Classic Style

  M ore of the usual suspects for this time of year today.  Notable is the Robert Talbott 'Ancient Madder' necktie, which for some odd reason does not see the light of day much.  A shame given its interesting yet muted pattern.  I picked it up in a thrift shop a dozen or more years ago for about two or three dollars U.S. -- Heinz-Ulrich

D oubtless, I resembled an extra lurking in the background of a Jeeves and Wooster episode, but it was cold and intermittently snowy here in Mid-Michigan today.  Perfect weather for this heavy tweed suit by Chipp along with various other equally warm items. I've had the suit in the cold weather rotation for about seven or eight years, and it's definitely a winter item given its weight.  No transitional shoulder season about it.  Were the temperature above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, I'd swelter.  But cold and snowy with a stiff breeze and slightly cool inside?  This is your suit.  My shoes were protected from the icy slop by bright orange SWIMS overshoes, which garnered a compliment from a retired M.D. who crossed my path in a branch of The Caffeinated Mermaid where I sometimes kill an hour very early in the morning.  You know.  Before most of the world is up and moving.   I do this since none of the campus cafes are open before 8am, and it'...

  A bit of external decorating this afternoon out ahead of the beginning of Advent, including the two wreaths for the 2023 Advent and Christmas season as well as the tiny white icicle lights along the eaves of the front porch.  That's the extent of our outdoor holiday decor.  No balloon goon snowmen, reindeer, or Grinches for us, thank you.  Just relatively simple and understated. The addition of my trusty old vintage L.L Bean Norwegian fisherman's sweater (I have a few) and some gloves kept me warm enough for the task without impairing movement or snagging in anything as I arranged everything and occasionally stood back to check progress.  We'll add the trees about the 15th of December, but I'll pick up a few new pillar candles early this coming week for our Advent wreath centerpiece for the dining room table where we have breakfast and our evening meals. -- Heinz-Ulrich 

  T he Saturday of Thanksgiving Weekend.  After a mug of coffee, it was time for a quick shower, dressing,and breakfast with the Young Master before the Grand Duchess and I headed out to the (now indoor) farmer's market.  Not as large or inviting an affair as in the late spring, summer, and early fall since it is held within our dying mall, but it was nice to buy my wife a coffee, have a look around, and make a few small purchases. It's cold now here in Mid-Michigan, so time for yet another typical evening/weekend combination of attire to make an appearance.  The usual suspects you understand.  Corduroy jeans, a flannel shirt, and suede camp moccasins along with a nave and orange ribbon belt.  Cozy and warm, yet pulled together in case someone rings the doorbell or, as did we, the wish or need to venture out arises.   -- Heinz-Ulrich

  V ery aware of and thankful for relative safety in light of so much conflict and danger in the world at present.  Happy Thanksgiving +1. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  H appy (U.S.) Thanksgiving from all of us here at Classic Style to all of you!  The Grand Duchess, Young Master, and yours truly will enjoy a quiet day tomorrow (Thursday) and a delightful dinner at our home here in Mid-Michigan tomorrow with the obligatory pumpkin pie and coffee afterwards.  Well-attired of course since it is a special occasion.  No doubt, a game of Scrabble of Yatzi with some more wine, and maybe a seconcd helping of pie, by the hearth will follow once the Young Master has been tucked in for the night.  Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone! Kind Regards, Heinz-Ulrich

    A decided chill in the air today.  Up and moving quite early, I decided to head to a branch of The (Topless) Mermaid across the street from campus this morning for some uninterrupted work on my laptop with a grande dark roast.  Were there alternatives, I would happily oblige.  But for some very odd reason, especially given the size of Michigan State, there is a dearth of cafes in campus town (such as it is).  On campus, we have the MSU chain Sparty's , but their coffee always tastes burned, and there is no ambiance to speak of.  And although the promised library branch of The Mermaid has yet to open, and one man's ambiance is another man's Sartrean purgatory, the branch of The Mermaid just off campus it was between 6:30-10:30am today.   Delightfully quiet in any case out ahead of the long Thanksgiving weekend since so many students have either left for home already, or have used the approaching holiday as yet another excuse to avoid any ...

  N ow and then, the Grand Duchess and I are able to sneak away to our favorite local quick and greasy for a Friday morning breakfast after the Young Master has climbed aboard the bus and left for school.  Today, we enjoyed scrambled eggs, ham, and wheat toast (her) and a fried egg sandwich with so called America Fries (me).  Tea (for Sonja), coffee, and orange juice for two topped off the meal. The fried egg sandwich consists of a buttered English muffin between which are two eggs over easy, a large slice of ham, and melted cheddar cheese, served piping hot off the griddle.  To die for as the saying goes.  And if you eat enough of them I suppose you might, but once in a while is fine in my book.  And man are they tasty. Breakfast-wear was a slightly more casual version of the usual cool weather attire, which allows me to sail smoothly into a couple of Friday afternoon zoom meetings without the need to change clothes.  And hey, looking presentable even...

