Classic Style

        W hile it has certainly cooled off in my neck of the woods during the last several days, Monday a week ago was summer like, with temperatures reaching the low 80s Fahrenheit by early afternoon.  So, the beige cotton suit saw one final wearing for the season.   I have since swapped seasonal items into the appropriate closets and will now enjoy flannel, tweed, corduroy through the next several months.  Along with the odd double-breasted suit.  I know, I know.  But I have reached the age where it does not bother me if others get a giggle from my attire.   I enjoy my clothes and feel lucky to be in a line of work where, while more formal clothing has not been the expectation for many years, no one will drag me into the team leader's office for a lecture on the evils of neckties, sports jackets, or (shudder) a suit.  I've actually heard of this odd phenomenon in some corners of the corporate world and service industry now, where turning up in something dressier than khakis

  N ot exactly chilly here in Mid-Michigan yesterday, but pleasantly cool and gray.  Perfect weather for breaking out the tweed and cords along with the gunboats for the feet.  A not unpleasant combination of items resulted I think.   Frustratingly, I noticed when I changed into pajamas before dinner yesterday evening that I had failed to turn the wool socks right side out when last they were washed, so they are inside out here.  Not a huge tragedy as things go, but the already subtle pattern is less pronounced than might be hoped in the third photograph. Picked up a couple of suits from the tailor today, and dropped off a few pairs of dress corduroy pants for minor alterations.  The waists must be taken in two inches on three pairs, and a full three inches on the fourth.  The latter fit comfortably when purchased two years ago, but they fall off me now.   The end result of almost 13 months of eating less, exercising more, and really watching calorie intake most days.  Advice given to

  L ately, these items accompany me each morning as I lock the front door and walk to the car for the 15-minute jaunt to campus.  A leather briefcase, which was a birthday gift from The Grand Duchess back in 2016 when I reached a certain milestone, a new umbrella (a birthday-Christmas gift this year from my sister), and the hat, a 2017 birthday gift from my late mother. The Blueberries for Sal carryall peaking out from beneath everything else, was a gift several years back from my sister.  Blueberries for Sal is an old picture book with some text for small children that dates to the 1940s I think.  It has been a running joke in my family since I neglected to return the copy I borrowed from my 1st Grade teacher Mrs. P. before the school year ended way back in 1974. In the years since, said book has resurfaced a number of times as we, and later I, have moved around the country due to parental transfers, family moves, later college- and graduate school-related moves for yours truly, marr

  M y son's "friend" Dad Rat accompanied me to school last Thursday morning.  Really my rat, but on long term loan to The Young Master, Dad Rat is one of 14 or 15 Ikea rats in his possession.  The rats usually reside in a pyramid on the sofa in the upstairs TV room.   I know.  I know.  Don't ask. The other shots illustrate, or course, the attire for last Thursday.   Most interesting, is the vintage New Yorker necktie, which features Eustace Tilley and dates to the 1960s.  A longtime subscriber to the magazine The New Yorker , how could I resist?  I picked it up on Ebay two or three years ago. -- Heinz-Ulric h

  A couple of early Wednesday morning shots, before the library opened, illustrating the attire for that day.  It was based around a three-button wool flannel sports jacket that has been in the rotation for about 10 years.  The pheasant necktie is by J. Press.   This has been the first wearing since 2019 following some alterations to take in the upper back and sides after the 2020-2021 weight loss.  My tailor has a very good eye for such things.  Depending on the garment, and whether, or not it has no vent, a center vent, or two side vents, he takes in the side seams, center seam, or a bit of all three.   In any case, the results have been pleasing.  And it's so much fun to wear my gear once more after 18 months at home in, mostly corduroy jeans and rugby tops during the cooler part of the year or chino shorts, polo, or Madras shirts during the warmer months. -- Heinz-Ulrich 

    A dark, wet day yesterday.  The perfect excuse to try out an early birthday gift from my wonderful sister, who presented my with a Davek umbrella in navy blue.  Worked like a charm!   Not sure about yesterday's combination of odd pants and sports jacket however.  Both might work better if paired with different pieces.  But, ah well.  Live and learn as the saying goes.  It wasn't quite used car salesman territory by any stretch. -- Heinz-Ulrich

        W ith the change in season now well and truly underway, and to avoid remaining a gauche hayseed wearing warm weather items out of season, I packed away the Panama hat last week and got out the small assortment of genuine fedoras.  I've been wearing the Optimo 'Dearborn' model above since then along with the Phi Kappa Phi necktie (Yes, I'm a member and served on the national committee for a couple of years.) last Thursday.  I know, I know. -- Heinz-Ulrich

    S lightly more casual today for the kick-off Zoom meeting of a faculty learning community that a colleague and I are running this year on student engagement and success.  Hint, it's about more than simply handing out high grades and social promotion.   Or should be.  Everything pictured has been in the rotation for some years except for the ocbd shirt, from J. Press. Another purchase in late 2019 that has never been worn before today. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  F inally tried on my new office for size this morning since I had a couple of scheduled Zoom meetings and did not with to disturb people in the library where I usually camp out.  A nice, large room but, since it is in an older building, and as expected, too warm even with a window AC unit (that does not push enough BTUs to cool the space adequately).   This is the problem with so many spaces in older buildings at my institution.  Too warm regardless of the season.   And no.  The windows do not always open thanks to either decades of being painted shut, or having those inadequite window AC units mounted in them.  Harrumph! In any case, a beige cotton summer suit today -- a lovely, sunny day in the upper 60s Fahrenheit, along with light tan cap toe oxfords and belt, mid-blue socks, Panama hat with the shirt and necktie pictured.  The shirt was purchased with two or three others from Charles Tyrwhitt in 2019.  I am not sure it has ever been worn before today however.  The tie was a gift

