Tweedishly Dandy Thursday. . .

A seasonal and slightly dandy version of the typical attire today. Is 'dandy' a dirty word in conversations about classic male attire? Does the term necessarily connote straying into flamboyant, even clownish territory consciously or otherwise?

Interesting questions to consider and possible fodder for a future discussion.

I had planned to wear a wool flannel double-breasted suit, but cords and tweed wear harder given the high wind and rain we are experiencing today. So, a last minute change of plans this morning following shower and shave before my usual 6:10 am departure.

Lately, I seem to be the least bothered and most productive during the first half of the day. From about 11am onward, productivity takes a nosedive as students, colleagues, meetings, and various other things intervene and vie for my time.

And once our son is home just after 3pm, in the words of The Sopranos, "Fuggeddaboutit!" Family life takes over, and accomplishing work-related stuff becomes impossible. So early mornings it is.

But I digress. Again.

Highlights for today include the Harris Tweed jacket and a vintage cross country skier necktie from L.L. Bean that I picked up somewhere in the last 10 or 12 years.

The silk pocket square was purchased back in December 2005 at the former Marshall-Fields (now Macy's) near Daly Plaza in Chicago when the Grand Duchess and I journeyed up from Bloomington-Normal one chilly Saturday to visit the German Christmas Market and do some early Christmas shopping. The array of pocket squares in the men's department was stunning. While I would have liked to purchase several, this one leapt out at me and now takes pride of place during the holiday season each year given its bright, festive appearance.

My vaguely Yankee Candle palette notwithstanding -- Go on. It's ok to laugh. I don't mind. -- it's a colorful and not entirely displeasing combination of items.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Comments

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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