Coming Soon: A Dress Shoe Primer. . .

Later this week, learn how to avoid ugly abominations in men's footwear like these. . . what I call the dreaded entry and mid-level corporate cubicle worker shoe. Or, in my darker moments, what I refer to as "the sad result of the corporate headquarters of a well-known insurance giant abandoning business formal employee policies for business casual in the 90s."

We routinely bear witness to loads of male corporate drones, employees of said insurance giant in my small American Midwestern city, who mistakenly labor under the delusion that shoes like the various pairs shown here today are somehow acceptable. Even with a suit.

I'm also reminded of a trial attorney I witnessed a few years ago in the courtroom, who actually wore some of these square-toed things with his shiny suit (shudder). You'd better call Saul. . .

For those average guys out there who want to kick up their everyday style several notches, don't miss our upcoming brief primer on tastefully styled, classic dress shoes that ought to be in your closet. See you then. In the meantime, do not, repeat DO NOT, buy and wear shoes that look anything like any of these! You'll either look like a rube who knows no better, a slimy shyster lawyer, or Huggy Bear on Starsky & Hutch reruns.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

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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

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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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