From buying to shopping

"Oh, he was cute!" So now I'm feeling comfortable enough to start talking about men that I'm lusting over attracted to.

Erin looks at me as if I had said the sky was blue. "Yeah, most guys that shop at Banana Republic are gay."

I think about a second. "Wow. I fit in and I didn't even know it." I then proceed to crane my head back to get one last look before heading out.

The trip to the gay bar didn't happen. I admit it. I chickened out. My nervousness combined with worrying about calling off from work, and then finding something decent to wear was a little much for me to handle. I told Season and Erin that I would have required too much prep-- psychologically and wardrobely. Well Erin was going to set the latter right.

Now, I am a t-shirt and jeans guy. I'd say that 85% of what I wear comes from some sort of n-Mart. Sunday was the day I went from being a buyer to being a shopper all thanks to the mentoring of Erin. She broke me in gently until we finally hit Banana Republic (at which point I had a heart attack looking at the prices-- not from the incredibly hot stud.) Target, Old Navy, Kohl's, The Gap, JC Penny's, and a few others that I had to cover my eyes from sticker shock, were covered.

So what were my lessons learned?

• Wearing sneakers all the time is not cool. Brown casual shoes are better. (What's even better is buying them on clearance for $20, saving $60.)
• White socks are no longer appropriate in shoes other than my sneakers. Time to start shopping like a European and start wearing darker socks.
• Pants that come from the n-marts are ugly because they are tapered. Pants that you buy at the mall are like girl jeans and make my butt more defined and cover more of the top of my newly bought brown shoes. They can also be bought at comparable prices.
• My closet is full of black, blue, and white. It's time to start adding color (and collars.)
• And belts are now a must-have.

I promised that I would wear what she picked out when we finally make it to the gay bar. Now I'm wondering what kind of return I can expect from my investment. I'm looking forward to it.