  A not unpleasant combination of a few usual suspects today for an on campus meeting that was cancelled after I traveled in.  Ah, well.  There followed about 3.5 hours of writing in a nearby cafe with fresh dark roast coffee and, later, a hot chocolate.  All good as they say. The pants are wool flannel while the jacket is corduroy of course.  The first outing for this particular combination this season,  Imagine my surprise when I discovered a rolled bow tie from last spring in one of the jacket pockets early this morning.   The whales necktie picture is Land's End but hand-sewn and has been in the rotation for at least 15 years.  It was purchased, I think, from the one-time Land's End store on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin during the early 2000s.  Before the arrival of the now 14-year old Young Master, the Grand Duchess and I used to weekend there fairly often since it was a straight shot up Interstate 39 from Bloomington-Normal i...

A sunny, breezy mid-November day today, so perfect for trotting out the Allen Edmonds Schautal suede brogues one more time.  Might as well since, sooner or later, our weather will be more in keeping with L.L. Bean boots, duck shoes, or SWIMS at the very least.   Otherwise, more of the usual suspects, including a shirt and necktie from J. Press.  Illustrating, yet again, that one needn't report for work looking like he is dressed to change the oil in the car, clean out the garage, or rake leaves in the yard on a weekend morning.  Time, place, and occasion in other words. -- Heinz-Ulrich  

  A rather more casual look yesterday (Saturday) than usual, but perfect for a late morning out with the Grand Duchess to visit the local farmers' market.  She treated me to a coffee at a locally owned bookstore after the fact and we managed to kill a couple of hours talking about this and that and catching up in general.  It's odd, but I don't recall that my grandparents' or parents' lives were quite so overly packed with needless activities during the week during the 1970s and 80s when I was a child and young person still at home.  Has the rise of personal technology during the last 30-odd year and always needing to be "on" done this to us?   At the risk of being told I am somewhat mistaken, or just flat out wrong, I'll stick my head out nevertheless and answer my own question with a resounding "Yes."  Maybe all of that email, text messages, and the like can wait until Monday.  Or we triage that communication and decide that some (most?) o...

  The shoulder patch of the 13th Airborne Division, my late maternal grandfather's outfit for much of his service during 1942-1946.   T hinking today of my late maternal grandfather, David Lewis Stokes from Lexington North Carolina, who answered the call like so many others more than 80 years ago following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Initially anti-aircraft personnel, he later trained and served as glider infantry before taking the opportunity to train as a paratrooper ahead of the planned invasion of France.   Miraculously, he, along with his two older brothers and three brothers-in-law (Uncles Baxter, Jack, Sid, Charlie, and Bob) all managed to come home and lead relatively normal lives for many decades afterwards. Likewise, a special mention of the only First World War veteran I knew, Harrison Terrell, the neighbor of my maternal grandparents, who I used to see and say hello to daily as I climbed off the school bus each afternoon as a small child.  A Ph...

    A mostly sunny, but cool and breezy day today here in Mid-Michigan.  So, out came the suede brogues and matching belt along with an ensemble consisting of various wool flannel odd pieces.   It was also the inaugural wearing of the wine-colored grasshopper necktie from J. Press, given to me by my wonderful wife, the Grand Duchess, for my most recent birthday the other day.  I remarked to my sister, via an early morning text, that I resembled a country house victim, who gets it after the first commercial break, on the British TV series Midsomer Murders . -- Heinz-Ulrich        

  I n my own personal Groundhog Day moment, I turned 29 yet again on Monday, November 6rh.  To mark the occasion, and celebrate (?!) "a certain age" receding another year further into the rear view mirror of life, I took the opportunity to don this wool flannel three-piece from Polo for the first time this season. It was rainy and blustery yesterday, so besides my Borsalino fedora, I tossed on a taupe trenchcoat before heading out the frontdoor to the car.  Phillip Marlowe, or Sam Spade?  Who can say?  But it's not like most people crossing my path yesterday would know the difference.  I'm just some weird guy wearing a suit in 2023 when almost no one else here in Michigan does. But what about the suit? I purchased it for a song about nine or 10 years ago in our old stomping ground of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, where I spotted it in one of the thrift/charity shops I used to peruse now and then.  A 40R, it fit as though it were made for me when I tri...