Classic Style

  R ewarding myself with a fresh coffee and a few minutes of blogging diversion after getting through a virtual stack of student learning team projects, submitted Friday last week while I was away.  Projects, Works Cited Pages, and reflections on/self-assessments of each team's collaborative approach to project development and completion.  So, a lot to read over and look through, but by and large, very nice, even interesting work from the young men and women currently under my tutelage. Attire-wise, one more variation of the usual uniform.  I had planned to don a wool flannel double-breasted suit today, but the threat of sloppy rain and snow meant that I changed my mind at the last minute.  I prefer to wear my suits in better weather to avoid soiled lower legs and cuffs due to slush, ice melt, splashes from puddles, and the like.  Avoid dry-cleaning if and when one can and all that. ----------   Another conference goer asked me last weekend where/how I learned to dress.  Well, by w

  A nother variation of the usual "uniform" this morning.  Probably the last time this season that the wool snowflake socks will make an appearance though.  But hope springs eternal.  For a late snowfall that is. Two of the Nordic ski centers we like in Northern Michigan report very good to excellent springtime conditions and anticipate remaining open for business as usual through the first weekend of April!  Sadly, the weekend is already spoken for, or I'd have the car loaded by midday Friday, so we could head the 2.5 hours north for one last hurrah on the trails until next winter. In any case, this weekend might be a good time for the twice yearly swap of at least some of my cold weather attire for/with some spring-summer items at present residing in the cedar closet downstairs in Zum Stollenkeller .  Caution is necessary however since it can be chilly into May in our neck of the woods. It's best to exchange just a few winter items for spring at first just in case i

    A s the saying goes, the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.  About 60 minutes after snapping these two photographs, several large drops of coffee somehow managed to leap through the small drinking hole cut into the plastic top of my disposable coffee cup and landed right in my lap! Grrrrr!!! Fortunately, I managed to dab most of it up carefully with the paper napkin I had on hand, and the remaining moisture dried to the point of near invisibility by the time of my first class at 10:20.  But this particular pair of pants must now visit the dry-cleaner, which is always an iffy proposition.  Sigh. I know.  I know.   I can almost hear the muffled derisive laughter from the peanut gallery now.  "Serves him right that pompous ass!"  Ahhhhh, Schadenfreude . -- Heinz-Ulrich

  Day One top and bottom.  Not visible, a light putty-colored trench coat with liner and one of my well-worn Borsalino fedoras. Day Two top and bottom. Day Three top and bottom. Day Four top, bottom, and close-up of my UW-Madison socks. 3/4 of the knit silk necktie rotation during my recent travels.  The perfect conference necktie in my opinion.  Not too starchy, a bit more relaxed, and eminently stylish.   C ontrary to expectations, the Northeastern Modern Language Association conference I attended in Niagra Falls, New York over the weekend went exceedingly well.  My talk was received positively, I heard a lot of interesting work from other academics during the 2.5 days, picked up a few useful ideas to incorporate into my own work with students, and spent quite a bit of time talking to a publisher on Friday afternoon.  I've also got a couple of ideas to propose for panels of my own in Boston next year. When it comes to the travel and conference attire shown, ladies and gentlemen I

  A pparently, a bow tie on Wednesday is becoming "a thing" as the kids say.  In any case, one more variation of the pretty standard uniform since the weather here in Mid-Michigan is still on the cool side though our ski season is, sadly, over.  The only remaining snow consists of a few grimy piles here and there along roads or the edges of parking lots. I leave for a conference early tomorrow and should be doing what my wife, The Grand Duchess, refers to as "The Travel Dance."  But I am too tired, pulled in too many other directions at once mentally speaking, and less than thrilled by the prospect of air travel to get excited about a few days away.  I really used to enjoy flying places, but you do it enough, I suppose, and the shine wears off after a while.  That and commercial air travel on U.S. carriers continues its long slide to bottom.  If you've ever traveled by Greyhound or Trailways in the U.S., there is no longer much difference between the two modes o

    W e couldn't let winter leave us without pulling out the most egregious of the bold tweeds in my rotation, could we?  This vintage Southwick number features lapels that are a wee bit wide, but I figure the pattern is so 1970s used car salesman that peoples' eyes are distracted from that otherwise highly offensive part of the jacket.   Hey, there are always bagged out sweatpants, hoodie, and Crocs right? Otherwise, the trick with wearing a bold item such as this is to keep everything else very plain.  I can her the chorus now, however, to the tune of "The trick, Heinz-Ulrich, is never to appear clad in such an obnoxious jacket!"  I know.  I know. -- Heinz- Ulrich

  T he attire for Monday.  Week 10 of the semester, but who's counting?  A previously unworn pair of heavy Brooks Brothers pants/trousers, purchased during lockdown in 2021  or so, altered, and then forgotten in a closet.  Time to rectify that omission.  Pretty typical uniform for the start for the week. -- Heinz-Ulrich

    A nd proof, yet again, that even once you have arrived home and changed clothes, you needn't look like you've pulled dusty, wrinkled things out from under the bed to cover yourself.  "Comfort" is not necessarily synonymous with looking like one is preparing to knock off the local convenience store just before closing time.  As a society, how much lower are we prepared to go? -- Heinz-Ulrich          

    S till dark early this morning, but why not enjoy the waning days of winter with a splash of color and an otherwise relatively sedate attire palette?  A passerby of the (apparently) female persuasion complimented the overall look (with camel polo coat, mostly navy woolen scarf, and navy Borsalino fedora) as I crossed the Red Cedar River on the way to the car just after Noon.  Guys, if you dress presentably for no other reason, do so for the girls and women in your life.  They will appreciate your efforts to resemble something more than a laundry basket with legs. -- Heinz-Ulrich.

