Classic Style

    A chilly, damp Thursday of meetings on campus to learn more about how we might integrate artificial intelligence into our teaching and learning practices plus a few meetings with students, who have only now (the end of Week 13) chosen to worry about -- and attempt to renegotiate -- previous project grades.   Keep in mind, next week, Week 14, is very short due to the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which on the calendar is four days.  For many students, that has morphed into 10-14 days, and they simply are not around.  Once we return, it is Week 15, courses end on Friday, December 6th, and Finals Week follows that.  After which, the university, in all its wisdom, leans on us to evaluate everything quickly, tally course grades, and post those through the online system used by the Registrar's Office.   The final weeks of any semester are a real gallop filled with every possible reason why people wouldn't, couldn't, didn't, or shouldn't have to do X, Y, or Z.  Je

  A rainy, chilly day here today.  Perfect November weather and ideal, as such, for tweed, corduroy, and oxford cloth.  The first wearing this season for this particular jacket and necktie by the way.   The jacket was purchased a dozen or more years ago at the thrift/charity shop run by the big hospital in town, a few blocks away from our old Craftsman house (1925).  The shop must have procured their merchandise from all of the deceased doctors, attorneys, and the few other white collar professionals lurking around Bloomington-Normal, Illinois because it reliably had quality items for very reasonable prices.   Proof positive that you can assemble the basics of a professional wardrobe, along with a few less commonly seen items, without the need to splurge.  While there really is not anything I "need" now, I do miss occasionally perusing that establishment since we have nothing like it here in our part of Central Michigan.   But maybe that's a good thing, since part of dev

  B rown in town for a Monday with a vintage J. Press bow tie to liven things up a bit.  The suit is by  Samuelson, shirt L.L. Bean, and the shoes by Allen Edmonds.  The socks are Merino wool (with a bit of Lycra) from Dapper Classics. Not one of my most interesting ensembles, although a passing student complimented today's combination as I exited the building, but not a bad effort for late in the semester when fatigue begins to take over for faculty, staff, and students alike.  Come on Thanksgiving Weekend! -- Heinz-Ulrich

  One of many old Laurence Fellows illustrations of which I am so fond.  I've always referred to this particular one as "Rex and Jeffrey in Discussion."   A lthough I know very little about stoic philosophy, it strikes me that there might be a few interesting points in its basic teachings that we can apply to our own efforts to cultivate more pleasant, positive, and I dare suggest gentlemanly thought and behavior during what promises to be an otherwise unpleasant stretch.  Here goes:  1) As much as we might like to think so, we don’t live in isolation of others.   Rather,we must learn to cooperate and even collaborate with them.   That point occurred to me during the height of the global pandemic a few years ago, during all of the daily politicized back and forth about masks, vaccines, along with the embarrassingly uninformed speculation about injecting other chemicals into people to cleanse their systems.  Against that media backdrop, I finally realized that many of t

  Bertie Wooster, Tuppy Glossop, and Bingo Little a dozen years on? O ver on the Chap's Guide Youtube channel there was an interesting discussion a day or two ago about the attributes of a gentleman in the 21st century.  I urge you check it out.  Here are my two cents on the matter. Regardless of one's station in life, and to my own mind, a gentleman exhibits in no particular order the following characteristics: Moderation in all things  Kindness to and Respect for Others Awareness and Empathy  Politesse  Polish and Sophistication (a modicum at least) Curiosity  An Informed Nature A Charitable Spirit  Humility Education. . .  Although the FORMAL variety is not necessarily necessary. Subtle Nonchalance Calm under pressure, to name just a few.   No doubt, there are many other facets to a gentleman in the 21st century.  You'll notice there is nothing about birth or material wealth mentioned in the points above however.  And attire, as much as I enjoy looking presentable and a

  There is little, perhaps, that is ivy about my institution of higher learning.  Indeed, much of my own post-secondary and graduate education was at large state-run, which is to say public, universities, albeit of the so called 'flagship' variety.   Once upon a time, there were also stretches spent at a couple of universities in Norway during my graduate years.  But I digress. Regardless of the precise type of post-secondary institution, though, faculty and staff do not have to turn up looking like they have emerged from sleeping rough beneath a pile of sand along a county highway somewhere.  After all, how can we expect students to take anything we have to say about a subject even semi-seriously if we resemble a pile of pungent, moldering laundry in the corner? On a completely different note, one of the many legal ways we can find pleasure in small things during otherwise turbulent times is through dressing presentably.  Even when we don't necessarily have to do so.  It&#

