Classic Style

This Victorian example has to be the most stylishly dress, most colorful Father Christmas/Santa Claus I've ever come across.  Anywhere. J ust a brief message today to wish readers a happy and joyous holiday season filled with friends, family, food, and good cheer.  Remember to dress it up a bit over the next few days, and mind your manners on all occasions and in all situations.  As stylish guys, we do so not because it's required, but simply because we want to.  And it makes us more pleasant people to have around.  Merry Christmas from The Average Guy's Guide to Style.

  Here is the notorious cad, bounder, and maven of style, Heinz-Ulrich von Boffke out for a stroll on a mid-December weekend afternoon.    D ressing with flair and style does not always mean jackets and neckties.  Nope.  Sometimes, it includes more casual wear too.  For instance, on a chilly fall day, how about a 19-year old Norwegian wool sweater worn over a button-down shirt (tucked in), well-worn tan corduroy pants with a belt, some old leather docksider shoes and Argyll socks (not visible here).   Extremely laid back, seasonal, adult, and appropriate for a lazy weekend afternoon during the early Winter.  What DON'T you see?   That's right.  No sign of over-sized basketball shorts, saggy sweatpants,  dad jeans, a backwards baseball cap, athletic shoes, or a beer and bean dip-stained t-shirt.  Yes, Vern, it is entirely possible to look pulled together without sacrificing comfort.    And here's Heinz-Ulrich enjoying a stein of hot chocolate at a local cafe a

 An illustration of a cocktail party by the late Laurence Fellows that appeared in the old Apparel Arts magazine.  Now, you don't necessarily have to don a suit for holiday gatherings, but how about sprucing yourself up a bit this December?  This particular illustration comes to us cour tesy of The Gentleman's Gazette . A nd no, we aren't talking about the kind of dressing you stuff a turkey with!  Rather, the subject is pulling ourselves together and raising the attire bar several notches above what has become the accepted norm -- sloppy -- over the last couple of decades.  In other words, guys, get dressed for those special Holiday/Christmas/New Year's Eve dinners and parties that come around each year at this time.  Actually dressed.  Getting dressed means that the following items should be left at home in your bedroom closet: sneakers, sweatpants, t-shirts, an untucked "going out" shirt, jeans or cargo pants, shorts, flip-flops, or anything res

Is it Bertie Wooster , or t he late Duke of Windsor?  Nope .  It's just that no torious cad, bounder, and style maven Ulrich von Boffke in  his cold weather gear lounging around Zum Stollenkeller one recent late afternoon. D on't make the mistake of thinking that you need scads of money to begin dressing more stylishly once you've made the decision to leave the sweats, flip-flops, cargo shorts, and backwards baseball caps behind.  In the photograph above, Ulrich von Boffke models an ensemble for us that was put together for well under $100US courtesy of thrift shops, Ebay, smart online shopping, and a Christmas gift from his wife (hint, hint, hint).  Consider the following: Harris Tweed jacket from thrift shop @ $5.99 Pants and Shirt -- Land's End Overstocks in 2004 @ < $40.00 English Wool Necktie from thrift shop @ $1.99 Fair Isle Sweater -- Christmas Gift in 2011 Italian Silk Pocket Square with Hand-rolled Edges from thrift shop @ $2.99 Shoes