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As we observe Veteran’s Day today, take a moment to thank those men and women who have served or are serving now to protect and defend The United States of America. We ask a lot of them and they ask for very little in return.

And Happy 248th Birthday to all the Devil Dogs out there. No better friend, no worse enemy!

My new volunteer gig.

There are certain nights that Mrs. E. and I don’t venture out, St. Patrick’s Day and New Year’s Eve (usually) spring to mind. Valentine’s Day is a foregone conclusion. Too hard to get a booking, menus too planned, and restaurants far too crowded. People do dress a little better, and I do miss seeing that though.

So this year, as in year’s past, I’ll try and put something celebratory together involving at least one of Mrs. E.’s favorites. Perhaps a grilled fish and salad? Grass-fed steaks? Seared scallops? I’m not sure. With the kitchen completely dismantled, it’s been an adventure cooking in the temporary “field kitchen” set up in the dining room. Think less Benihana, more Junior Year Dorm Room. I do know what we’ll have as an appetizer: Caviar (Siberian Sturgeon this year. American Hackleback and Paddlefish are good too!) And Champagne, of course. It may be too late to order in caviar from Marky’s or Amazon, but those are both reliable resources I use. I’m fortunate enough to have a Whole Foods a block away that usually stocks caviar, blini and Champagne. There’s some of each in the relocated-to-the-bar room refrigerator now.

If you’re spending the night in remember, small treats can be almost as enjoyable as a grand gesture.

(N.B. I don’t receive any compensation for the links or purchases through the links in this post.)

Those of you who have followed me for a while, or who have delved into the archives (please do, there’s a treasure trove there), will know that I frequently look to the past for inspiration. It seems that there was more emphasis on decorum then, less of a laissez-faire attitude than I see today. At least in the way the past has been presented to me.

Which is why today’s suggestion should come as little surprise when I recommend watching American movies produced during the years of and just after the Depression and WWII.

The movies, particularly the screwball comedies, of the Depression years were meant to do one thing: cheer us up. And if ever we needed cheering up as we did then, it’s now. I recommend “The Thin Man” series, “Bringing Up Baby”, “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House”, and “

WWII movies brought us hope and added to our National legend, showing us how we banded together under a common purpose. At least some of them. Thinking about a world at war, prolonged separation and great trials and tribulation, helps me put things in perspective. The Brits survived the Blitz! Pearl Harbor wasn’t the beginning of the end of the USA! Try “The Battle of Britain”, “Casablanca”, “The Bridge Over the River Kwai”, and “Empire of the Sun.”

Mrs. E. and I used to watch a lot of old movies, we had three huge books of DVDs, shelves of VHS tapes and even a free TCM channel at one point. These days we tend to watch a lot of spy thrillers, Network shows that get good reviews, Netflix specials and the odd rom-com (they’re few and far between I’ve noticed. At least the good ones.) Fun, exhilarating and suspenseful, they are the roller coaster rides of the small screen. I wonder where the long, meandering scenic rides have gone, the toy train rides and monorail safaris that let our overheated selves cool off and enjoy the show?

Am I succumbing to nostalgia? Maybe I just need a good saga to revive the spirits.

On the first day of Mrs. E. testing positive for COVID, I took action. I went shopping. I figured it was only a matter of time before I would be persona non grata at the grocery and I had some clams to use up from a CSA/farmshares delivery. Little did The Architect know that his gift of September’s Food and Wine magazine would turn out to be so timely. With the substitution of clam juice for seafood stock, Israeli couscous, and chopped parsley and green onion for color (I had to use dried fennel), we managed a special meal in relatively short order. One needn’t suffer completely. Sardinian Fregola with Clams.

Mrs. E and I have just returned from a wonderful wedding in Savannah, GA. (No, it wasn’t held in the Mercer-Williams House, pictured above, but we did tour it the next day.) That house, if it looks familiar to you, is the setting for John Berendt’s mostly true “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” And I would say that Jim Williams, except for that ill-fated romance and shooting, was a model of pulling one’s self up by one’s bootstraps. He was the son of a construction worker who became the foremost historic preservationists in Savannah, restoring over fifty houses over thirty-five years. He was also disliked by the natives. He surrounded himself with a house full of antiques and objets d’art collected over his lifetime. Many pieces he restored himself. A few we saw, he made himself. They would at least be considered “vintage” today. He made for himself a facsimile of living. Like the U.H.B. He “faked it by making it.” I wonder if he’s better appreciated today for having a saved a bit of history and brought in some tourism dollars?