  L ight accumulating snow all day here, hence the orange SWIMS overshoes, which received a compliment from a couple of underdressed male students.  Otherwise, another variation of the standard colder weather attire.   Sadly, home tomorrow since the Young Master has yet another day off from school (parent-teacher conferences), and the Grand Duchess has a couple of early meetings on campus.  Sigh.   What with snow days, his winter school trip, a few days off for illness, Presidents' Day weekend, and everything else the last five weeks or so, we are beginning to wonder if he actually has school anymore.  Everytime you turn around, the Young Master is home for a day or two.  So, the next installment of relatively pulled together, professional male dress will need to wait until Wednesday.   Given domestic needs, I see corduroy jeans and either a flannel shirt, a Rugby jersey, or a Norwegian fisherman's sweater in my future for tomorrow.  Not a bad way to go either of course.  And i

  A bit out of sequence with today's post of Wednesday's attire on Friday, but that seems to be the story of my adult life.  An old soul born in the wrong era.  I've never worked out whether I am more Baby Boomer, or Gen X given the year of my birth (1966).  I have certainly always identified more, in some ways, with figures like Grace Slick, who is not, strictly speaking a baby boomer, and my late grandparents' generation than people of my own era, who came of age in the late 1970s, 80s, and 90s.   And I'm certainly not aligned with Millenials, Gen Z, or Generation Alpha when it comes to tastes in popular culture, clothing, acceptable behavior, or much else. It is a sometimes lonely existence and at the same time a strange point of pride. In any case, I strove for a range of tans, browns, and rusts with Wednesday's gear, breaking up the general tone of things with a green and white university stripe OCBD shirt and predominantly brown yellow, and green paisley

  T echnically, I think our midterm was yesterday (Wednesday), but who's counting?   In any case, already in the Spring Break mindset, and although there are some work related things to take care of next week, my mind is on the predicted late winter (appreciable) snowfall we are supposed to receive Friday and/or Saturday, which would be a super way to round out the winter.  You know.  A few final family jaunts out on the ski trails in the East Lansing area.  Hope springs eternal when snow is a possibility. But I digress. Attire and accessory-wise, a number of familiar and exceedingly comfortable items today.  You reach a point where the wardrobe is like you want it, and it is simply a matter of maintaining the status quo. Not always a bad thing in my book. -- Heinz-Ulrich 

  W asting a few minutes this early morning (7:20am) before diving into university email and whatever else is on the almighty 'To Do' list for the day.   A bit more restrained with today's attire except for the vintage Polo bow tie, which I managed to get tied to a reasonably satisfactory standard on the second attempt.  A bit rumpled, yes, but that's the charm of a self-tie model versus the pre-tied variety, which looks too perfect. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  B ack to the salt mines on a cold, very blustery Monday in late February, after another (probably final) weekend "Up North" skiing the trails, hills, and dales in the snow belt.  My usual trusty J. Press 3/2 tweed jacket, golden tan dress cords from Land's End (almost 20 years in the rotation), and various other items for a visually pleasing and comfortable combination of attire. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A bit colorful on the upper half today, but with the pocket square stuffed a bit further down into the jacket pocket, it ought to look ok.  In any case, I'm out of the house, on campus, and time to get some work done, so let's not fret too much about it. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  B ack on the figurative horse today.  Seeking comfort in some well-worn, cozy cold weather items helps a bit. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  Arielle Anderson, Alexandria Verner, and Brian Fraser. T hree students here at Michigan State University died senselessly in yet another (apparently random) mass shooting earlier this week.  Five others were seriously injured.   A colleague, a man with whom I have served on a committee in the recent past, taught two of them and saw them shot during his evening class on Cuban history.   Not the first time something like this has happened in the U.S., and I expect not the last.  There really are no words to adequately describe or explain any of this.  But yes.  Let's do keep shouting loudly about and lobbying for the right to keep and bear arms.  You know.  To keep that secretive world army at bay, which is just poised to invade beyond the Canadian border.   If finding an academic job, picking up, and moving were easier, I am now ready to relocate to a somewhat more peaceful society.  What a world we have created. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  B ack to the salt mines after a weekend of cross-country skiing in Northern Michigan.  No sore muscles today, which means either that I am doing something right after all of these years, or that I am not working hard enough.  In any case, I decided to go with a navy blazer and tan flannel pants rather than a suit this morning.  Still reasonably formal and pulled together, as is my wont, without straying into evening attire.  -- Heinz-Ulrich