Classic Style

Here's Heinz-Ulrich during August 2009, as casual as it gets, in khaki shorts (NOTE! -- not a cargo pocket in sight), with a madras shirt and (shudder) Teva sandals.  Cool, comfortable, and pulled together.  Oh, and everything worn was purchased on sale at one time or another. R ecently, I heard from a regular visitor to the Average Guy's Guide to Classic Style, who asked about casual warm weather clothes for simply hanging around the house.  Well, the answer is to go classic and keep it simple.  In other words, go for khaki shorts combined with a knit polo or a short-sleeve, button-down madras shirt, and a pair of leather deck shoes.  Acceptable hot weather alternatives include poplin, Bermuda (Thanks, Jim!), or madras shorts along with seersucker and/or lighter weight twill shirts. Here's Heinz-Ulrich with the Young von Boffke in early July 2011.  Von Boffke the Elder wears leather deck shoes, khaki shorts, and a knit polo shirt while von Boffke the Younger wea

As if he needs any introduction. . .  Acting great Sean Connery as secret agent James Bond in Goldfinger (1964). W hy bother to learn how an adult male -- a man -- ought to dress?  Why  make an effort to dress well when so many others around the world look like slobs regardless of the social, academic, or occupational setting?  Briefly, learning how to dress well, and then making an effort to do so, signals lots of things about you and your character to those whose eyes are open, including the following: 1) Self-confidence 2) Self-respect 3) Respect for others 4) An awareness of, and respect for, settings and occasions. . .  as well as just plain ol' consideration for the people around you 5) Attention to detail and self-discipline 6) Grooming and sophistication Without a doubt, there are other cues associated with the art of dressing well, but these six points spring immediately to mind every time I see the same old tired complaints in online exchanges about mens

From head to toe: a cotton Land's End shirt (purchased on sale 2004), a lamb's wool tie by Bachrach (thrifted), a summer weight wool sports jacket by Hickey Freeman (Ebay), an Italian silk pocket square with hand-rolled edges (thrifted), old, comfy cotton Levi's Dockers khakis (purchased on sale Fall '07), and an old pair of tan monkstrap loafers sold by Land's End (purchased on sale Fall '07). T wo kinds of summer style demonstrated here today that can be easily approximated by average guys who want to leave behind forever the ubiquitous and awful camouflage cargo shorts, wife beater, flip flops, and off kilter baseball cap "look" that so many boys and men seem to sport these days whenever the temperature rises above a bracing 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The ensemble pictured above was worn for a visit to the eye doctor last Monday.  The necktie is optional, of course, but if you're going out in public, for God's sake, pull yourself togethe