Classic Style

  L et's hope 2021 is a damn sight better for everyone than 2020.  In the meantime, how about continuing to work consciously and conscientiously to improve our grooming  and attire as well as our attitudes and daily behavior, eh guys?  Looking around, many of us desperately need to do so.  So, how about making 2021 THE year to begin that journey? -- Heinz-Ulrich

  F rom all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the von Boffke family. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  Sporting new specs and almost 20 pound of weight loss since the end of September.  Everything fits better!   V ery few selfie photos here lately of yours truly, but after snapping a quick photograph of my new glasses to share with my sister and step-father, our son, The Young Master, suggested I share one here too.   No tailored clothing today I'm afraid.  Classes for the semester ended last Friday, and I've taught asynchronous online from home since late August anyway, suiting up only for twice weekly office hours and brief weekly videos.   The attire shown above is pretty standard at home wear for the colder months, which is to say a tucked in flannel shirt (or rugby jersey), corduroy jeans (a rather orange-cinnamon-nutmeg shade today), chocolate suede camp moccasins sans socks, and a surcingle belt.   Casual and comfortable without straying into slob territory.  Hey, what if I must answer the door, walk to the mailbox, or pick ...

    S ince we are now firmly into the annual depths of the so called season of giving, it's important to remember a couple of points impressed on yours truly during my formative years by now late parents and maternal grandparents.   One, if you are invited to a holiday party or open house -- assuming you choose to throw continued social distancing and caution completely to the wind in late 2020 -- do not show up empty handed.  Too many do now. . .  typically along with extras in tow whose names were not included on the invitation.  Show a token bit of appreciation and respect for Pete's sake.  At the very least, bring a bottle or two of wine, or a seasonal flower arrangement as a host or hostess gift if someone has been kind enough to include you on the guest list.  Two, put a little planning and forethought into whatever gift(s) you might purchase for your spouse, partner, significant other, boyfriend, girlfriend, main squeeze, or whatever ...

  E ven though the state of the world is pretty bleak, things are looking up, and we have much for which to be thankful. - Heinz-Ulrich.

  T he 2020 Covid-19 inflected holiday season is almost upon us, and with it the annual lead-up to the rather frenetic Thanksgiving through New Year's period.  While I naturally hope that regular and occasional visitors to Classic Style will have the good graces NOT to show up to any special holiday dinners or other events dressed in pilled earthtone fleeces, hoodies, sweatpants, sagging jeans, and flip-flops or sneakers -- or, frankly, any other common attire of the sort -- this post is not about that. Nope.  Instead, it's a yearly reminder to average guys everywhere to remember and practice polite table manners.  Even if you are practicing social distancing, reamaining home, and scaling back this year sans the extended clan.  Social bubbles are sweet ideas, but let's not be foolhardy.  We don't really know yet when vaccines will be widely available after all.  In any case, and with polite, pleasant dining in mind, here is a reprise of a post from...

A Borsalino 'Classico' felt fedora is on the way.  I chose taupe this time around since I already have a chocolate brown 'Dearborn' by Optimo Hats and a different model of fedora from Borsalino in charcoal gray.   A recent birthday left yours truly with a nice little bit of funds burning a hole in the sartorial pocket, so after today's office hours online. . .  which no students attended. . .  I did something about that.  I first placed an order for another couple of shirts from Mercer & Sons.  Then, I ordered a Borsalino Classico Felt Fedora from Holland Hats via our friends at Amazon.     A blue windowpane pattern in broadcloth, replacing a similar though long gone button-down I once had and loved.  I wore it often with a necktie, navy blazer, khakis, and tasseled loafers to various department dinners and evening events as a grad student at the tail end of the 90s and into the early 2000s.    A less staid classic navy, g...

  The inimitable Jack Paar from the days when there was actually interesting conversation to be found on late night television. N ow, let's talk once again about how we can improve our daily attire, character, and manners.  Like we used to before all of the toxic ugliness took hold of U.S. sociopolitical life.  I've got to believe that we are capable of more than that.  Let's hope we are able to cleanse ourselves of the viscous excrement that has permeated absolutely everything for the last several years. -- Heinz-Ulrich.

