Classic Style

  S topped off along the way to campus very early this morning for a large mug of fresh dark roast to steel myself for an 8am class.  And took the opportunity to snap the photographs of today's attire.  Given the sunshine and warmth predicted, I opted for a tan cotton suit and lighter weight cotton shirt.   The Allen Edmonds shoes (the Byron model), not seen anywhere on this blog before today, are lighter brown and less reddish than they appear in the picture.  Still, it was not a bad look overall I think.  Not shown are the usual Panama hat and a pair of vintage Polo braces in lieu of a belt. In other sartorial news (?!), I have a recently acquired double-breasted number in Prince of Wales plaid from J. Press, but I've had a hell of a time getting my tailor to take care of an alteration or two to his usual standard.  Distracted maybe?   In any case, I've got to drop it off again tomorrow to undo some previous work and start again. Usua...

  Y ep. That's MEETINGS with an 'S.'  Around these parts, Fridays are a big day for department, collage, and university-level meetings.   Sigh. Not the most riveting way, admittedly, to wind down the week and sail into the weekend.  So why not glam it up a bit to get through what can be, if we're brutally honest, a trail under the best of circumstances?   Bright sunshine here today in Mid-Michigan but very comfortable, even seasonable cool temperatures.  The belt matched the tan monkstrap loafers while the socks were navy cotton featuring a subtle  pattern.  Happy Friday indeed. The trip home early this afternoon was a bit more interesting in that I stopped by my tailor of longstanding to get measured for a few of the usual alterations to a new suit.  A double-breasted number in Prince-of-Wales plaid.  Should be ready in about a week.  Yes! -- Heinz-Ulrich

U p and at 'em very early yesterday (Tuesday) to prepare for my Tuesday course meetings (that's "classes" in everyday student parlance), starting at 8am.   Cooler and rainy at times, but I opted for a cotton single-breasted suit in dark olive along with Panama hat and trench coat without the liner.   Seemed to work pretty well, and I managed to avoid most of the sporadic heavier rain as I moved between buildings on campus.  A few people even offered their kind remarks about both suit and orange Swims overshoes (not pictured).   As I always say, compliments are never necessary, but it's always nice when they are offered.  Clearly people, even young ones, appreciate a reasonably well-attired man.  Hat not withstanding of course.  ;-) -- Heinz-Ulrich

  I magine!  Wearing seersusker and Madras AFTER the Labor Day weekend.  The unmitigated nerve! But several students and faculty passersby offered their compliments as I moved through day.  Never necessary, of course, but always nice to hear.  The shoes are not as red as they appear here.  In real life they are a darker tan.  Worn with a matching belt of course. Both suit and tie are vintage items.  The latter hails originally from a Carol Reed Ski Shop in New Hampshire.  How on Earth it found its way to a thrift/charity store in Central Illinois, where I purchased it for a song 12 or 13 years ago, is anybody's guess. The real deal.  Made in Sri Lanka. The suit is Abercrombie and Fitch from a time when that was a label for adults.  My late father, I believe, had a few such items from the company in his wardrobe, which, at the time (mid-1970s) was anything but loudly branded t-shirts for the under 25 set. He wore a similar suit durin...

  K ind of a loony last couple of weeks with the usual start-of-classes for everyone business complicated by a local power and internet outage that last four days over most of the Labor Day holiday weekend here in the US. The result of an apparent tornado that touched down east of us but close enough to take down many large trees and power lines across two power grids in the area.  [Come to learn, that it was actually something called a downburst .] Keep in mind, our local storm sirens never sounded, and the weather radio, which we were listening to in the kitchen, never mentioned taking shelter in the East Lansing area.  Hmm.  We later figured straight line winds, but apparently it  was a tornado.  The resulting power outage was challenging despite a generator in the garage and two Jackery rechargable generators for the kitchen and related limited use situations. At any rate, the Young Master has upped his style game recently, and is dressing kind of like ...