Classic Style

  A quiet, calm summer so far here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold!  But time and weeds wait for no man!  So, the late morning has been spent weeding flower beds around the house, and I'll tackle the beds in the front and backyards after lunch.  Not a huge task, mind you, but by this point in the summer there are always things that have taken hold in the mulch that need to come out. As usual, pretty typical summer attire for this blissfully comfortable July day.  Nothing new with everything shown at least a few years old although the khaki shorts have been around for a decade or more.  As I suggest so often, even when at home all by oneself, there is no need to resemble a walking, talking hamper of soiled laundry.  It's actually not as hard to look presentable as many apparently think. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A sleepy first half of the weekend here at Totleigh.  Warmer and quite humid ahead of an approaching cool front here in Mid-Michigan.  Perfect for yet another pair of chino shorts an a seersucker shirt -- tucked in of course -- with the usual leather deck shoes and ribbon belt.  Otherwise, not much accomplished beyond a page or so of writing and monkeying around with audio settings for an upcoming podcast episode.   However, I was not completely useless yesterday!  I made a huge fruit salad for dinner, which the Grand Duchess and I enjoyed a short while later at the table on the back porch.  The Young Master, as is his wont on Saturday evenings,  took his dinner on a tray in the TV room upstairs where he whiled away a couple of hours on Flight Simulator, flying some sort of commercial airliner to some destination across the Atlantic or Pacific.  I would have loved that sort of technology at about nine or 10 way back during the late 1970s, aka The Stone Age.  As it is, my sister and

  A nother couple of quick shots of typical Late June (early summer) attire, illustrating that one need not resemble a walking dirty laundry hamper even when occupying private spaces at home.  Seasonally appropriate, comfortable, and cool.  Just right for working at the desktop PC, shuttling the Young Master to his math tutoring, taking out the kitchen garbage, edging the driveway late in the afternoon, and watering the hanging baskets on the front porch after dinner in the early evening. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  U p and at 'em early this Wednesday morning for an 8am appointment with my ophthalmologist for a routine check-up.  As always, it is better to forego the t-shirt, cargo pants, and grungy athletic shoes and dress for appointments with a bit of polish and sophistication.  People just react to and treat you better when you don't resemble an unmade bed on legs.  The items pictured above consists of the usual suspects, which are very easy to pull from the closet and toss on post-shower and shave without much thought at all.  The ease with which that can be achieved makes null and void the (tired) argument that dressing presentably somehow takes an unreasonable amount of time.  On the contrary!  You're, dressed,  out the door, in the car, and underway before you know it.  Ready for anything and attired like an adult rather than a 21st century version of Dennis the Menace. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Bad Dad makes a friend. YMP and Bad Dad on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Or was that Crystal Lake? The Grand Duchess takes a selfie in her kayak. How NOT to impress the girls sunning themselves along the river. YMP and Bad Dad kayaking on the Platte River headed toward Loon Lake.   J ust back from a week in Northern Michigan in a charming and spacious house on the banks of the Betsie River outside of Thompsonville.  A largely pleasant seven days despite some challenging episodes with the Young Master, who has picked up some very questionable habits and language from his friends in the 8th Grade during the school year just ended.  But otherwise, we enjoyed ourselves and contemplated remaining for a few days longer since the house was available.   In the end, we decided to return home as planned originally since neither my wife, nor I wanted to spend the remaining days chained to our computers in Zoom meetings from our vacation destination.  I actually managed to leave the laptop and ip

    A nother pretty typical variation on the theme for late spring, summer, and very early fall.  I'm a huge fan of Madras and have several such shirts in the seasonal rotation.  Lightweight, exceedingly comfortable, and even dressy when pressed and tucked in, which is the usual way of things here at Totleigh in the Wold.   Now, if I had my druthers, I'd still rather be skiing the trails in the upper half of "The Mitten" (of Michigan), in the Upper Peninsula, or Ontario.  But summers ain't so bad either, and I'd look pretty funny walking around in cross-country ski attire during June. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  I t's "Back to the salt mines!" as my much missed late maternal grandfather (and former paratrooper) David Lewis Stokes used to kid.  In any case, here's one typical variation of the summertime wardrobe for tooling around the house.  Early evening outdoor work in the yard, mowing, and such isn't much different, but I change into older, fraying items for that.   The Young Master dresses similarly, by preference at this point (We've trained him well!), although he is going through a stage in which he eschews shorts for jeans in the summers even when it is quite warm out.  No matter.  I was that way at his age (14.5).  He'll come around.   To his credit, however, he prefers polo, Madras, and poplin shirts during May through September.  Good man! -- Heinz-Ulrich

