Classic Style

  The upper half this chilly, wet day.   And the lower half with some blue dress socks just peeking out between the loafers and pant cuffs. A s Popeye used to say, "I've taken all I can stand, and I can't stands no more!"   I gently refused my ophthalmologist's attempts to fist-bump, elbow-bump, and high-five me this morning when he entered the exam room where I waited.  I told him I am a handshake guy, and I'd be happy to do that if he would pass the pump bottle of hand sanitizer that was prominent in the room.   The conversation and exam moved on pleasantly and quickly.  Without a handshake.  Sorry for not being sorry about that.  But, you understand, the attempted forms of greeting outlined above smack way too much of bro culture for me.  I understand, in the age of Covid-19, why we have been advised not shake hands.   And I'd just as soon not touch most people anyway.  Even pre-pandemic.  But I'll stick to the plain, old handshake when the opportu

  Not so much the sailing boats in the background, but the attire manages to convey the spirit of the (coming) summer season rather nicely.   Y esterday I not only met a goal I set for myself at the end of September 2020, I surpassed it by a bit after mowing the yard in the late afternoon.  I have now lost 36 pounds in about eight months and weight exactly what I did in 1990.  Just below 150 pounds.  I've also lost two inches around the waist in the process.  The gradual weight reduction, after several such attempts the last ten years or so, comes from my own desire to take off some pounds, especially around the middle.  I recall reading once that the longer one takes to lose extra weight, the harder it becomes to do so. So now, a few years on the wrong side of 50, is the time. The secret?  No special diet(s).  No gym membership.  No starving myself.  Simply cutting caloric intake each day by reducing serving sizes (actual serving sizes for most foods are pretty small), counting

  The top half, featuring a nice combination of J. Press Shirt, Ben Silver necktie, and cotton Brooks Brothers jacket.  The latter two items have been in the rotation for the last eight to 10 years and appear frequently during the warmer months whenever I can find an excuse to dress.  The cotton pocket square from the folks at Put This On is seersucker and features various Hawaiian-themed motifs. The bottom half, featuring some recently shined loafers that have appeared here on Classic Style often.  I am of two minds about shoeshines.  One the one hand, I really like a high gloss on the toes and heels of lace-up dress shoes.  For more casual shoes like loafers, though, a nice sheen like you get from buffing the moisturized leather with a horsehair shoe brush, one of my late maternal grandfather's, is hard to beat. And the socks!  Cotton to-the-knee from Dapper Classics of course.   K eeping the faith here today at Totleigh-in-the-Wold, dressing presentably for the two halves of my

  I n our slovenly, anything goes society of the 21st century -- The situation is nothing new and has been a long time in coming. . .  Race to the bottom is an apt descriptor. -- it strikes me that all of us could learn a thing or two from our son's school teachers, Tae Kwon Do instructors, and therapists.   In short, it is we who have the power to change things about ourselves and lives.  Whether, or not we choose to do that, is the sticking point.  Nevertheless, the following points can help us all to assess, change, and elevate ourselves, becoming more pleasant and successful people in our personal and professional lives through continuing efforts to do more and become better individuals.  None of what I propose is about impossible standards to head off any braying naysayers out there.  What it is about is holding ourselves to a higher standard than has become the sad accepted norm in a relatively short span of time. Now, before we get into this any further, let's address

    You cannot go wrong with a navy blazer.  This one --- one of four or maybe five in the rotation -- has three buttons on the front.    M y first ever asynchronous online conference presentation this morning, a poster session on minimizing student storms in a teacup through weekly supporting communications for online courses.   This was part of our annual conference on teaching, learning, and student success.  What is still referred to by some old hands here on campus as The Spring Institute although it has not been called that for some years.   My particular session was definitely not the same thing as being in a room full of people, but I did have one question and related request for additional information.  Strange times indeed. -- Heinz-Ulrich Of course, one cannot go wrong pairing a navy blazer with a pair of khakis and some penny loafers either.  I've more or less dressed like this since I was about 12 when it has been time to appear pulled together.  Yes, even when I was a