Have Fun with Patterns and Footwear. . .

Even in black and white, this photo of the late Duke of Windsor provides a good idea of his sartorial eccentricities. We here at The Average Guy's Guide to Style are certainly not suggesting something so outlandish for you.

But don't fear adding a little bit of pattern to your wardrobe either. An item like this subdued houndstooth jacket -- modeled here by that notorious jet-setter, bounder, and cad the Prince Ulrich von Boffke -- will add a bit of visual interest and flair to your wardrobe without going over the top and straying into more flamboyant territory. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Shoes and socks are another place where average guys can shake things up a bit and add some pizzazz to their appearance. Suede wingtips along with a subtly striped pair of charcoal socks are sometimes just the ticket. Tasseled loafers, too, will work equally well with dress jeans, khakis, or creased wool pants like those above. Just make sure keep it fairly simple in relation to the rest of your clothes that you put on in the morning. And be certain to match your belt as closely as possible to your shoes.

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Mid-June Thursday Style. . .

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

The Power of Ideas. . .

T he end is nigh! The autumn semester/term approaches. And while we still have almost two months of summer left according to the calendar, "Summer is over and gone," as the crickets sang in Charlotte's Web . At least for those of us who head back to the classroom in less than a month. In advance of a meeting with my program director late Monday morning, I spent about 40 minutes total during the weekend to jot down several ideas about planned workshops and related activities for the coming 2024-2025 academic year. At an opportune moment, I mentioned "I have a few ideas," and opened my leather portfolio. My director was highly receptive to almost everything I suggested, and we had a very productive planning session for just over 90 minutes. Just about everything I sketched out on Sunday aligns with his own ideas. It's nice when meetings go that well, and two related things occur to me in hindsight. One, it pays to exercise...

A Lazy Saturday at the End of June. . .

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 19...

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