Fashion sense

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

It comes as no surprise to those who know me, but I am definitely not a slave to fashion, not even a casual acquaintance, for that matter. I say this as proudly and loud as the orange T-shirt and ripped green shorts I wear now. I call it my "reverse pumpkin outfit."

I never had any sense of fashion. My mother laid out clothes for me as a child and my wife has had the task of keeping me presentable for the last 40 years. High school was probably the height of any real interest on my part in what I wore and that was just due to hormones. Yep, that maroon crushed-velvet bell-bottom pants, white turtleneck and blue shoes with three-inch heels combination was definitely the highlight of my fashion career, but, hey, it was the '70s! Really, what were we thinking?

I find myself becoming emotionally attached to some of my clothing. I wear T-shirts from my college days. The wording is faded and the cloth is thin, but they are reminders of good times. I still have the "Coach" shirt given to me by the hospital for helping with the birth of my son 30 years ago. And by "helping" I mean by not passing out in the immediate vicinity of the hospital staff. I have a closet full of shirts bought by my wife and mother as birthday and Christmas gifts, purchased to guilt me into having a more diverse attire. But some clothes just call out to me more than others, so I wear them as often as I can. In winter, it will be almost exclusively 3 or 4 flannel shirts, in summer, about the same number of pull over shirts. Some shirts just have that nice "feel" which is hard to describe. Other shirts just irritate the heck out of me for some undefined reason. But I can't bring myself to throw them away. After all, they are perfectly good shirts. I'll let them hang around for awhile, then I'll donate them to Goodwill.

I am disappointed when a pair of sneakers doesn't last at least 5 years. Just when I get them broken in and feeling great, a hole or tear shows up. I actually duct-taped a pair of tennis shoes and wore them to work for a year. That's one of the benefits of being an owner of a company. The staff, however, was continually embarrassed by my wearing "duct shoes." So much so that they staged an intervention and presented me with a new pair of shoes, which they forced me to try on. Then they took my duct shoes and tossed them into the dumpster when I wasn't looking. Yes, I considered going in after them. I could have worn them for yard work for a few years.

I do dress up for formal events but I do so grudgingly. My short stature makes it difficult to buy off the rack, but I was fortunate enough to have a couple of suits tailor-made for me. I must confess that the feel is so much better but I'm not sure it's worth the expense.

I'm hoping they last longer than my shoes.

-- Devin Houston is the president/CEO of Houston Enzymes. Send comments or questions to [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 07/04/2018