Classic Style

    A much cooler, damp Monday after a rainy weekend on into and through Sunday might.  A bit blustery today, so perfect for a vintage Polo wool flannel three-piece suit like this one.  Easily one of the softest, coziest, and comfortable suits in the fall-winter rotation.  Today worn with vintage Polo braces that feature medium-sized gray and maroon paisleys on a navy background.  Well-hidden beneath the vest/waistcoat, but I knew they were there.   Worn with the Borsalino fedora and trench coat, I looked as though I had beamed in from the 1940s.  No matter, I have reached an age where I am comfortable with not looking like everyone else.  And if that sartorial nonconformity brings a chuckle and smile to someone when passing by, so much the better.  No one has ever criticized me to my face for dressing thusly. Best of all, and as I have related here before, I found this 40R suit back in 2013 or so in one of my old haunt thrift (charity) shops -- in Bloomington, Illinois no less -- new

  A vintage illustration of a Scarlet Macaw, standing in here as my avatar. A mildly irritating end to the week.  First, a workshop scheduled for midday was postponed at the last minute by a week.  Then, a person my colleague and I were supposed to interview again for our developing documentary project, since the initial footage from two or three weeks ago turned out to be unusable, backed out an hour before we were scheduled to convene again via a rather confusing email.   Now normally, I would not mind cancelled meetings, but grrrrrr.  Saddest of all, there was no reason to bother donning the attire set out last night before bedtime, so today turned out to be a work from home sort of day dressed in corduroy jeans, a striped Rugby jersey, and the usual (for cooler weather) chocolate suede camp moccasins.  Some days. . . I know, I know.  First World problem. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A slightly more colorful, casual combination of items for today.  In the end, because of the bright sunshine, I went for light tan monkstrap (One word, or two?) loafers and a matching belt instead of the oxblood penny loafers and dark brown braided leather belt as threatened yeserday.  A combination of J. Press, Ben Silver, Land's End, and Allen Edmonds items here nevertheless.   Bright?  Yes.  Bold?  Certainly.  More colorful than most men in 2024 are comfortable with?  Indeed.  But it works I think. Especially when standing with the socks hidden.  Fun and even a bit irreverent while still pulled together. Now, many people tend to forget that it is perfectly ok to have a bit of fun with tailored clothing -- T-shirts with silly graphics, sexual innuendos that leave nothing to the imagination, and/or obscenities on an adult are not it. -- without straying into inappropriate, or even tacky territory.   In any case, I wish that I could get Blogger to stop messing up the orientation

  F inally cool enough here in the Grand Duchy for a three-piece wool flannel number from J. Press along with the recently added necktie, also from J. Press.  The trousers were held up with vintage Polo Ralph Lauren braces in red, white, and blue (with a sliver of green) vertical stripes.  The shirt is a well-worn Hyde Park Oxford from Land's End while the shoes are Allen Edmonds, of course, and the Merino wool socks by Dapper Classics.   The ensemble was capped off with a taupe fedora by Stetson that has been in the cool weather rotation for two or possibly three years now.  I looked like an extra lurking in the background of the hotel lobby scenes in The Maltese Falcon ! Tomorrow, a slightly less buttoned up assemblage of some kind although still pulled together, but I won't know what the precise pieces will be until I open the wardrobe doors early tomorrow morning although the penny loafers and Argyll socks have already been set out.  That's a large part of the fun for y

  T he attire for today includes a pair of light gray wool gabardine pants that I rediscovered a few days ago hanging with another jacket in the cedar closet built into  an out of the way corner of Zum Stollenkeller .  The wife of the previous owners of our house made wedding dresses, and her husand added it at some point.  Since we moved into the house in December 2015, however, I have appropriated the closet for my off season wardrobe items.   Otherwise, a not displeasing variation of the usual gear.  Typically, I wear a suit of some kind when I teach classes on Mondays, and combinations of sports jackets or blazers with odd pants the rest of the week. A similar pair of wool "gabs," but in taupe, is also in the rotation somewhere, but paired with another jacket on a different hanger.  Must find them since I had forgotten how comfortable the pants are.  Easily as effortless as pajama bottoms, or Levis Dockers in all of those silly 1990s TV commercials ("Nice pants!"

