A Madras Friday in June. . .

The upper half this morning, featuring a vintage Madras necktie, dyed and sewn in Sri Lanka, from Rooster. The navy blazer -- with University of Wisconsin buttons added a couple of years ago -- is a light weight wool number that I actually purchased a dozen or more years ago while visiting Mom and Stepdad one Christmas in Mexico when I needed a jacket for a New Year's Eve dinner party to which we were invited. It's perfect for warm weather. The blitzed OCBD shirt is one of five or six of various weights in light blue that I come back to again and again.

And the lower half featuring some recently moisturized and buffed penny loafers from Allen Edmonds and some Land's End dress chinos in a light stone. During the late spring, summers, and early fall, I come back to some iteration of the items featured today over and over again.

As I have written -- ok, lamented -- here before at Classic Style, once the spring semester and finals week concludes at the start of May each year, there is woefully little opportunity to dress more presentably than a short sleeved Madras, seersucker, twill, or knit polo shirt with some chino shorts and my ever present leather deck shoes until things crank up again in late August.

This morning, however, the four 3rd Grade classes at The Young Master's school presented their animal research posters in the gym, and parents were invited to attend. A perfect opportunity to pull myself together and venture out into the world looking slightly crisper than has been the case for the last month or so since my own classes ended. It's hard to go wrong with a light-weight navy blazer, khakis, loafers, and a Madras necktie on sunny mornings like this one.

At school, The Young Master did amazingly well given the noise levels and throngs of milling children and parents. His poster that we worked on together here at home for a couple of weeks during the latter half of May was well-received. He even talked to several adults about Siberian tigers and also toured the gym himself to examine the posters presented by other children before silliness took over, and he retired to another room with his aide for a quick break to collect himself before returning to the fray. I took the opportunity to touch base with his current teacher Mr. H., thank him for a good year, and shake hands.

All in all, it was an enjoyable experience this morning, and The Young Master has made terrific strides since Kindergarten. I wonder what changes and progress are in store for the the 4th Grade next fall?

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Mid-November Monday. . .

A few minutes between classes this morning, so I snapped pictures of today's attire and accessories. The first wearing this season of the Optimo 'Dearborn' fedora, and the tie is a vintage number from Orvis, a nod to my late father's fly-fishing and fly-tying hobbies. It's been two or three years since this particular necktie's last appearance, so high time to pull it out and knot it carefully around the ol' neck. Managed to nail it on the first attempt too. Could this be the start of a trend? -- Heinz-Ulrich

The Problem of "Business Casual" Attire. . .

This is how it's done. Business Casual the RIGHT way, ladies and gentlemen. Even during the summer months. A photograph (taken by Studio B Portraits ) which appeared in 425 Business Magazine in May 2017. T his post on the problem of business casual dress began as a quick postscript to a previous blog entry last week but quickly grew and grew as additional thoughts occurred, were developed in more detail, and revisions made. So much so, that it seemed, eventually, like a better idea to make the initial P.S. afterthought into its own entry . Are ya ready, Freddy? Then, here we go. . . ------------ U nless you actually plan to sell beach snacks and trinkets on Cozumel, become a serial barista, or greet customers at a fancy nightclub after taking out huge student loans to attend university somewhere for four or five years, plus an MBA afterward, it's really a better idea to err on the side of (somewhat) more formal work at...

My Preferred Oxford Cloth Button-Down Shirts. . .

One of several light blue cotton oxford cloth button-down collar shirts in my rotation, worn here with a wool flannel navy blazer and a vintage Italian silk necktie once sold under the Rooster label. An orange-brown with silvery paisleys, ideal for the autumn. T he other day, a regular visitor to Classic Style for the Average Guy left a comment in which he asked for information and my recommendations on the classic oxford cloth button-down shirt, commonly abbreviated to 'ocbd.' "Me? Are you tawkin' to me?" Oblique Robert DeNiro references aside, let's talk oxford cloth button-down shirts. This particular type of shirt is one of the bedrock items every man should have a few of hanging in his closet, especially when he wishes to present himself to the world in a way better -- yes, I said better -- than what has become the sad accepted average among so much of the male populace. First things first though. Lots of people automatically...

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