Classic Style

A nd here we are.  The end of November 2022, a blustery cold, day with intermittent snow.  So, time for a very heavy tweed number by Chipp with various other items and accessories.   This particular suit is most definitely not a shoulder season item.  It needs to be downright cold to wear comfortably, and, depending on the temperature outdoors, an odd waistcoat works well as part of the general ensemble.   My sister in Washington, D.C., who is currently working her way through various P.G. Wodehouse stories in audio form, joked earlier today about my channeling Bertie Wooster.   Funny.  I thought it was more in the direction of his Aunt Agatha.  Or possibly Bingo Little.   But who am I to criticize? -- Heinz-Ulrich

        F alling somewhere between Bruce Boyer, Hildebrandt 'Tuppy' Glossop, and possibly Tom Baker-era Dr. Who (showing my age and nerdness here I'm afraid) on the tailored attire spectrum today.  Items include a Haris Tweed jacket, Pendleton tweed overcoat, Borsalino fedora, and a near 30-year old schoolboy scarf given to me by my late mother one Christmas in the mid-1990s.  The waistcoat was a birthday or Christmas gift from The Grand Duchess a couple of years ago.  Overall, a bit dandy, perhaps, but a not unpleasant combination of items.  And certainly comfortable on a chilly day. -- Heinz-Ulrich          

    F inally cool enough to break out the double-breasted suits and navy blazer.  Yes!   Today's number is my first such suit, which was purchased a dozen or more years ago after I decided to try DB navy blazer and liked the look.  Now, I am well-aware that there are many people out there who are, for a variety of reasons, uncomfortable (physical or otherwise) with the double-breasted look, but I am not one of them.   While such attire without doubt sets one apart in our age of lowest common denominator clothing, so to do single-breasted suits, jackets, and blazers with a necktie (much less a self-tie bow tie).  It just goes with the territory given the sartorial depths to which most of society has sunk in recent decades.  Heck, the simple act of tucking in your shirt makes you stand out from the crowd almost anywhere these days.   But let's resist the peer pressure all around us, comrades!  Rather than worry too much abou...

  A few photographs from our Thanksgiving celebration yesterday evening.  After pumpkin pie with fresh coffee, The Young Master's bedtime, and clean-up, The Grand Duchess and I retired early to binge watch two episodes of Endeavor online.  You know.  Living life out there on the bloody edge.  But Sean Evans, Roger Allam, and the rest of the cast are excellent.  Amazing writing and cinematography too.  Plus, of course, the backdrop of Oxford in the U.K.  A delightful way to round out the day. Off to a ski shop today to have some bindings mounted to a new pair of cross-country skis for the coming season plus a bit of exploring in Ann Arbor before we return home to pick up our son, who is doing a day-long Tae Kwon Do clinic to prepare for his upcoming Black Belt Recommended test next week.  And some delicious leftovers for dinner this evening. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  H appy U.S. Thanksgiving everyone!  Among many things, let us be thankful for dressing and conducting ourselves with gentility.  Remember, a modicum of couth and decorum goes a long way toward polish and sophistication.   And, hey.  If you are hosting the annual gathering tomorrow -- and if you know of someone who will be alone on Thursday, November 24, 2022 -- why not invite them to join your cohort of friends and/or family for dinner and festivities?  It's a gracious way to usher in the start of the holiday season. Heinz-Ulrich

  T he U.S. day of Thanksgiving arrives in just a few days, so it's time for my annual reminder to men everywhere to make an effort, practice, and display a modicum of polish and sophistication when you sit down to the dining table with friends and family.  After all, we don't want to come across like we were raised in a barn.  Do we?   I n the blogosphere right now, you'll come across any number of blogs and websites that talk at great length about men's clothing style, grooming, appearance, and how these things contribute to our being/becoming/conducting/perceiving ourselves as Gentlemen .  Good.  That's a decent enough goal by itself.  However, it's only one small part of the equation.  There is another hugely important and related topic that almost no one -- though there are two or three -- seems to mention on the many blogs and websites on the subject that I peruse and read each week.  What is it, you ask? Why, table manners of cours...