   Just who is this funny little Austrian everyone is suddenly going on about?   I n a different context, all of this post-election wrangling might be wryly amusing.  If it weren't, at the same time, so utterly terrifying. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Not sure who the artist behind this particular illustration was, but his work seems highly apt for today, don't you think?   H ere's a modest proposal for November 04, 2020.  Let's do our damnedest to preserve those few remaining vestiges of the humanity, humility, decency, and restraint left to us.  Let's also include honesty (with others and ourselves), empathy, kindness, compassion, forbearance, civility, grace, a bit of polite decorum, tolerance, good sportsmanship, and honor as part of the equation.  None are easy, and I suppose that is just one reason these characteristics and practices have taken such a beating in recent decades.  Aren't we better than that though?  Wait.  Don't say anything.  The cynic in me suggests that I know the real answer already. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  T aking a much needed breather here this Sunday, November 1st.  And if anyone wants to know, my costume for Halloween was. . .  Sick and tired.  Of everything.   In the race toward Christmas, which here in the United States seems to end as of 11:59pm on December 25th, let's not forget that more staid, enjoyable national holiday near the end of November (here in the U.S.) that tends to get lost in the shuffle.  Of course, I'm referring to Thanksgiving with its related long weekend.  But turkey?  Please.  I'm more into all of the good side dishes and desserts that go along with it. But even if we must scale back this year and avoid the traditional large family gatherings -- perhaps enjoying the peace and calm of our own homes and immediate family a bit more as a result since all of that loony holiday travel will be somewhat curtailed (maybe?) -- let's not forget to be thankful for what we have.  It's worth taking a few quiet moments...

  The attire for working from home today,  It's hard to beat tweed, cords, and an ocbd shirt.  I seem to have acquired quite a few of the latter in blue and white university stripes during the last ten years or so. T he gear for today has felt so comfy that I have not yet changed into the ubiquitous Rugby top, corduroy jeans, and chocolate suede camp moccasins post-Zoom office hours.  And those concluded 2.5 hours ago.  Certainly every bit as cozy as sweats on a cool day.  Yes, you heard that right, but let's consider a salient point for a moment.  The vast majority always moan about not feeling comfortable in dressier attire.  While I am of the opinion that their discomfort is more psychological, let's stick to the physical world for now.  Here's an oft repeated pointer to keep in mind, guys.  If your clothes are sized properly, if they fit your actual physical dimensions in other words, you'll feel much more comfortable in them.  ...

  A jaunty looking guy in a tweed suit with what appear to be chocolatey suede shoes.  An old Laurence Fellows illustration that I don't think has ever featured here before on the Classic Style blog. M y view on dress and personal style is hopelessly out of step with much of the rest of society now.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing though.  Keep in mind that I am an aging 80s rocker metal head, who finally got with the program by the mid-1990s once I worked out in my mid- to late 20s how I wanted life to be after biting the academic bullet and returning to school.  With that experience from the other side of the sartorial and social tracks in mind, allow me to hold forth a bit.  Grooming and how we attire ourselves remain important in the 21st century if we are brutally honest about it.   For people to be taken seriously, it still helps to present a pulled together, polished appearance -- Note I did not use the term 'suit.' -- rather than sham...

The attire for today! S ince the semester began at the start of September, my go to uniform for online Zoom meetings, office hours, and weekly video production has been a variation of the navy blazer-chino-loafer-OCBD combination above.  Usually with some shade of blue dress socks and a necktie of some kind.  Comfy, laid back, and yet still pulled together.   It sure beats appearing for public consumption, online or otherwise, looking like you've slept rough beneath the 10th Street Bridge, or under some handy shrubs in a park somewhere.  And if you think that's overstatement, just take a look at people the next time you're in virtually any public space.   Polish and sophistication are not terms that come readily to mind when looking at humanity in 2020, iPhones, SUVs, branded clothing, and presumed bachelors degrees notwithstanding.   -- Heinz-Ulrich  

One of my many memories about my mother is her oil painting.  When I was four and five years old, I'd frequently sit on the floor near her easel while she worked, chatting about the day and taking in the decidedly pleasant aroma of the paints, linseed oil, and so forth.  Probably part of the reason why I enjoy using oils in my own hobby activities now and again.   O l' Mom slipped away fairly quickly last week once my sister took her to the hospital last Tuesday evening although she was aware enough during the latter part of the week to converse with doctors and give definite answers to difficult questions.  She was transferred to a hospice in Pinehurst, North Carolina Saturday afternoon, just five minutes from her house there.  She died a short time later just after my sister arrived with a few of Mom's things from home.   None of this has been unexpected since Mom shared her diagnosis in July given the various cancers in her system and...

    The proverbial overflowing hamper of dirty laundry, which seems to be the look many men of various ages strive for actively in 2020.  I maintain they just don't know any better. W hether you are lucky enough to be able to work from home via online applications like Zoom, Teams, Monday.com, etc., or you are back in the office wearing a mask and social distancing, do everything in your power to avoid looking like an overstuffed lawn & leaf bag with legs.  How you present yourself to the world counts, guys. Business casual does not mean turning up for work in anything resembling pajamas, t-shirts with ironic sayings, sweatpants, cargo shorts, or anything with wrinkles, rips, tears, food, or grease stains.  Unless you intend to resemble a terminally 30-year old cafe barista with a five-day growth forever working your way part-time through some kind of indeterminate masters degree program that people still don't understand even after hearing you explain it f...

