Classic Style

  It's the final day of May 2023, and we're f ully into summer mode here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold.  At least for today.   Now, not everyone is into leather boat shoes, no socks, or even short pants on grown men I acknowledge.  But since the weather forecast is for near 90 F. by afternoon in our neck of the woods, it's how we typically roll here in the Grand Duchy during the warmer part of the year. Before anyone points out the apparent splash of talcum powder, flour, or cocaine across my shirt in the upper photograph, it was actually very bright, direct early morning sunshine creeping through/around the window blinds where I sat enjoying coffee and toast with strawberry jam. . .  sans wife and teen-aged child.  The hour alone with my thoughts was, in a word, heavenly. Time now to take care of some light housework and look more closely into beginning some work in the backyard adding a border to the periphery along one of the beds back there.  Two pa...

  A n 8am meeting online this morning, followed by our usual Friday morning breakfast out at the local quick and greasy that we like so much.  Attire for the day includes the typical pieces by Press, Edmonds, Bean, and Land's End.  The dapper Classics socks are a light green with tiny navy pin dots.   The belt is a braided leather number also from L.L. Bean.  Now back home at my computer, I have changed into a pair of medium khaki shorts, a solid navy Rugnby top. and my well-worn pair of Sebago leather deck shoes along with a navy and orange ribbon belt.  Perfect for getting a few things done at the desk with some late afternoon lawn chores outside before dinner.  Mowing on tap for tomorrow.  Yep.  That's right.  Suburban. . . dad strikes again. -- Heinz-Ulrich

    I drew the short end of the stick today and am off to pick up the Young Master at school for yet another appointment with his orthodontist.  Ah, well.  Just an excuse to pull on some reasonable, adult male attire.  Oh, the horror. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  K illing some time early yesterday (Tuesday) morning over a large dark roast (black) in an off-campus cafe before an 8:30 appointment.  Here's the attire.  And while I really need to brush out those chalk fingerprints on the blazer lapel, they do add a certain nonchalance now that I look at the photograph a second time. For all the palaver about and obsession with dressing "comfortably," I would feel decidedly ill at ease turning up for an appointment, teaching, traveling, or otherwise appearing in public clad in sweats, ripped jeans, or grubby khakis that should have been retired 15 years ago.  Besides, if your clothes actually fit your body, they ARE comfortable by definition. Badda-bing, badda-boom. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  A bit of a chill in the air this early morning here in Mid-Michigan, hence the corduroy jeans and Norwegian fisherman's sweater.  Very appropriate, as luck would have it, for May 17th, which is Norway's national day.   On this day in 1814, the Norwegian constitution was signed by participants in Eidsvoll, ending more than four centuries of Danish rule over the country.  Norway became part of a dual monarchy under the Swedish crown until 1905, but with considerably greater autonomy than it enjoyed as part of Denmark. For my purposes, Norwegian independence in 1814 gave rise to the eventual language controversy, which was/is an important part of Norwegian cultural life.  Various Norwegian nationalists, most notably self-taught linguist Ivar Andreas Aasen, determined that their country needed is own written language.  An orthography that better reflected actual Norwegian speech than did the written Danish that held sway in educated and administrative c...

  J ourneyed into campus early today for the in-person day of our annual Teaching and Learning Conference where I also delivered a paper early during the afternoon.  A combination of Brooks, Press, Bean, Edmonds, and Land's End for a not unpleasant ensemble.  Not readily apparent are the tan, olive, and stone Argyll socks along with a reddish brown braided leather belt.  -- Heinz-Ulrich

  T oday is the Grand Duchess' 29th birthday (once again), so we escaped to our favorite local quick and greasy for breakfast once the Young Master had departed on the school bus.  We both had appointments on or around campus later in the morning, so we breakfasted dressed for public consumption.  I was all J. Press above the waist.  A rare shot of my aging mug, shaving nick and all.   I can't decide if these particular eyeglass frames are more Elvis Costello, or more Michael Caine.  "It takes a man in a tweed suit three seconds to fall from the top of Tower Bridge to the street below.  Now, there's not a lot of people who know that!"  You be the judge.  Anyway, a special dinner this evening with flowers, a few gifts, and some wine by the fire following the Young Master's bedtime.  It's still chilly here in Mid-Fishigan. -- Heinz-Ulrich