What a marvelous city and what a fine time. We brought back with us a couple of art deco pieces (bought at a brilliant boutique —Jones & Bull — which is worth a visit and at the very lease an Insta-Follow), some fun memories and two cases of COVID. Yes, Mrs. E. and I are riding the ‘Rona. We should have immediately taken to our chaises lounges with lozenges, warm gin and wool socks to begin to convalesce.

It is, of course, exam season, and so impossible for Mrs. E. to shirk her duties and she wouldn’t anyway.

So we’re muddling through, downing chicken soup by the gallon, trying to sleep when we can. I finally shaved after five days in a effort to not let down the side. That’s the thing. This Easy and Elegant lifestyle requires constant small tweaks to keep up. Ideally, it requires staff. What we call “help” here in the south, to keep things humming along at pace. The Jack Russels are less than helpful.

If you you should have any disposable income lying about, consider purchasing a few shares of Kimberly-Clark or Procter & Gamble (Kleenex or Puffs, respectively.) If we’re any indicator of typical usage, this cold/flu/COVID season should pay off handsomely.

I’ve been reading a lot. Specifically, I’ve been reading a lot about Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music. I find him, especially, to be fascinating, although it is frustrating to read interviews with him as he hates them and likes to keep his private life separate from his on stage persona. And it is very much a persona, from what I can tell. It’s the same way that Archibald Leach invented Cary Grant and then became Cary Grant. So, too did Bryan Ferry become The Bryan Ferry. His is a completely art-directed life, to steal a phrase from one of the authors I’ve just read.

I’m working through why this is fascinating to me as I type, so please bear with me.

Maybe it’s to do with that distinctive character trait of “Americaness” which I have in spades. Kids of my generation were brought up with the admonition that we could be anything we wanted to be. Want to be President of the USA? You had but to strive and aim high. Try that in England where not just any hardworking, bright young man can grow up to be Queen. (If that’s too soon, my apologies.)

My high-school aged kids are already thinking along the lines of careers. In high school, I was usually thinking about my next meal, or the distracting way that the co-eds just sat there in a couple of my classes. No idea which classes they were, but I distinctly remember the three girls just sitting there in all their non-boyness.

I’m guessing that my fascination with reinventing one’s self stems from being an Army Brat. New post, new you. Whatever didn’t work last time was discarded and lessons learned the hard way in the school yard were now S.O.P.

Ferry is, by all accounts, a true artist. A trained art school sculptor, painter, ceramicist (well he picked that up teaching at a girls school while he was waiting to launch Roxy), what today we would call a “creative.” His media just happen to be music and glamour. How very modern. Or it was. I’m not sure that glamour is in such high demand these days. Perhaps I just don’t recognize it for what it is.

Peter York said of Ferry that he was such a work of art, that he should hang in the Tate next to Bowie.

Thinking of Ferry and Grant, I catch a glimpse of what I was trying to do with this blog. I say trying because it didn’t really work. Or rather, it did, up to a point. As it tends to do, “life” got in the way of “lifestyle.”

As noted in the last post, it’s hot here. I live in Central Virginia, in Richmond, named for another city with seven hills across the pond. And it is for those of my readers abroad that this post is intended.

You may not think of Virginia as being “in the South” the way that you think of, say, Louisiana, or Georgia, but we get the breezes. And the breezes are hot and humid.

Go ahead and read the “Today:” part of the forecast on the screenshot from my phone. I’ll translate. The high will be 36ºC with a heat index of 40ºC. And, the air conditioning in my car has just gone on the blink.

Now, as I understand it, some of you all will be living under a heat dome lovingly called “Lucifer” for a bit. I’m sorry. So, I thought I might pass on a little Colonial wisdom for dealing with hazy, hot, and humid.