A nd the final iteration of my approach to conference attire for the trip home yesterday (Sunday).  Overall, one of the best such events I've been to in the quarter century, or so that I have been attending academic conferences.  Along with very pleasant trips on either end the four-day jaunt.  It's good to be home though, and I am tired, but at the same time I'm already thinking ahead to next such event for Spring 2025. -- Heinz-Ulrich

A nother variation on the conference theme here.  No one else looked like this at the conference, which had more than 800 professors, administrators, and staff from colleges and universities across the U.S. in attendance.  Yet I felt confident and at ease precisely due to the fact I was dressed, well, presentably.  It sounds silly, I realize, but dressing appropriately for the occasion or event boosts confidence although the Grand Duchess would say wryly that my own is in no need of help.  Wives are funny that way. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  U p and rarin' to go Friday morning, a slightly different variation of the standard conference uniform, which also worked remarkably well that evening, during the large poster presentation in which I participated after the plenary session.  I snapped the lower shot of the socks during my two croissants  and coffee that morning just because.  Gotta say that this particular combination of shoes, socks, and pants seems remarkably pleasing to the eye. -- Heinz-Ulrich

N ewly settled into my seat on the first flight as the rest of the passengers shuffled down the aisle.  It was about 5:15am and the start of a fairly straightforward route to New Orleans.  I was on the ground there and on the way to the hotel by 10:30 that morning.  The trip home was longer and more circuitous. -- Heinz-Ulrich  

P acking for a trip of any length, given that large steamer trucks and a gentleman's personal gentlemen are largely things of the past, can be difficult in 2024.  Especially if one wants to look semi-presentable traveling to, during, and coming home from a professional trip.  While this will be familiar territory to frequent business or conference travelers -- Weekend getaways are a slightly different beast although I'd still advise wearing a jacket with loafers on the feet. -- here is my iteration for the typical three to four-day conference trip: Navy blazer (Worn throughout.) Three pairs of chinos (Pack two, wear one.) Four button-down collar shirts (Pack three, wear one.) Two to four neckties (Optional these days if you wish.)  Brown or oxblood penny loafers (Worn throughout the trip.)  Brown and/or oxblood leather belt(s).  (Wear one, pack the other, swap 'em out each day). Three clean white undershirts (Besides the one worn.) Three pairs clean undershorts (Besides th

  A lmost into full summer mode here at Totleigh in the Wold though scrambling to take care of a few things before departing for the 2024 Teaching Professors Conference in New Orleans later this week.  Don't worry!  I'll shave before then and remain clean-cut during said conference and on either end of the trip to and from.  A visit to the barber tomorrow morning to tame the mane as well. Now, many will sneer at the chino shorts with their 6" inseam.  I have come to prefer a 9" inseam myself in recent years, but there are still several pairs with the former measurement in the rotation.  Moreover, I like the olive green of this particular pair, so there we are.  In any case, there is no doubt that the addition of a belt elevates even the most casual combination of attire.  Except maybe sweatpants or pajama bottoms. A couple of my students about 10 or a dozen years ago once asked if I ever wore sweatpants, to which I replied (honestly), "Yes, but never in public.&q

