Classic Style

  F inally cool enough here in the Grand Duchy for double-breasted blazers, jackets, and suit coats!   Decided to go with a blazer and light gray trousers this morning, although it is apparent from the top photo why a good going over with a clothes brush is necessary after several months in the cedar closet.  And some moisture from rain splashing on the pavement is evident in the lower photograph.  Grrr.  Tried to shower, dress, and depart quickly and quietly far too early this morning.  Neither of which was achieved.  Except the early part.  Have you ever noticed that when you try to be very quiet, invariably you walk into and knock over something large and loud?   It wasn't quite that bad today between five and six o'clock, but close enough.  Crash, bang, boom!  Followed by an internal cloud of blue language heard only by my not so subconscious after stubbing my toe against a large piece of bedroom furniture in the pitch black room.  Not quite how I meant to begin the week. 

  Having a bit of fun, as usual, with the attire for today, which includes a vintage bow tie from Polo.  Although I don't think George F. Will has anything to fear! Believe it or not, I managed to nail the tie on the first attempt.  Without the benefit of standing before the mirror I might add.  We're getting there. Now the socks (Ben Silver) are a bit, shall we say, eye-catching, but it's not like I'm wearing them with plus fours.  They are only visible when I sit down after all.  I can report, however, that a female colleague paid them a very nice compliment.   As I say occasionally here, they are never necessary, or even the purpose behind why we dress with presentable intention, but compliments are nice to hear if and when others offer them.  One of those many small social graces that were, in many instances, lost in the bustle of late 20th century life.  But reintroducing them to general public discourse might nevertheless help the world become a more civil, plea

      N ot a suit this morning, but a relatively pleasing combination of items nevertheless.  Still not quite cool enough for tweed and corduroy, but today's lower half features a lighter weight flannel in a grayish taupe.  And of course, there was a Borsalino fedora to, ahem, cap off everything.     -- Heinz-Ulrich                

  B ack on campus yesterday after the long Homecoming Weekend.  No teaching, but online office hours plus wading through and weeding out four days of meaningless email  before I could get to other work. That's the trouble with checking out during weekends and longer breaks.  Somehow, things continue to pile up in the inbox although everyone is nominally off.  Definitely off. There are worse fates I suppose. Still kind of Indian Summer here, so I stuck with a cotton jacket and chinos yesterday around which everything else was arranged.  Although I did top off the ol' head with that lovely houndstooth driving cap, which has appeared here before.  And that has a distinct cooler weather vibe to it.   The bowtie, a vintage number from Brooks Brothers, looks larger here than it actually is due to the angel of the selfie.  Overall, not a bad effort.  A real challenge to get that tied yesterday. Some days, some ties simply will not cooperate as you stand before the mirror and attempt t

  The front porch in its seasonal guise.   While we don't adorn the front of the house with Halloween in mind each October, it is fun to include a few pumpkins, gourds, and a couple of bunches of Indian Corn to transition from summer flowers and hanging baskets to the US Thanksgiving  in late November and the Christmas period beyond that. In the meantime, ol' Mr. Bones, some large, hairy spiders, and a few gravestones made by the Young Master several years ago will make an appearance closer in to the 31st.  Although our teen-aged son no longer dresses up or tours the neighborhood for trick or treat, he stills gets a kick out decorating for the big night.  In the interest of neighborhood solidarity, and welcoming the younger witches, ghosts, goblins, princesses, and superheros to our porch for a handful of sugary treats, so do we. As regular visitors to Classic Style will realize already, yours truly is all about dressing up and promenading for all to see. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  M y program had an increasingly common Friday afternoon workshop yesterday, so I made the rather atypical sojourn into campus after lunch to attend.  Since I was one of the facilitators (although NOT the person ultimately responsible for the day/time) and, amazingly, now one of three senior faculty teaching in the program, it seemed like a good idea to put in an appearance.  An interesting 90 minutes on fostering improved information literacy among our students, sure, but who on earth schedules these for a mid-afternoon on the Friday of Homecoming Weekend?   Sigh. In any case, a transitional combination here.  Thought about corduroy pants but it wasn't quite cool enough yesterday afternoon, so went with a slightly heavier pair of olive green chinos that have been in the rotation for a dozen or more years.  The cotton over-the-calf socks don't quite work given the difference in shades, but overall it was not an offensive combination of items, so I snapped a couple of quick sho

  A partly cloudy cool day today here in the Grand Duchy.  Probably the last one suitable for cotton chinos until the late Spring.  The overall look wasn't bad.  A mix of vintage with newer items, reasonably pried with more expensive yielded a pleasing combination.   It would have been very comfortable were the high temperature for the day around, say, 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but I was a little chilly all day.  Oh, how we suffer for our art!    Time now, however, to finish the semiannual swap and exchange the chinos and gabardines for corduroys, flannels, and heavier tweeds.  Which ain't a bad thing.  Not by any stretch. -- Heinz-Ulrich 

    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