Skip to main content

A Summer Capsule Wardrobe. . .

The sort of items I basically live in when at home from May through September each year until things cool down enough for corduroy jeans and rugby tops.

Without going crazy, or busting the ol' bank account, it is entirely possible to put together a versatile casual summer wardrobe that will both keep you comfortable AND looking a bit more pulled together than the sad average in 2021. 

As my parents used to point out when my sister and I were children and brought home the occasional 'C' on a quarterly report card card from school, "Average is nothing to be excited about.  You can do better than that."  Sharing that sentiment will, no doubt, rile up some readers, but ol' Mom and Dad had a point.

Indeed, we can do better than average, even with our casual summer attire.  After all, you only need a few pairs of shorts and a few shirts to mix and match in various combinations that will keep you looking decent without having to put a whole lot of thought into it when you dress each day.  Since so many fall back on lack of time and too much effort required as the reasons why they do not present themselves better, this can be an important consideration.

Dressing presentably needn't require a lot of time, effort, or money.  Awareness, however, is more than half the battle when it comes to kicking up one's daily presentation by several notches above what has become the accepted norm most places.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Comments

  1. Re: "Dressing presentably needn't require a lot of time, effort, or money."

    Hear! Hear!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am, for example, sitting at my compute in yet another Madras shirt with a pair of khaki shorts and my worn, old dock-sider shoes while updating course pages for one of my courses coming up this fall. Well, at the moment, I am avoiding that by answering your comment on the blog!

    Best Regards,

    H-U

    ReplyDelete
  3. Agreed. I tend to go a bit more formal, wearing a coat and tie for work most days, but madras, seersucker and oxford cloth shirts, with khaki or poplin pants or shorts and deck shoes is a great way to feel comfortable and look good when not needing to present a professional polish. What is so difficult about that? If one makes an allowance for non-iron cloth, it is as easy to dress presentably as it is to look like an unmade bed. It beats what I see on most men these days.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

All opinions are welcome here. Even those that differ from mine. But let's keep it clean and civil, please.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Popular Posts

Avoid Careless Chatter. . .

    E specially about the personal details of our lives.  There is a lot that OUGHT to be kept more private in 2022 than has become the accepted norm for many.  With the conscious and intentional cultivation of classic style in mind, however, we want to avoid oversharing and keep a bit more of ourselves to ourselves.  Exactly what personal information and how much of it to keep private seems to be a slippery concept though.  Here’s my take based on what I was told and observed as a child and young person at home.  Basically, one should keep oneself to oneself in all respects (finances, personal worth, accomplishments, politics, sex, dirty laundry, etc.).  As my late father used to advise when we were very small, and I am talking preschool and kindergarten, there were particular subjects that were not discussed outside the immediate family.  There is a time and place for sharing certain details of one’s life, but most of the time, those should be played very close to the chest,

Chilly Late April Wednesday Attire. . .

    Y ou know, if it is going to remain this cold and blustery, I need about eight inches of snow for some more cross-country skiing.  But since the white stuff is long gone, it was time to fish through the cedar closet down in Zum Stollenkeller and pull out some cold weather attire for a seasonal reboot.   But I decided to forgo the usual gray herringbone jacket from J.  Press (my go-to tweed  sports jacket) and instead opted for this number from Hart, Schaffner, and Marx plus the tan cords that hang on the same hanger, so strenuous mental effort was not required.  Pressed the shirt after tucking in the Young Master last night at 8:30, grabbed these shoes, and socks, and Bob is your mother's brother as they say.   Occasionally gazing through the large library window to my immediate left this morning, and I keep hearing that old Jobim tune drift through my mind this morning (aided by the windmills), as sung by Astrud Gilberto ( together with Leonard Cohen and Paolo Conte, the musi

The Pleasaures of a Well-trained Dog. . .

  A few final photographs from my visit to my sister in Washington, D.C. last week.  These include  one of 'Mr. Beau,' my sister's meticulously trained and truly wonderful Doberman, another of my sister, second cousin, step-father, and yours truly on the steps of the church outside Lexington, North Carolina just after our late mother's interment service, two of me solo at the National Cathedral, and a final one of my sister and me hamming it up during a long evening walk the day before I returned to Michigan. My sister routinely walks to the cathedral, about three blocks from her place, to enjoy the grounds and gardens.  The Bishop's Garden, in particular, is a place she likes to sit for quiet contemplation and internal dialogues with our late maternal grandparents and mother, very much in keeping with the Episcopal side of things.  Our grandfather, who was raised Methodist, became an Episcopalian when he married our grandmother.   Before you ask, I am not sure tha