  W orking from home yesterday (Wednesday) with a variety of appointments in the afternoon, including a visit to the dentist (always a barrel full of monkeys), and shuttling the Young Master to math tutoring after school.  A pleasant, cool, yet sunny day, perfect for something a little nicer than shorts, deck shoes, and a polo or Rugby jersey over top.   No necktie, but there is always lots of water flying around while in the dentist chair, so it makes better sense not to risk a sartorial mishap.  A conference coming up next week in New Orleans, and then we will sail into the summer with more casual, yet still pulled together attire.  The usual suspects, but for a different season in other words. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A bit of fun with this post though admittedly wistful too.  My late mother made it to the cover of the latest issue of The New Yorker .  I almost fell over when I pulled it from the mailbox at the end of last week before the long Memorial Day weekend.  I took a photograph with the ol' iPhone and texted it to my sister and step-father once inside.   The former, a dab hand with Photoshop, changed the glasses to dark glasses and substituted Mom's long gone Pomeranian "Bijou" for the original King Charles Spaniel.  Otherwise, it is my mother to a T.  The tilt of the head, the gaze, the stride, everything.  I'd like to think it's her way of saying, "Hi there everyone!  Don't worry.  Bijou and I are doing well."   -- Heinz-Ulrich

I n the mid-80s Fahrenheit today, so time to break out the Madras shorts!  Ok, not strictly in accordance with the old rule about Memorial Day.  But I'm a gauche rube who knows no better.  Shuttling the Young Master to and from an after-school tutoring appointment in any case, which gave me an excuse to enjoy a small late afternoon cup of fresh coffee around the corner and thumb through yet another new title on generative artificial intelligence.  Hey, I need all the help I can get. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  O ne of the most delightful things an individual can do during the latter half of a Sunday afternoon is to retire upstairs for a couple of hours' "quiet time," what we used to call it when the Young Master was small.  So, ceiling fan, favorite book, something cool to drink, the bedside lamp on low, and the window open to allow in the slight breeze blowing occasionally outside.  I was out in about 10 minutes.  Which is the whole point.  Ahhhh. -- Heinz-Ulrich.

Not too bad on top for a Saturday morning. Of the pale ski pole legs, the less said, the better.   F orty-five minutes or so of time in a cafe this morning with a cup of fresh dark roast coffee and a new book on our uneasy relationship with generative artificial intelligence while the Young Master had his first math tutoring appointment of Summer 2024 just around the corner.  A few people in the cafe, but pleasantly quiet with vocal jazz standards playing in the background.  A delightful way to kick off a Saturday in May. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A sunny, warmer Thursday yesterday, so out came the tan belt and shoes when I dressed in a few of the usual suspects to shuttle the Young Master from school to a mid-morning appointment and then back again.  Child safely deposited and signed in by 10:15, and I was back home by 10:35. Now, some scratch their heads and wonder aloud why you should bother to dress for similar kinds of appointments (doctors, dentists, orthodontists, law offices, bankers, air travel, etc.), either your own or your child's, when almost everyone else looks like they just rolled out of bed and pulled on whatever was handy from beneath the it.  Frumpy is the new lingua franca it seems.   Here's the answer.  People in all walks of life simply react better to and treat you with a higher level of polite deference and respect when you present yourself well and look like you have more than a couple of active brain cells functioning somewhere behind your eyes.  There are, admittedly, adherents to a certain

  S till a bit chilly here in Mid-Michigan, but there's no reason not to pull oneself together, sartorially speaking, even as the Spring 2024 semester recedes in the rear view mirror, and summer approaches.  Hence the navy sports jacket tossed over an old cotton poplin button-down collar shirt (tucked in of course) along with some tan corduroy jeans, a ribbon belt, and the familiar suede camp moccasins yesterday.   Once the Young Master arrived home from school and enjoyed a snack, we journeyed to a nearby tutoring center to get him set up for some extra math practice through August.  He'll begin his freshman year of high school late that month.  Can you believe it?  Where does the time go? -- Heinz-Ulrich

  The Young Master gets a trim.  #3 on the sides and back with just enough to part on top.  His request. O f course, it's not all waxing poetically about suits and sports jackets here at Classic Style .  Sometimes, we must come back down to Earth and take care of more domestic duties.  Such was the case midday today (Saturday), when I shuttled to Young Master to our barber for a trim and clean-up.  I've always assumed the role of barbershop-visit-facilitator since he was very small, but it shouldn't be too many more years before I can toss him the keys, and the Young Master can take himself.   By the way, we patronize the Williamston Barbershop , a quirky but lively establishment about 10 minutes from the house.  The shop is always busy, filled with music of one kind or another, and bubbling with related chat and laughter.  And then there are the framed movie and band posters that adorn the walls along with stuffed game birds, fish, and deer antlers.   "Pure Michigan&q