Navy Blazer Thursday. . .

I cannot recall when I have ever enjoyed my attire like I have the last several months since the Fall 2021 semester kicked off at the start of September. Almost 18 months stuck at home will do that I suppose.

While the foundational items have been seen here before, the shirt is new, or rather it has not appeared in a long, long time with any combination of navy blazer and pants. I purchased it as one of several new shirts from Land's End during early fall 2004 in my first teaching job after graduate school when I added to and expanded what was a very basic professional wardrobe.

Although you don't necessarily need a huge amount of clothing to present yourself well, at some point you do want more than just a couple of sports jackets and two or three dress shirts. In any case, the shirt pictured above sees the light of day infrequently these days. But it is fun to trot out now and then and works well with the knitted silk necktie selected for today.

The chocolate suede belt and shoes made one last appearance for the season. Sooner, or later, we'll have too much snow and ice on the ground, and winter footwear will be called for as I mentioned yesterday. Right now, it's sort of the footwear equivalent of smoke 'em if you've got 'em.

Tomorrow (Friday) is a relatively easy day with just three meetings scheduled. Meetings I am actually looking forward to, so make a mark on the wall. While I could easily do them from home via Zoom, I am toying with the idea of heading into campus early in the morning simply to have the excuse to dress for work again. I know, I know. I am a vain so and so!

However, the nicest part of the midday was when The Grand Duchess joined me in the library with her briefcase and laptop. For about an hour, we worked across the table from each other like we did as grad students 20+ years ago. I had forgotten how nice that was.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

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

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