A Linen Suit on September 1st?

Here's the top half of today's gear. Very cool and even breezy. But what's with that uncooperative shirt collar?

The Labor Day weekend has yet to commence here in the United States, but the number of days left during which linen and seersucker are acceptable, if we go by traditional sartorial guidelines, are few in number. You can understand, then, my eagerness to try out a Polo Ralph Lauren blue label linen suit that I splurged on last spring.

Following a few minor alterations, it has been hanging in my wardrobe waiting for an inaugural wearing since mid-June. The verdict? Very light, breezy, and comfortable in today's 70-degree, partly sunny, breezy weather. However, my lower back still became a bit moist this morning, despite minimal lining in the jacket, while walking 15 minutes across campus from the building where my office is to another where my Tuesday-Thursday class meets. Anyway, the suit pictured above was worn with a plain brown leather dress belt, brown Allen Edmonds "shortwings," and some fairly subtle brown and white striped socks if you can imagine such a thing.

But it gets much worse, ladies and gentlemen. Since it is supposed to become somewhat warmer and more humid by the time classes resume next Tuesday, after a three-day holiday weekend, I plan to pull out the vintage blue and white seersucker suit (oh, yes) one day next week and maybe also the madras sports jacket with some dress chinos another day. Yes. I know. It's now September 1st. How very gauche of me to wear warm weather attire into the start of the fall season. I'm so ashamed. Clearly, a crass parvenu of the first order here.   But it's not quite time for the heavy wool flannel double-breasted numbers or tweed and corduroy yet either, and one might as well be comfortable. Gosh, with that attitude, can sweatpants and flip-flops worn on a daily basis with a ratty backwards baseball cap be far off?

-- Heinz-Ulrich

The Problem of "Business Casual" Attire. . .

This is how it's done. Business Casual the RIGHT way, ladies and gentlemen. Even during the summer months. A photograph (taken by Studio B Portraits ) which appeared in 425 Business Magazine in May 2017. T his post on the problem of business casual dress began as a quick postscript to a previous blog entry last week but quickly grew and grew as additional thoughts occurred, were developed in more detail, and revisions made. So much so, that it seemed, eventually, like a better idea to make the initial P.S. afterthought into its own entry . Are ya ready, Freddy? Then, here we go. . . ------------ U nless you actually plan to sell beach snacks and trinkets on Cozumel, become a serial barista, or greet customers at a fancy nightclub after taking out huge student loans to attend university somewhere for four or five years, plus an MBA afterward, it's really a better idea to err on the side of (somewhat) more formal work attire any time you head into the

The Average Guy's Guide to Classic Style Now on Ebay!!!

Another great old Laurence Fellows illustration of menswear from the classic era, the 1930s. T he Average Guy's Guide to Classic Style is up and running on Ebay. -- Heinz-Ulrich

"If you see something you want. . ."

The above photograph has been "borrowed" from the J. Press website. "I f you see something you want," advised my late mother, "buy it. It won't be there when you go back later." A favorite (and wise) adage hers that I still follow whenever possible. So when this item appeared on clearance at J. Press, I mulled it over for a couple of days, and then clicked the requisite boxes to make the online purchase. Should be here within the week. Once upon a time, I had a similar jacket by Corbin that I foolishly purged before we left Central Illinois ('Illi-noir' anyone?) for Michigan almost 10 years ago. Not sure what I was thinking at the time since I did like the item and wore it routinely. This one will be a bit nicer and help me make sartorial amends. At least to myself. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Mark HollingsworthSeptember 2, 2016 at 5:24 AM
Was it Picasso who said: “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”?

Mark
WSTKS-FM WorldwideSeptember 2, 2016 at 8:39 AM
Artist? Hmmm. . . I don't know. But it is fun trying to present oneself nicely to the rest of the world depending on the weather.

Best Regards,

Heinz-Ulrich von B.

Classic Style

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