  A nd it's September 30th!  Week Six of the Fall 2024 semester.  Already.   To celebrate being alive, today I wore a vintage J. Press bow tie with a shirt from Mercer & Sons, suit by Brooks Bros., and shoes (with matching belt) by Allen Edmonds, the latter resoled in August, 11 years after their last recrafting at the AE factory.   This time, I simply wanted the shoes resoled, rather than a full recrafting, so did not send them off.  I took them instead to the last apparent cobbler in the Lansing area.  But it still took about a month until the work was finished given their backlog of business.  No matter, it was still summer.  And the crowded shelves behind the counter in the shop were good to see.  One of the cobblers is a soft-spoken young guy with long hair (But he knows his shoes!), so hopefully they'll be around for years to come.  All items shown already in the rotation for at least the last two or three years.  In some cases longer than that.  Significantly, I nail

  This lovely specimen should be on the way from J. Press before long.   N ow and then, you see something you would like and purchase it on impulse.  Such was the case a few moments ago with this wool Prince of Wales pattern necktie from J. Press.  Something I have long sought but not found.   So, when I saw the email, clicked, scrolled through, and beheld this item, it was, as they say, a no-brainer. Channeling George Costanza, I see beautiful things and must. . . have them.   It will go very well with my heavier navy blazers -- both single and double-breasted -- due to make their annual reappearance shortly -- worn with a pair of wool flannel trousers in charcoal, mid-, or light gray.  Without doubt, the tie will also compliment other cooler weather combinations of attire too.   Now some of you will scratch your heads and wonder why another necktie in the generally slovenly world that passes for the standard male appearance in 2024.  Well, neckties, it seems, are one of my guilty pl

  L aid back and fairly casual style for Tuesday this week.  Had a moment between early morning tasks in 'The Corporate  Mermaid' across from campus to snap a couple of photographs with my phone of the attire for the day.   In more detail, the garments shown included my go-to navy blazer, onto which I had metal University of Wisconsin buttons added about eight or nine years ago, and one of the recently purchased Mercer & Sons shirts, which, sadly, does not show up too well in this picture.  Well worth the several month's wait following an order however.    They are, easily, the nicest, most comfortable dress shirts around as much as I also like and enjoy wearing those from J. Press along side older, non-iron models from Land's End and L. L. Bean.  All reside in the laundry room closet where I hang freshly laundered shirts. There is something delightful about opening the closet and deciding which shirt I will iron and wear the next day.  Equally, satisfying is the ze

  T he start of yet another week , but two good reasons for small celebration.  It's already Week Five, and although we are almost one third of he way through the semester, most of my students showed up for classes today nonetheless.  Even better, the new J. Press look-book arrived in the mail this afternoon.  Eager to peruse it this evening after I retire to bed. Sartorially speaking, this is the sole "brown suit" in my rotation, but it actually has an interesting pattern going for it.  That, and the fabric is Loro Piana.  It's also Brooks Brothers as is the shirt (both made in the U.S. A.) .  I hope my late mother might thus approve.  She had a thing about brown suits -- a definite style faux pas in her view -- and always chuckled quietly about former vice president Al Gore appearing in his. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A n overcast, cool first day of fall here in the Grand Duchy.  Perfect for taking the Grand Duchess out to a late breakfast at one of our two favorite quick and dirties.  Followed by a quick stop at a Sunday farmers' markets for some more fresh veggies on our way home.  Otherwise a lazy afternoon with little of any consequence planned.  We need more days like that. -- Heinz-Ulrich

A kind of Italian meets Ivy look today although on second thought a different pair of shoes and belt might have looked better with everything else.  Maybe my reddish tan monkstraps (with similar belt) given the bright sunshine and summer temperatures today.  But not an entirely awful effort I think.   The Mercer shirt is my current favorite in any case.  I really like the combination of colors, which, to my mind, make the shirt versatile so long as everything else is relatively staid.  Silk pocket square notwithstanding of course.  I give the overall combination of items a 3.75 or possibly a 4 out of five. -- Heinz-Ulrich        

  S ome days.  In theory (he says) this ensemble would have worked, but the green socks threw it off.  Thought I reached for and put on solid mid-blue in the early morning, and only discovered the sartorial gaff later in the day.  From a distance, the shirt looked ok, but a solid white or light blue would have worked better with the glen plaid.  Self-assessment?  Sideways thumb or about a 3.5 out of five.   -- Heinz-Ulrich

  O n campus for a full seven-and-a-half-hour day today with one thing and another,  Managed though to snap a couple of quick photos during Zoom office hours late this morning when I found a quiet spot in the library to open up my laptop, log on, and then take care of other small tasks while the Zoom window was open.  The beauty of remote office hours.  But as expected, no students turned up.   They never did for physical office hours either pre-pandemic. Usually, there is nary a peep from the young minds we attempt to mold unless there is some kind of problem.  Most of the time, of their own making if we are honest.  Hey, I've taught for almost 30 years.  Certain trends emerge, so I feel secure in that observation.  Not enough of us seem to take a proactive approach to life.  Yet the cultivation of just that practice would alleviate a lot of the issues that arise before they become issues. Attire-wise, more of the usual suspects, but this was a pleasing combination today.  Especi

