucker braces that I chose in lieu of a belt. Tomorrow is another Hawaiian Shirt Gonzo Friday, and whi

One of many familiar barns  very close to my grandparents' old place in District Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.  Note the Pennsylvania German hexsigns to ward off evil spirits.  If memory serves, this farm is where we once pulled over on a frigid early winter's evening when I was about nine to let the farmer know that his large herd of Holstein dairy cattle was loose and spread out across and along the road.  He must have been hard of hearing because my sister and I banged on a barn window for quite some time until our knuckles were blue.  I guess the old man thought we were playing a prank on him because he was nasty when he finally noticed us and came to see what we wanted. A beautiful panorama of the Berks County countryside. The annual Devon Horseshow, closer in to Philadelphia on the Mainline, was a favorite event for Mom, my sister, and me.  Always wanted to ride in it, but never could get the hang of cantering properly on horseback, so jumping was o

Y ou know.  For inspiration. -- Heinz-Ulrich

W ith all of this talk about sports jackets, neckties, shoes, and the like, it is sometimes easy to neglect the fact that the stylish man, in a classic sense, needs to keep his hair trimmed and visit his hair-cutter of choice routinely.  Our son, The Young Master, and I were long overdue for haircuts, but life has been hectic since our return from Germany last month, and we have had to delay things a bit longer than usual.  We have become somewhat"shaggy" in other words.  That observations aside -- and it was one my late maternal grandfather, bless him, made occasionally when I was a child and teenager -- the two of us had a delightful experience earlier this afternoon at the Okemos Barber Shop in Okemos Village, Michigan.   In a nutshell, perfect "short back and sides" haircuts for us both, nicely tapered with enough hair left up top and in the front to part on the left.  A pleasant, relaxed atmosphere with a very skilled staff, who are chatty but not overly

The top half today.  The navy blazer (just back from the dry-cleaner's) with a yellow paisley pocket square peeking out from its pocket are sadly absent here.  And the bottom half.  The belt was tan leather to, more or less, match the monkstrap loafers.  The khakis are a recently purchased pair of Land's End non-iron chinos, which might offend ivy/trad/preppy purists, but there you go.  The pants nevertheless hold a crease well and stand up to lots of wear and tear, so long as a jar of spaghetti sauce doesn't explode in your lap. W asting time with the smartphone this morning during office hours.  It's funny what you do once the day's prep is done and no students come to see you.  That will, no doubt, happen later in the semester once the first papers have been returned in about three weeks' time.   There are always a few students whose work earns a lower grade than they expect, which they naturally challenge.  That might be thanks to the tend

A selection of heavier (and unironed) oxford cloth button-down shirts in my very cramped temporary closet.  From left to right, two shades of blue, sea green, red, and pink university stripe shirts by Land's End, Brooks Brothers, and L.L. Bean. L ike many men in the online 'style' universe, cooler fall weather cannot arrive fast enough for yours truly.  Yesterday was comfortable, today is downright cool, and, I believe, the forecast for the weekend looks promising.  Gray, rainy, and cool.  Ahhhhh.  However, the longer term forecast for next week seems to indicate that warmer weather will return by midweek, or so.  This being Michigan, that could always change, of course, and quickly too.   When Mother Nature finally makes up her mind, and Autumn arrives in earnest, it will be nice to haul out the tweeds, flannels, the heavier suits, and double-breasted items, as well as the heavier navy blazers.  And, then there are the chunky OCBD shirts shown above, which are reall

 The whole shebang minus the white silk pocket square that peeked out of my jacket pocket.  My belt was braided brown leather, reasonably close in color to the shoes.  The jacket, a Brooks Brothers 60/40 linen-silk number, and the genuine Indian Madras necktie by Rooster were thrifted two or three years ago.  The shoes were purchased for a song on Ebay 'round about the same time. A pair of Allen Edmonds spectator shoes closer in.  Fairly understated if we can say that of this type of shoe. A couple of shots of what yours truly wore today for office hours and later teaching of my two courses that met today, a sunny, breezy day with temperatures in the low 70s Fahrenheit.   While there are the usual slobs in backwards baseball caps (and their frumpy female equivalents) roaming the campus here at my new institution, I find overwhelmingly that the student population dresses rather well, if not downright stylishly, taking into account our recent very warm weather and the

A selection of  photographs today, gleaned from various blogs and websites over the last few years.  Some are pretty casual, and some are more formal although not necessarily 'formal' in the sense of genuine evening dress.  See if you can guess who the men depicted are, or were in any case.  The point?  Regardless of your age or station, dress appropriately for the situation, or the event in which you will find yourself, and dress better than you have to.  Always. -- Heinz-Ulrich