Glen Plaid Double-Breasted Monday. . .

Halloween night, it finally grew cold here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold, so Monday morning seemed like the perfect time to don another one of several double-breasted suits in the fall-winter-early spring rotation. This particular suit, which has been in my closet for about 10 years, is one of my favorites.

Thanks to some recent alterations due to the great weight loss of 2020-2021, the suit now has an amazing silhouette. You'll have to take my word for it, given the impromptu photographs above, but I look like I've stepped out of a Laurence Fellows illustration, circa 1935. The key is waist suppression, which I also had done to a navy blue double-breasted number that shows up here from time to time.

My tailor and I have developed a wonderful working relationship during the last five years that I have been taking him things for alterations. I simply try things on, stand before his mirror, tell him what I am after, and ask his opinion. He and his wife also sometimes make suggestions, which always succeed in taking things to the next level as far as fit and appearance are concerned.

As we chat about family or this and that, he pinches things in a bit, clamps or pins, and makes a few marks with his tailor's chalk. And before my eyes, very suddenly and as if by magic, the suit, jacket, or pants looks amazing.

The work itself usually takes about five to seven days before he texts that the order is ready for pick-up, and his rates, while not always cheap, seem very reasonable based on the online research I've done on pricing by tailors around the U.S. His expertise is well worth the money and time to have my off the rack things altered, and the results speak for themselves.

I'll try to have my wife take a full length shot of this particular suit the next time I wear it.

I realize that, on campus, I must look as alien as a creature from another galaxy. When you occasionally see another man dressed in a suit, he is usually a member of higher echelons of university administration, and the suit is, invariably, a single-breasted model, sometimes a sports jacket and odd pants combo, with (thankfully) a tie.

You NEVER see male (or male presenting) faculty in a double-breasted (not to mention a genuine fur felt fedora). If anyone thinks anything at all as they pass by me, it is probably along the lines of, "Look at that ass in the double-breasted suit. Someone tell him that Halloween is over."

That's alright with me. I just figure they don't get out enough. And besides, nice clothing is only a costume when you don't wear it very often. Put it on four or five days a week for most of the year, and it soon becomes very comfortable, both physically and mentally.

Lack of self-consciousness in one's attire is a huge part of the battle when it comes to looking good in tailored clothing. And that comes through actually wearing those suits, sports jackets, and neckties with decent leather dress shoes more than once or twice a year.

-- 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

CharlottesvilleNovember 3, 2021 at 9:05 AM
Keep it up, Heinz-Ulrich. I rarely wear my DB suits or blazer, but they definitely make for an elegant look. Even wearing a tie and sport coat raises eyebrows these days, so why not go all in?
WSTKS-FM WorldwideNovember 3, 2021 at 12:27 PM
Thank you Charlottesville! I will.

Best Regards,

H-U

Classic Style

Search This Blog