  A blissfully quiet, early Monday here at the library cafe where I am checking email and taking care of a few other small things before meeting with (probably very few) students for class at 10:20.  Somehow, the four-day Thanksgiving Weekend long ago morphed into a 10 to 14-day vacation, with many students missing in action well ahead of (and following) the holiday break itself.   Inexplicably and imprudently since the end of the fall semester/term comes hot on the heels of the Thanksgiving holiday, and there are always a number of students who can ill afford the self-imposed interruption in their work and focus.  But, as the saying goes, you makes your choice, and you pays your price.  Forethought and planning ahead no longer seem to be part of the genetic code. Otherwise, an easy couple of days early this week before The Young Master and I bake a pie or two and prepare a few other dishes on Wednesday for the big day Thursday.  Since our respective ...

  T he Grand Duchess, Young Master, and I escaped for about 90 minutes late this (Sunday) morning to visit one of two local Nordic/cross-country ski areas for some early season skiing.  Much better glide today than yesterday thanks to a bit more snow over night and gradually freezing ground. No grooming yet, of course, but it was wonderful to get outside in the cold air and shake out those cobwebs!  Nothing quite like the relaxed, almost euphoric feeling that an hour of two of moderate exercise brings on and leaves in its wake.  For the rest of the day.  Ahhhh.   THIS is why ALL of us need more regular exercise.  The feeling of well-being it brings on might, just might, do a lot to calm the savage and ugly beast that always sees to be lurking just beneath the surface of society in 2022.  But I digress. Our Sunday tour was over all too soon, but a good start to the season nevertheless.  The Young Master even handled a few challenging area...

  W hile the Young Master and Grand Duchess were at Tae Kwon Do midday, I hit the trails at nearby Lake Lansing North.  Not so much skiing, and more a trudge, but it was still good to be out there.   About five inches of powdery, ungroomed snow on the ground, with windy, cold conditions, but the ground beneath is not yet fully frozen and still damp.  So lots of clumping snow on the bottom of the skis, which slows you down but quick.  But a decent first outing for the 2022-2023 season. Showered, in clean pajamas with a slice of cold pizza and a mug of fresh coffee now.  Ah, Saturdays at home!  -- Heinz-Ulrich

    N ovember 18th here in Mid-Michigan, and a busy first half of the day once the Young Master had departed for school with a meeting online with a colleague followed by another with a faculty learning community that I am co-facilitating this year.  After lunch, it was time to dig out the car and haul out the snowblower to clear the driveway.  She fired up on the first try.  Sears Craftsman baby! The at-home attire is one more variation of my cool weather uniform.  When you have a variety of similar items in a few colors, it's very easy to mix and match with almost no thought at all.  Ahhhh.  Dressing oneself reasonably well needn't be an arduous process. -- Heinz-Ulrich    

  A cold, gray November here in Mid-Michigan with intermittent snow showers and accumulation of a few inches expected tonight.  Further north, one of our favorite ski areas outside of Roscommon reports early rock ski conditions.  But they're open for skiing. . .  Yes!!! -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A nd spent 30 minutes or so midday talking cross-country skiing in northern Michigan and related ski equipment with a colleague.  I just LOVE this place!  Nirvana (or pretty close to it) on a cold, snowy Tuesday. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A version of the following piece appeared over on the Ivy Style website today.  I've gone over it one more time to fix a few things missed by spell- and grammar check that escaped my attention previously. . . T he Holiday Season is almost upon us ladies and gentlemen!   Given the anticipated uptick in related social occasions, and after two+ pandemic years, it’s time to revisit how we might leave a favorable impression in our wake.   Here’s a hint.   You call it corn, we call it poise. What’s that you might ask? A quaint notion in 2022, I realize, but poise, according to Mirriam-Webster online, is an easy self-possessed assurance of manner .   A p leasantly tranquil interaction between people.   A particular way of carrying oneself.   Put another way, poise is the practice of tact or graciousness in how we interact with others in various situations .     When it comes to the embodiment of poise, I always imagine people like Aud...