    F riday evening, The Grand Duchess and I enjoyed the change in temperature by sitting out on the screened back porch until quite late in the evening talking about this and that.  Covid-19, its effect on U.S. society, our government's woeful lack of response to the ongoing public crisis, our state's response, our university's response, the general quality of the students, what the scholarship of teaching and learning can or should do to reach the mean while maintaining a fairly high level or academic rigor, etc.  While I could not articulate it very well at the time, the following thought has gradually clarified itself during the last few days.  So, here goes.   We can clamor all we want for the coveted "change," but perhaps we should take a more grass roots approach that's a bit closer to home?  Maybe, just maybe, if we want a change in outcomes, whatever the issue under scrutiny might be, we ought to be much more willing to examine, reevaluat...

  Not my photograph, but it conveys the subject of today's post.   W hen I was out for my usual evening walk post-bedtime for The Young Master on Thursday, I saw overhead not one but three separate V's of Canada Geese!  The time was just after 9m, and they were flying into the stunning peach sunset in the west-southwest.  We always start to see such large flocks about this time each summer once again, presumably starting to make their trek south after summering and having new families here in mid-Michigan or points further north.  All told, I'd estimate the total number of geese in the three formations to be about 120 or so.  Fowl (ahem) tempered birds, but beautiful to observe in flight. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Are you guilty of this particular charming habit?  Back before social distancing and working from home, the number of people I noticed daily who could not seem to keep their digits out of their nostrils in public was truly stomach churning.  When did everyone start behaving like ill-bred toddlers in a sandbox? U m, men?  We can be the most handsome, most physically fit, best dressed, highly educated, and most accomplished raconteurs around.  But you know what?  We're only as pleasant as our personal habits.  The kind of things you do when you're alone, or when you think no one is watching.  Personal habits might include everything from the condition in which you leave the bathroom following a shave and shower -- or after, ahem, using the facilities -- to making sure dirty clothing makes it into the hamper immediately upon removal, to how you behave at the table during mealtimes, to the state of your entryway and living space, to. . .  Fill in the ...

Not without its problem spots due to tree roots, thin soil, and possibly 35-year old construction debris, but the front lawn looks pretty good in this photograph.  The large bed below the two trees at the upper left needs something done about it, but that will need to wait until cool weather.  I need to locate the paving stones around its edge and get the grass and ground cover off of them. The rear lawn looks equally inviting although it too has quite a few problem spots that some professionally administered top dressing might help, but that will have to wait until next spring or possibly later.  Not sure if I want to undertake that particular task myself. Still, the circular bed in the front lawn looks pretty good here.  The transplanted ornamental grass, which used to live around the mailbox, has taken to its new spot, the Marigolds are still blooming, and it shouldn't be too much longer before the Black-eyed Susans begin to flower.  We need to limit our plan...

A summery selection of old Laurence Fellows  illustrations to put you in the mood for dressing a cut or two above the usual sad average as you fire up the grill on this Independence Day here in the United States.  And while it's doubtful that most will don a summer weight suit or odd jacket and pants combo, remember that clothing does convey a lot about the person wearing it, whether we like it or not, and so maybe a collared short-sleeved shirt, non-frayed shorts, and fairly clean athletic shoes (at the very least) might be in order regardless of whatever form your celebration takes.  As for yours truly, we're staying home this weekend.  I'll make a batch of my mother's mustard potato salad plus a chilled dessert, and grill bratwursts late in the day for dinner.  The Young Master and I will set off a few small firecrackers at dusk.  And all while clad in my very typical madras shirt, khaki shorts, and well-worn leather docksiders.  July 4th is pretty...

Matt and Bob White of Hubert White on the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.  The firm has sold menswear to the more discerning since 1916.  Highly knowledgeable, very pleasant sales staff in my experience. I cannot recall the last time I have encountered a genuinely helpful retail salesperson (for a litany of reasons).  It is rare to stumble across someone who is actually trained to assist rather than virtually untrained, knows his or her stock, or who does not attempt a hard sell.  As the saying goes, you can't find good help anymore, and that has certainly applied to retail clothing stores for many years.  Once in a while, however, there are places that stand out when it comes to true customer service.  In late 2003 or early '04, not long after grad school and in my first teaching job at a small area college, which has since closed, I visited Hubert White (men's clothier) on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis for a couple of new neckties and some ot...

Mr. Young Master helping his students settle in on the first day of school by describing for them what the summer session will look like. And Mr. Young Master's class.  A real menagerie before he called class to order. S artorially, not much going on here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold.  Summers are pretty quiet here attire-wise.  However, The Young Master and I do toss on decent looking, casual though collared shirts of one sort or another daily when we dress each morning along with with (my) chino, Bermuda, or Madras shorts and (his) jeans.  The Young Master sports a recent acquisition above, one of a number of new polo shirts his mother, The Grand Duchess, purchased for him last month given his rapid growth since January.  Children grow like weeds as the saying goes.  As for me, otherwise known as 'Bad Dad' around these parts, I'm wearing a new seersucker number this morning, a Father's Day gift yesterday, with tiny navy, light blue, red, teal, and white checks...