Decisions, Decisions. . .

A cartoon, which appeared originally in The New Yorker, sent in by a reader (Thank you, Old School!). Those of you who are into classic neckties might appreciate it. I certainly did.

The spring semester is winding down, and the remaining days to pull myself together and go through the arduous, even hellish, daily process of putting on reasonably nice classic male attire are relatively few. Sadly. But there are still about two weeks and a conference, so we're not quite out of the game for the remainder of Spring and the summer just yet. . . though the comfy, worn dock-siders, khaki shorts and Madras shirts are all ready.
------------

Still rather chilly here in Mid-Michigan for the middle of April (we had an inch or so of snow on the ground yesterday morning and more is forecast for tonight), so the tweeds, corduroys, and flannel suits are still in the ol' wardrobe and getting an extended season, much like the cross country (Nordic) skiing in the Upper Peninsula this year.

This morning I chose a navy wool flannel two-piece suit that has a very faint micro windowpane pattern on top of the base color. Navy wool dress socks with black half-wing shoes, an old light blue OCBD, navy braces with red and silvery gray paisleys, and a vintage Reis of New Haven necktie -- in red, navy, and dark green repp stripes -- complete the ensemble.
My phone is not cooperating for some reason, so please excuse the lack of photograph,
------------

I crossed paths with a fellow traveler late yesterday afternoon in a local Starbucks, where I took care of some daily post-class meeting administration on my laptop while enjoying a latte (cue the Fraser and Niles jokes) and waiting for my son to finish with his usual Tuesday after-school appointment.

The man -- also a 50-something based on his mature appearance and quietly confident demeanor -- walked by, paused, and complimented the tan leather briefcase, given to me by my wife the Grand Duchess for my 50th birthday back in November 2016. He wore a navy blazer himself with taupe wool dress pants and dark brown loafers of some kind. Besides the few minutes of pleasant conversation and a chuckle or two between us, it was nice to see that I am not completely alone in my little corner of the world when it comes to attire and outlook.
------------

By that point in the afternoon, I should point out, that I was dressed more casually than for school, and wore my usual after-school, cool weather duds: a pair of green corduroy jeans with a surcingle belt, an OCBD beneath an old cream and charcoal Norwegian fisherman's pullover sweater (it has been cold here as I say), and a pair of well-worn dark brown suede loafers. . . without socks. I know, I know.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Up North Style. . .

Bad Dad makes a friend. YMP and Bad Dad on the shores of Lake Michigan. Or was that Crystal Lake? The Grand Duchess takes a selfie in her kayak. How NOT to impress the girls sunning themselves along the river. YMP and Bad Dad kayaking on the Platte River headed toward Loon Lake. J ust back from a week in Northern Michigan in a charming and spacious house on the banks of the Betsie River outside of Thompsonville. A largely pleasant seven days despite some challenging episodes with the Young Master, who has picked up some very questionable habits and language from his friends in the 8th Grade during the school year just ended. But otherwise, we enjoyed ourselves and contemplated remaining for a few days longer since the house was available. In the end, we decided to return home as planned originally since neither my wife, nor I wanted to spend the remaining days chained to our computers in Zoom meetings from our vacation destination. I actually managed to leave the laptop and ip

Mid-June Thursday Style. . .

A nother pretty typical variation on the theme for late spring, summer, and very early fall. I'm a huge fan of Madras and have several such shirts in the seasonal rotation. Lightweight, exceedingly comfortable, and even dressy when pressed and tucked in, which is the usual way of things here at Totleigh in the Wold. Now, if I had my druthers, I'd still rather be skiing the trails in the upper half of "The Mitten" (of Michigan), in the Upper Peninsula, or Ontario. But summers ain't so bad either, and I'd look pretty funny walking around in cross-country ski attire during June. -- Heinz-Ulrich

A Lazy Saturday at the End of June. . .

A sleepy first half of the weekend here at Totleigh. Warmer and quite humid ahead of an approaching cool front here in Mid-Michigan. Perfect for yet another pair of chino shorts an a seersucker shirt -- tucked in of course -- with the usual leather deck shoes and ribbon belt. Otherwise, not much accomplished beyond a page or so of writing and monkeying around with audio settings for an upcoming podcast episode. However, I was not completely useless yesterday! I made a huge fruit salad for dinner, which the Grand Duchess and I enjoyed a short while later at the table on the back porch. The Young Master, as is his wont on Saturday evenings, took his dinner on a tray in the TV room upstairs where he whiled away a couple of hours on Flight Simulator, flying some sort of commercial airliner to some destination across the Atlantic or Pacific. I would have loved that sort of technology at about nine or 10 way back during the late 1970s, aka The Stone Age. As it is, my sister and

Classic Style

Search This Blog