Let’s start with yesterday’s post. Cold foods are your friend. Gazpacho, vichyssoise, cold roast chicken, salad, Tortilla Española, smoothies and anything else that can be eaten cold or at room temperature are the ticket. Weirdly, hot tea, coffee, and spicy foods are standard in hot countries, the idea being to break a sweat and let the breezes cool you off. I’m happier with a cold drink, but I’m Southern, and besides, the humidity doesn’t let perspiration evaporate very well. Staying hydrated is important, add electrolytes to water to make sports drinks, just stay away from sugar unless you really need the energy and will burn it off quickly. Herbal teas (iced in my case) are good changes of pace, sparkling water, lemonades (the Indian version that adds a bit of salt is good for when things turn sweaty), and of course, iced tea. To make an Arnold Palmer, mix up half a glass of lemonade over ice and pour in a half glass of iced tea. Sweeten to taste.

Now we turn to what to wear. Loose, open weave clothing and technical fabrics have served me very well.

Shirts in linen, or airy weaves in light cotton are great. Linen actually releases moisture better than cotton, though. I’m also a fan of Sunspel’s Riviera polos and, to a lesser extent because of the (small amount of) visible branding, Mack Weldon’s Vesper and DryKnit polos. Don’t forget Uniqlo’s AIRism polos, either! (And their boxers and undershirts, too, if you’re forced to wear an undershirt.) I’ve worn this stuff from Israel to Florida and it works.

Trousers are the more difficult part if you can’t stand to look wrinkled, as “guaranteed to wrinkle linen” (my tailor’s term) is my go-to for shorts and trousers. If you can get them with side adjusters and avoid the belt, so much the better. Other options include wool frescos, tropical weight wool and seersucker. Lightweight chinos/poplin khakis are fine, but make sure they’re not too tightly cut. The key here is to let air circulate as much as possible to help keep you dry.

If you can go sockless, do, otherwise, I like to wear lightweight merino since it wicks moisture where cotton won’t.

Suits and sports coats should be unlined and made from the lightweight stuff and open weaves, think lighter colours, too.

Choose unlined suede shoes whenever possible. Woven leather shoes work almost as well for me. Leather soles always breathe better than rubber.

When all else fails, take another cool shower and reach for plenty of Gold Bond Body Powder. For instructions on application, pour yourself a lemonade or iced tea and watch Frank Sinatra as Pvt. Angelo Maggio get ready for liberty in “From Here to Eternity”.

(Sorry for the lack of photo. I used all my raw ingredients before I thought to post about this.)

To quote Neil Simon’s “Biloxi Blues”, again, “It’s hot. It’s like Africa hot. If it’s going to be this hot, I’m not sure I can stay.”

Whew! We are in the dog days here in Central VA. Hot and humid and even after a normal dog walk of 2 miles, followed by a brief burst of calisthenics, I’m dripping and enervated. The last thing I want to do is cook anything. Even the toaster/broiler/little convection oven is throwing off too much heat in the kitchen. But, I’m still hungry. So while I cooled down from the walk, I chopped up some leftover vegetables and threw them in the blender with some liquids. Voila! A sort of gazpacho for breakfast. (Full disclosure: my mom brought an incredible batch of the real stuff made from a recipe from the Heart in Hand restaurant cookbook to the beach this year. That’s why it was foremost in mind.)

I say “sort of” since this isn’t the official recipe. I just guessed about ratios and what to add. It doesn’t use bread, I am out of basil, and I had a Serrano pepper that made it into the mix along with a little Splenda. But, it was fast, easy, delicious, and best of all, cold.

Easy’s Breakfast Guess-pacho

Two anemic looking ribs of celery

A handful of frozen cherry tomatoes

About half a green pepper, seeded and chopped

Maybe a 1/4 of a cucumber, peeled

A bit (again, a 1/4 of a medium?) of red onion, chopped

1 Serrano pepper (or use some hot sauce)

A shake of garlic salt (or a small clove, peeled.)

A couple of shakes of dried oregano

A good grind of black pepper and a little salt

A really generous slosh or more of olive oil

A glass of tomato juice (V-8, Bloody Mary Mix, whatever you’ve got)

A generous pour of red wine vinegar

1 packet of Splenda.