  T he attire for yesterday (Monday), one of the first truly blustery days we have had so far this fall.  Not a bad effort although a more olive tinged pair of cords might have worked better than the very forest green pair pictured.   Taking a page from the stoic philosophers and controlling what I can in a world that has truly lost its mind.  As a close family friend from Germany remarked in an email a day or two ago, and I am paraphrasing her sentiment, the worldview  that has brought us here one more time is beyond comprehension. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  F inally, some tweed, corduroy, and oxford cloth for a rainy, blustery Tuesday.  And the SWIMS overshoes yet again to protect the ol' Allen Edmonds gunboats from wet pavement.   Perfect attire for a morning of grading collaborative projects, holding Zoom office hours, and keeping myself busy with various other small tasks while nursing along a large cup of fresh coffee courtesy of The Mermaid branch, which has been in our main library since finally opening last January.  I would, of course prefer independently owned cafes, which typically have more personality, but those are thin on the ground for some odd reason here in East Lansing around campus. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  F inally cool enough here in the Grand Duchy for double-breasted blazers, jackets, and suit coats!   Decided to go with a blazer and light gray trousers this morning, although it is apparent from the top photo why a good going over with a clothes brush is necessary after several months in the cedar closet.  And some moisture from rain splashing on the pavement is evident in the lower photograph.  Grrr.  Tried to shower, dress, and depart quickly and quietly far too early this morning.  Neither of which was achieved.  Except the early part.  Have you ever noticed that when you try to be very quiet, invariably you walk into and knock over something large and loud?   It wasn't quite that bad today between five and six o'clock, but close enough.  Crash, bang, boom!  Followed by an internal cloud of blue language heard only by my not so subconscious after stubbing my toe against a large piece of bedroom furniture in the pitch black room.  Not quite how I meant to begin the week. 

  Having a bit of fun, as usual, with the attire for today, which includes a vintage bow tie from Polo.  Although I don't think George F. Will has anything to fear! Believe it or not, I managed to nail the tie on the first attempt.  Without the benefit of standing before the mirror I might add.  We're getting there. Now the socks (Ben Silver) are a bit, shall we say, eye-catching, but it's not like I'm wearing them with plus fours.  They are only visible when I sit down after all.  I can report, however, that a female colleague paid them a very nice compliment.   As I say occasionally here, they are never necessary, or even the purpose behind why we dress with presentable intention, but compliments are nice to hear if and when others offer them.  One of those many small social graces that were, in many instances, lost in the bustle of late 20th century life.  But reintroducing them to general public discourse might nevertheless help the world become a more civil, plea

      N ot a suit this morning, but a relatively pleasing combination of items nevertheless.  Still not quite cool enough for tweed and corduroy, but today's lower half features a lighter weight flannel in a grayish taupe.  And of course, there was a Borsalino fedora to, ahem, cap off everything.     -- Heinz-Ulrich                

  B ack on campus yesterday after the long Homecoming Weekend.  No teaching, but online office hours plus wading through and weeding out four days of meaningless email  before I could get to other work. That's the trouble with checking out during weekends and longer breaks.  Somehow, things continue to pile up in the inbox although everyone is nominally off.  Definitely off. There are worse fates I suppose. Still kind of Indian Summer here, so I stuck with a cotton jacket and chinos yesterday around which everything else was arranged.  Although I did top off the ol' head with that lovely houndstooth driving cap, which has appeared here before.  And that has a distinct cooler weather vibe to it.   The bowtie, a vintage number from Brooks Brothers, looks larger here than it actually is due to the angel of the selfie.  Overall, not a bad effort.  A real challenge to get that tied yesterday. Some days, some ties simply will not cooperate as you stand before the mirror and attempt t

  The front porch in its seasonal guise.   While we don't adorn the front of the house with Halloween in mind each October, it is fun to include a few pumpkins, gourds, and a couple of bunches of Indian Corn to transition from summer flowers and hanging baskets to the US Thanksgiving  in late November and the Christmas period beyond that. In the meantime, ol' Mr. Bones, some large, hairy spiders, and a few gravestones made by the Young Master several years ago will make an appearance closer in to the 31st.  Although our teen-aged son no longer dresses up or tours the neighborhood for trick or treat, he stills gets a kick out decorating for the big night.  In the interest of neighborhood solidarity, and welcoming the younger witches, ghosts, goblins, princesses, and superheros to our porch for a handful of sugary treats, so do we. As regular visitors to Classic Style will realize already, yours truly is all about dressing up and promenading for all to see. -- Heinz-Ulrich

  M y program had an increasingly common Friday afternoon workshop yesterday, so I made the rather atypical sojourn into campus after lunch to attend.  Since I was one of the facilitators (although NOT the person ultimately responsible for the day/time) and, amazingly, now one of three senior faculty teaching in the program, it seemed like a good idea to put in an appearance.  An interesting 90 minutes on fostering improved information literacy among our students, sure, but who on earth schedules these for a mid-afternoon on the Friday of Homecoming Weekend?   Sigh. In any case, a transitional combination here.  Thought about corduroy pants but it wasn't quite cool enough yesterday afternoon, so went with a slightly heavier pair of olive green chinos that have been in the rotation for a dozen or more years.  The cotton over-the-calf socks don't quite work given the difference in shades, but overall it was not an offensive combination of items, so I snapped a couple of quick sho

  A partly cloudy cool day today here in the Grand Duchy.  Probably the last one suitable for cotton chinos until the late Spring.  The overall look wasn't bad.  A mix of vintage with newer items, reasonably pried with more expensive yielded a pleasing combination.   It would have been very comfortable were the high temperature for the day around, say, 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but I was a little chilly all day.  Oh, how we suffer for our art!    Time now, however, to finish the semiannual swap and exchange the chinos and gabardines for corduroys, flannels, and heavier tweeds.  Which ain't a bad thing.  Not by any stretch. -- Heinz-Ulrich