  M ostly sunny and warm temperatures today after a cool start, so out came the recently cleaned and pressed vintage seersucker suit.  I know.  I know. It's a week after Labor Day, we're staring mid-September in the face, and I'm a gauche rube.  I'm so ashamed.   Sartorial foibles notwithstanding, I was extremely comfortable in the overly warm classroom once 50 bodies filled it it not once but twice.  And a student complimented the attire as I later left the building for the parking lot where my car waited.   As I always say, never necessary, but always nice to hear when kind words come from a stranger.  And don't forget the Panama hat either. -- Heinz-Ulrich

S omewhat atypically, I was on campus for several hours today helping with an interview that is part of a larger documentary project on which a colleague and I are working.  Although I am behind the camera (I'm the audio guy in fact), what better reason does one need to dress presentably?  Exactly.   Everything worn, barring the recently purchased University of Wisconsin socks, a gift from the Grand Duchess, has been in the rotation for a while now.  And, of course, there was the Panama hat, which I'll wear until we pass October 1st when the felt fedoras reappear. -- Heinz-Ulrich      

  A pleasantly sunny and warm, yet comfortable September day working from home.  Perfect weather still for some Madras shorts, leather deck shoes, and a now 20-year old OCBD from Land's End that is finally too worn and frayed in places to wear with a jacket and necktie or suit.  But until a tear develops somewhere, it remains ideal for frumping around the house, albeit tucked in and with a casual belt.  Said shirt is also great for recording, editing, processing, and uploading another episode of my podcast. As I have written here a number of times before today, this particular shirt was one of several 'Original Oxfords' purchased from Land's End when I took my first teaching job outside of Minneapolis, following graduate school, at a small college now long closed due to highly questionable ethical and financial practices. Of that, the less said, the batter.  But I still have and wear several items purchased in 2003-2004 when it became clear that my existing professiona

I t might be after Labor Day, but it was a bright sunny day with warm temperatures here in Mid-Michigan today.  Hence the vintage Madras tie (the real deal) and coral pant along with newly resoled loafers.  And the Panama hat of course.  The ensemble even garnered a compliment as I made my way into the library mid-morning.  Never necessary, but always nice to hear. -- Heinz-Ulrich      

  W e have enjoyed a largely temperate summer here in Mid-Michigan this year.  But like clockwork, the thermometer climbed to 90+ degrees Fahrenheit today, the first day of classes at my institution.  And of course the building in which I teach my classes this semester lacks air-conditioning.  The huge ceiling fans in the classrooms help a bit, but when you cram fifty or more bodies into these rooms, things become less than comfortable PDQ.   Hence the linen suit for today.   It rumples almost as soon as you put it on, but the material of which the suit is made is like the most gossamer of pajamas and allows plenty of air to circulate around a slightly too warm body.  As my late mother used to point out, linen items announce their presence by virtue of the wrinkles.  And anyone in the know will realize what they are looking at. In any case, a bit on the dandy side today with the Italian parrot necktie, bold Mercer shirt, and the pocket square, not to mention the Panama hat, but why not

  O n campus for another kick-off today before classes for Fall 2024 commence in earnest on Monday morning.  A reasonably good combination of items today, including a shirt and necktie from J. Press, but the navy socks don't quite work.  They are simply what I dug out of the sock drawer in a a hurry after showering and shaving.  Should've trekked downstairs to the drying rack in the laundry room for a much lighter pair of cream and light tan Argyll numbers.  But, ah well.  Mistakes are how we learn after all,  One of you asked about my watch a day or two ago.  It's a modest Seiko "slim dress" given to me by my late mother when I turned 36 early in the century.  It works very well for me given my skinny wrists and slim build.  The occasional trip to the jeweler for cleaning and a new strap now and again keep it looking good.   I purchased a round Bulova -- with black leather strap -- about six or seven years back using a gift certificate from my in-laws, but the fa

  T he Young Master began  high school today.  Where has the time gone?  Already about 5'10" (approximately 178cm), I suspect he will be quite tall by the time he finishes growing given the men on both sides of the family well over 6' (two meters) in height.  YMP reported excitedly this afternoon that his Spanish 1 course will be taught entirely in the target language.  Good man!    -- Heinz Ulrich

  O n campus for a few hours this morning for a workshop -- reasonably interesting -- on freedom of expression and inquiry in the college classroom.  Good reason to climb out of bed early, shower, shave, and dress presentably for public consumption. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  B ack on campus for a few hours today to help orient the five new hires to how our program functions, provide some general guidance, and move them toward the start of classes for Fall 2024 next Monday.  Actually, one of the more interesting such events I've attended in a long time.  Otherwise, a partly sunny, cool day, so perfect weather for a beige cotton suit, colorful shirt, navy grenadine necktie, and some reddish tan captoe oxfords.  Plus the Panama hat.  I know, I know. . . -- Heinz-Ulrich