Blend all the ingredients together, thin with water if necessary, and serve in a tall glass.

(Pro Tip: if you have leftovers, thin a bit more with water, add horseradish and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Presto! Bloody Mix.)

Is it really mid-July? It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything and that’s because of where I find myself in the world. Not literally, but more meta-physically. Or maybe ontologically. Epistemologically? At any rate, what I mean to say is that for the longest time following the extreme events of last summer, I couldn’t think of anything relating to my subject that seemed at all important, or even relevant, to write about.

Well, I suppose the mood has passed and I’m coming out of whatever it was that possessed me to start taking things too seriously that should be considered lightly and vice versa. Especially since I’ve taken to only skimming the headlines with the GroundNews app and that, for the moment, there have been no mobs rampaging up and down my neighborhood.

I don’t know about the state of things sartorially. Around town, I see little evidence of people “dressing up,” but I’m not in the business district. Perhaps that will change when we go to the theatre. I do think that the pandemic induced quarantines may have accelerated the trend towards a more casual way of dressing, sort of what we saw living in the South of France.

I do know, however, that putting on a coat and tie, shaving and striding into Can Can in leather soled shoes had a tremendous effect on my mood.

I’m not always in full fig, suited and booted. It is high summer in Central Virginia and hazy, hot and humid is the order of the day. More often than not, I am in a mix of tailored and casual with lots of linen and open weaves thrown into the mix. At times like these a little bit of effort goes a long way.

“What do ties matter, Jeeves, at a time like this?

There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter.”

– P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and the Impending Doom

Those who have followed me forever, and those who might have strolled through the archives, know that I’ve always been one to dress a little better than I have to. Pre-pandemic, I frequently sallied forth in a suit, or sport coat at the least, to do something as mundane as the grocery shopping. You see, I like to wear well-tailored clothing. It’s easy to wear, perks me up and lends a sense of occasion to the quotidienne. Easy and Elegant… .

Then COVID hit, everybody was locked down, restaurants closed, and I discovered that I could get my groceries and wine delivered for free (Whole Foods and Amazon have probably saved lives, and I’m pretty sure I have a personal delivery person at Total Wine.) Needless to say, knocking about The Manse in a three piece POW flannel seemed a bit much, even for me. And so, I found myself in shorts, khakis, moleskins, jeans, flannel shirts, polos, or sweaters depending on the weather — anything that could be worn more than once or machine-washed.

Which is when I discovered the incredible versatility of the original tech fabric: merino wool. I should say “remembered about the incredible versatility” after comfortably wearing SmartWool merino socks during our two summer weeks in Israel in the before-times. (REI’s run a close second. I’ve spent the whole pandemic wearing merino lightweight and midweight hiking socks.)

I think I read an account of someone who is a minimalist traveler who suggested merino shirts as the ultimate go-to since they are naturally antimicrobial, odor resistant, thermo-regulating and moisture wicking (I had my doubts, having encountered sheep during my children’s petting zoo phase.) So off to the interwebs it was.

Soon thereafter, I lucked into a Mountain Hardware sale on some merino t-shirts at the start of summer and decided to buy a few. Well! I wore them on my 5 mile dog walks through the city in our typical hot and humid summer conditions and they performed as well as the climacool/dryfit/techy-poly stuff that I had been wearing almost exclusively to that point. (I gave up on cotton ages ago. It gets soaked, and I stay uncomfortable. The exception being Sunspel’s Riviera Polo Shirts, which are in and of themselves a small miracle.) I quickly scooped up Mountain Hardware’s long sleeved versions for the upcoming cooler months.

Flushed with success, I tried to score some less expensive Wooly brand white t’s from Amazon. They’re pretty good, but left me unsatisfied (a bit more length would help,) That led to some Unbound and Bombas merino wool purchases. You get what you pay for, which I should have known from my years in menswear. With a bit of elastane woven into them, the t’s are machine washable, and with interest rates at all-time lows, almost affordable.

I’m now branching out into a pair of merino-lined, stretch-cotton, tech fabric trousers to wear instead of my sweatpants (with their pandemic stain … the Clorox spray bottle leaked) when hiking the city, or if we ever get back to traveling.

