It's been a fairly cool summer so far. . .

A snapshot of the winter version of Heinz-Ulrich's wardrobe, featuring a variety of tweed, heavy weight wool, and corduroy odd jackets along with too many pairs really of wool flannel and corduroy dress pants.

We've had a fairly cool summer thus far in our neck of the American Midwest. Really only about ten days or so of beastly hot weather in the latter half of July. The first few days of August have been delightful, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Surely, there is a prolonged period of unpleasant summer conditions yet to come during the rest of this month or after September 1st?

Still, the below average temperatures make me look forward to October, when the Fall season really gets underway here, and things cool off enough to break out the the tweed along with other heavier weight garments in a serious way. Until then, clothes like these are simply too much for the first six or seven weeks of the Autumn semester at my small university, which begins in about three week's time. Sigh. Time to revise course syllabi and make sure the book orders I submitted weeks ago are on the way to the bookstore. Where in the heck did the summer go? It seems like we just returned from our family vacation at the end of June.

But. . . There is some neat stuff to look forward to wearing as the countdown moves yours truly ever closer the start of another school term. Among other things, I've got a newly acquired and refurbished pair of stunning Allen Edmonds shoes in reddish-tan waiting in the wardrobe plus a beautiful cream-colored tweed jacket, which I must have altered in the meantime. Currently undergoing minor alterations at the tailor's are some mid-gray flannel trousers and a couple of other odd jackets for warmer weather.

The best part is that everything was thrifted last spring for only a few dollars except the shoes, which came from an E-bay purchase for an equally modest outlay. A new pair of heels at the cobbler's plus a spit shine here at home made 'em look almost new. Whoever said that dressing well must requires scads of money? On the contrary, it's certainly something well within the reach of average guys, requiring only a small learning curve, time, and careful shopping. In plain language, it means giving a damn about our appearance and how we present ourselves to the world. So, how about kicking up your personal style a notch or three?

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J. Press Goodness. . .

F resh out of the UPS box, three examples of J. Press goodness on a Friday morning. These shirts are replacements for three recently worn-through, more than 20-year old OCBDs from Land's End (two) and L.L. Bean (one). They were purchased shortly after I took my first teaching position at a now defunct local college outside of Minneapolis, immediately following graduate school, as the fall semester kicked off in September 2003. While some professional gear hung in my closet already, a few additional items were needed at that point to round out the weekly rotation. Said shirts all finally fell prey to small rips showing up in the now very thin, but incredibly comfortable, fabric within six weeks of each other this winter and early spring. So, time for a few replacements. The old friends will find new life as summertime lawncare shirts. Of the three new items above, my favorite shirt is on the right, but one cannot go wrong with a light blue OCBD either, so we're in good

Time for the Ol' Switcheroo?

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Job Talk #3. . .

C andidate #3 is, for my money, the person for the job. Considerable experience, broad perspective, well-connected throughout the college and university due to an array of collaborative pursuits of one kind or another, coherent and detailed vision laid out for the next three years and beyond. Yes. I am not on the committee that makes the recommendation to the dean, who will make the final decision and send the letter, but, were it up to yours truly, this is the guy. And he wore an actual suit (mid-gray), dress shoes, white shirt, and necktie as an added plus. 20 years or so my junior, but someone gets it. -- Heinz-Ulrich

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