"For duty, duty must be done; The rule applies to everyone."

Tuesday April 15, 2008:
Being of proper upbringing, I was exposed to the works of the Victorian era partnership of librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan at a very early age. I remember the Kevin Klein and Linda Ronstadt version of The Pirates of Penzance and then the numerous rentals of The Mikado and The HMS Pinafore, and then the performances at the University of Portland until I was a teenagers. I am probably sure that those productions weren't all that great, however, it was nice that our parents kept us interested in wit and frivolity. One of the continuing themes in the works of Gilbert & Sullivan was duty. This sense of duty committed people to carrying through with their, well, duties. From the Pirate's Frederic, to the Pinafore's Ralph or the West Wing's Sam Seaborn, their sense of duty brought them to realizations of right and wrong, their past and their future, and how to cope with seemingly unsurmountable odds, and above all, carry on and shoulder the burden. And sing about them. It is this outstanding trait that brings me to wear today's tie - a bow tie. It bought this tie as a surprise to wear for Katherine's med school graduation ball, but, since I cannot keep a secret, I showed it to her. Oh well. It is black with purple and gold stripes (Go Huskies! Go Dali Llama!). Because the world now knows about this tie, I felt the duty to wear it. However, since I am on the brink of completion of this journey I couldn't wait till a Friday to hide it away from the world so I jauntily paired with my herringbone suit, white button down shirt, tied the tie around my neck and left to face the world, as the I am the very model of a modern gentleman.

*Blogger's note: You don't have to have my upbringing to catch Buttercup references; you could have caught Gilbert & Sullivan references in the TV shows The Simpsons, Mad About You, Animaniacs, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Veggie Tales, Frasier, and The Muppet Show.

Happy Spring!

Friday, March 21, 2008:
Today's choice had several inspirations: the season, the weather, my friend Chris - who wore this palette yesterday, and the fact I was getting a haircut. Also, as I'm still a little shaky about the bow tie look, I chose a bow tie because I knew it was a Friday in recess so not that many people would be around to witness it. I feel it puts you in one of two columns - the awe-inspiring nerd or the roly-poly - I am dismissing the Southerner as it's before Memorial Day and no seersucker was involved. If I choose to wear more bow ties I would probably attempt to create a new category - the playful-know-it-all. Anyway, everything came together when I discovered that the blue of my summer-weight cashmere sweater was the same as the thin blue stripe in my bow tie I found at Filene's Basement by Bruno Piatelli. I felt a pink shirt would be a fun pairing and then I went from there to looking at the weather and deciding two important things: breezy, sun and high of 57 means I get to wear my herringbone blazer AGAIN and I could wear corduroy pants. The cords were a light tan so the blazer was really needed to tone everything down. Also, I was wearing my brown driving mocs so it paired nicely. Surprisingly, I didn't feel too much like an easter egg, however, I probably should have. Although I was told I looked "awesome," which was nice. Katherine took this photo, and I can't decide which is funnier and dorky - my apparent strabismus or the now-public display of my picture of Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) in my cubicle.

My apologies to the blogosphere. . .

First off, my lack of entries isn't discontent with the concept of blogging, or a lack of commitment to my goal. I've been sick and then a general sense of malaise has washed over me beckoning me to sleep, rather than to keep up appearances on the net. However, a sudden creative spirit washed over me and I've decided to get my things in order and catch up. Sorry blogosphere.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008:
Today I decided to wear a sharp combination of a blue paisley tie (from Banana) and a blue striped shirt (from the JCrew outlet) with my gray JCrew suit. The Oregon State Society birthday reception was that evening and I wanted to be refined, but at the same time a little young and sporty. I liked to contrast between the strong verticals and the completeness of the paisley. I also like the cut of the shirt, which is more slim fit then some which is good. I also like the cut of the collar which frames the knot well.


Thursday, February 14, 2008:
I decided to wear one of my favorite ties today. It was my second Ted Baker tie, which was purchased in the summer of 2006. It was the second Ted Baker tie I purchased and I am pretty sure that it was purchased at Saks Off 5th Avenue with Natale and Ian. I paired it with my Banana navy suit with brown pinstripes. It like the unconventional pairing of the colors. I had meetings that day so I decided to dress up for the day. I paired the tie with a blue shirt as to highlight the blue flowers in the tie. This is one of Ted Bakers non-repetitive ties, kind of like a jungle, and a beautiful bramble of flowers. It makes me a little sad that I can't wear this tie for a while now, but it only makes me want to complete this task quicker.


Friday, February 15, 2008:
I made a bold move today and decided to go for the bow tie. The tie was a gift from Katherine's father, Splinter, for Christmas in 2000. Splinter had taught me to tie a bow tie, so he thought this was something I needed. I agree. It's by John Talbot and has a nice geometric design on a field of blue. I remember Katherine asking me what I was wearing when I came over for Christmas dinner and my choice of a white button-down shirt and herringbone pants seemed to be a fine selection as to be paired with the new gift. I went old school at work and chose the forest green sweater I got in Rehoboth, DE on New Year's Day 2008 and my favorite old blazer. Amid the hoots and the hollers from staff when I arrived at work I completely forgot I actually had meetings so I got to share the glory with more people. Thankfully I have another opportunity to wear a bow tie. I think I messed this one up because it was too loose and came out to floppy, maybe.