  T he attire for today, a sunny, pleasant day in late September.  Items include a new shirt from J. Press worn with a vintage Black Watch regimental stripe necktie from Reiss of New Haven (found in a thrift shop several years ago in Central Illinois of all places). The shoes were shined recently using Saphir products and my late maternal grandfather's horsehair shoe brushes made in West Germany.  It's amazing how quickly you can bring up a good shine using these plus a bit of nylon stocking for extra high shine on the toes and heels. The shoe brushes must be about 65 or 70 years old and still doing yeoman's work.  He gave them to me 20 years before I moved to Minneapolis for my Ph. D. program, and I have used them daily on my own boots and shoes ever since. -- Heinz-Ulric h

    C ombining items from a variety of makers and merchants today.  And having a blast in the process.   A dark, intermittently rainy day here, so time to leave the Panama hat at home and don a felt fedora instead as we move into the autumn.  I believe this particular model is the 'Alessandria.'  I own a few different hats now and wear them daily during the academic year.  The Borsalino models are softer and easier to personalize than my Optimo 'Dearborn,' a gift from my late mother when I turned 50 a few years back.  While it is a lovely hat, and people compliment it routinely with each wearing, it is stiffer than I prefer.  It's far easier to get that asymmetrical, slouchy 1940s noir look with the Borsalinos.  My late maternal grandfather wore wool fedoras and a tweed trilby into the 1970s five days a week during the cooler half of the year for his Monday through Friday commutes into midtown Manhattan to corporate headquarters, or his frequent business trips aroun

Of course, we were not dressed this formally, but the spirit was right.   T he Grand Duchess and I had another couple here to Totleigh-in-the-Wold for drinks yesterday evening.  50 or 60 years ago, it might have been called a cocktail party, but we served wine.  We began outside around the fire pit, but moved to the screened back porch after 90 minutes or so once the mosquitos found us where we continued the conversation. I have written before about how these sorts of gatherings can seem ponderous, but last evening was a very pleasant surprise.  Our guests, both professors in different corners of our university here, came originally from Nigeria but have been in the U.S. many years where they eventually met and married.   He is in journalism, she is in history.  And talk about a small world.   It turns out that the husband, who was in Nigerian journalism (radio, television, and the press) for many years before earning his doctorate and moving into academia, traveled the length and brea

  In the spirit of not taking ourselves too seriously, here is a shot of The Young Master doing his best Bogart in the final scene from Casablanca.  You know how to whistle, don't you?  Our son, home today due to an in-service day for teachers and staff at his school, almost fits my size 59 hats a month shy of his twelfth birthday. A n appointment outdoors on campus this morning for a university-sanctioned head shot for use with email, Zoom, course pages, and the like.  So, I decided to go a bit less formal for this sunny, cool September day.   The jacket is a vintage linen-wool blend by Hart, Schaffner, and Marx.  I was after something with some color and pattern for warmer weather that was not as in your face as the brighter cotton Madras number hanging nearby in my closet.  Suits on the left of the rod, sports jackets and odd pants on the right.   Ties and belts on a rack at the far right of same closet, a wardrobe actually, and dress shoes with trees in shoe bags on a double-ti

  G auche rube that I am, I selected the linen suit again (long after Labor Day) since today, was sunny and pleasantly warm though by no means hot.  The necktie is a different orange item than the one from two weeks ago.  Both this suit and the houndstooth from yesterday feel amazing, and it was a drag to come home and change from them into more "normal" attire. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  T he first wearing of a suit by Samuelsohn that has been waiting in my closet for a couple of years.  Flying the Episcopal/Anglican colors too, something that's nice to do now and again. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  N othing quite like the aroma of freshly ironed cotton garments!  A shirt from J. Press, purchased about a year ago but as yet unworn.  Tomorrow (Monday) morning. -- Heinz-Ulrich

    T hree patterns yesterday.  Four if you count the socks.   This is one of my favorite suits in the spring-summer-early fall rotation, a vintage silk-wool Corbin number, although it needs a wee bit of  tailoring given the recent weight loss.  The coat is a little large around the middle now, but not excessively so.  Only a tailor or menswear enthusiast (Nerd?) would notice.   To everyone else, I am just that overly dressed weirdo with the nearby Panama hat and small thermos of coffee working over by the library windows early each day.  Happy Friday everyone! -- Heinz-Ulrich   P.S. I moisturized and shined these shoes last night, since our blasted internet was down again (Dial-up was more reliable 25 years ago!), using a combination of Saphir Renovateur, Allen Edmonds shoe cream, Kiwi wax, and Saphir neutral high gloss wax, plus one of my late maternal grandfather's horsehair shoe brushes and an old nylon stocking for the final mirror shine effect on the toes and heels.  They are