So, if you’re still WFA’ing, commuting via something other than your climate controlled car, traveling (lucky you!), walking for fun and to maintain sanity, or like the idea of sustainable, well-made and very useful garments, give merino wool a try.

Those of you who are long-time readers will recognize the Library and World HQ of Easy & Elegant Life. Books have always been a great escape for both me and Mrs. E. Happily, our daughter is proving to be a reader, too.

With all that has changed during the crisis at hand, one thing has helped to keep me grounded, reading. Thanks to Amazon and ABE, Barnes and Noble and Bookshop I’ve been able to feed my habit with great ease. Actually, it’s been too easy and I’m now committed to reading what I’ve bought before I buy more. All the bookshelves here and upstairs are full anyway. Most of the flat surfaces are covered too.

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes. Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, Letter to Jacob Batt (12 April 1500); Collected Works of Erasmus Vol 1 (1974)

Where I made my mistake was to order and read the modern equivalent of Plague literature: Loner by Wayne, Engleby by Faulks, and waiting on the table beside me is The Road by McCarthy. These will not put me in the sunniest mood. Fortunately I stumbled across a pile of books under a side table and pulled out a copy of Mastering the Art of French Eating: Lessons in Food and Love From A Year in Paris by Ann Mah, which inspired me to make steak-frites a couple of nights ago. Homemade frites aren’t that tough, although a frying/candy thermometer would have helped. We Learn Nothing by Kreider just made me laugh out loud; much needed.

Must get my mask on and answer the door; a case and a half of wine is being delivered. Apologies to Erasmus, but my tailor is waiting on some shirting fabric for the foreseeable future.

What are you reading these days?

I just finished watching a discussion between Christian Barker and Karl-Edwin Guerre and was struck by two things. One, that both were in signature looks. That makes sense as both men are authorities on communication and the power of style. And two, that I am sitting here in a hoodie and beat up khakis (laundry day and no video meetings.)

Both of which begs the question: will business dress weather the sea change brought about by working from home?

I don’t think that the one day coast-to-coast roundtrip flight to visit a client will be as prevalent as it once was. I see Zoom taking that over in the corporate world. But, as my tailor and I discussed yesterday, that still means looking like a successful business person, at least from the waist up.

Does the birth of the Zoom meeting mean the death of the suit? Yes and no.

I think that a suit will be reserved for Very Important Occasions. (As is the tie these days.) There are certain men who will continue to dress well. Newscasters, for example, who are meant to convey trustworthiness, professionalism, and authority. They may not be wearing trousers, but from the waist up — all business. Heads of State and Congressmen, Parliamentarians, lawyers and the like will continue to be formally dressed for the same reasons. And, #rakesathome will always put forth their stylish best; it’s in their DNA.

But for the majority of the white collar world, I think that COVID-19 may have been the coup de grâce after the killing thrust of the business casual dagger.

However, we’ve all seen the studies that prove that dressing well has a positive effect on productivity, confidence and mood. So we know making an effort pays off.

So what will your business wear look like?

A few paragraphs above I referred to newscasters who need to look professional on camera. I think that they offer a perfect example of the more formal end of the spectrum. If you’re going into a very important meeting, a coat and tie is indispensable. It says that you take this very seriously and it can even the playing field somewhat when opposite a C-Suite executive. (A good trick is to sit on the tail of your coat and keep it buttoned. It keeps you neat for the camera.)

For everyday, I recommend a business casual wardrobe of one or two sportcoats, sweaters, long sleeve polos, tailored shirts and comfortable trousers. And don’t neglect your footwear. While I may not be wearing wingtips (or socks), I do have my house shoes. These are slip-ons like loafers, drivers, Belgian Shoes and Kilim slippers. Wearing work clothes helps you to separate your workday hours from your off-hours, and will have you at the ready for an unscheduled Facetime call from your team.

Default to t-shirts and shorts all the time and the days will begin to blur together. Walking away from your computer and changing into your after-work clothing sends a clear signal that it’s ok to start to unwind. Take it from a long-time work-from-homer, set some boundaries. (Laundry day aside.)