The newly altered Harvard Coop tan gabardine suit (purchased late last summer from Giuseppe at An Affordable Wardrobe). Ok, ok. Let's get the President Obama tan suit jokes out of the way now, please. Sadly, I won't really have occasion to wear this number until August in my new teaching position at Michigan State University since our spring has been rather chilly here in Central Illinois, and the current college semester is effectively over by the start of May.
A fun late-Saturday morning here at Classic Style or the Average Guy since I was able to drop off a bunch of unwanted stuff at my local thrift/charity shop and. . . pick up a few things at the tailor's and cobbler's just up the road. The truly fun part of this morning's jaunty trip around town.
One cardinal rule of dressing stylishly is to maintain your items of clothing and accessories. Nothing earth shattering in that, but in our throw-away society of 2015, that particular concept comes as a surprise to many people. After all, if you develop a rip or tear in that over-priced H&M jacket that was mass produced in Central America or Hong Kong, just throw it away and buy another right?
Wrong. Take a pointer from Great Britain's Prince Charles and many other stylish men of the last 70-odd years. Skip H&M all together and invest, instead, in the best quality classic items you can find regardless of whether you purchase them at full retail, on sale, or vintage. Then, wear and enjoy your stuff, but take care of it too. Hang it up on a proper hanger and replace it in the closet or wardrobe rather than tossing it on the back of a handy chair or hanging it from an open door (I've seen it done). By the same token, fold and place other items in the dresser, or put cedar shoe trees in your footwear and replace it in the closet at the end of the day.
Above all, make sure that you see to minor repairs for and upkeep of your clothing and accessories as and when necessary. Get to know your area tailor and cobbler in other words, make use of them, and don't balk at what are fairly minor expenditures when it comes to keeping your gear (and thus yourself) looking its best. It's not rocket science as the expression goes.
Ok. Enough prattle for now. Time to grab a paintbrush or roller and apply two new coats to the recently patched plaster in our downstairs bathroom. Our house officially goes on the market Monday.
-- Heinz-Ulrich
My Ralph Lauren double-breasted wool flannel sports jacket with newly reattached button at upper right.
The trusty ol' vintage Florsheim brogues/wingtips with new soles and heels. Pricey, but worth it to get some more years out of this pair of shoes.
A better photograph of the same. The cobbler also gave the shoes a nice shine, but I'll need to work up the previous mirror-like finish that I had on the toe and heelcaps once more as well as along the edges of the the soles/heels. Ah, well. There are worse fates than a pleasant 30-60 mintues shining a pair of comfy old shoes like these.
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-- Heinz-Ulrich