Back in December, I was looking for a quality dinnerware set, and the bold, contemporary graphics of this Blue Flora 5-Piece Place Setting by Not Neutral caught my eye. Each piece has a variation of the attractive, uncommon design. I bought them from Design Public, one of my favorite online modern design boutiques. At that time, they substituted plain white cups, because the blue flora cups were unavailable. Since then, the right cups have arrived (free of charge), and I highly recommend them.

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I’m not big on shopping for clothes. I prefer to buy a batch of shirts and pants once or twice a season and be done for a year (or three). I like plain, neutral colors without any visible logos, prints or decorative patterns so I can mix and match at will. Think modular.
Trouble is, there aren’t a lot of stores in my area with quality, affordable yet flexible, youthful yet professional threads that fit the bill. Most of what I find is either too casual (and cheap) or too formal (and pricey). And there are only so many Merona designs from Target each season. So, I was pleased to discover about a year ago that Sears (of all places) purchased the Structure line for Men. Not everything there matches my taste, but here are a few recommended picks for summer:

• Short Sleeve Stretch Coat Front (my wife said on first glance this looked like a 1970s dentist’s uniform. But, I can pull it off.)
• Short Sleeve Stretch Poplin Shirt (Go un-tucked.)
• Cotton Cargo Pant (Flat front, or die.)

BTW, their shirts run a little large, so I went with one size lower than normal (medium instead of large).

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