Vogue Gets Down With Emotional Architecture!

A couple of days ago I responded to an interview from very nice reporter in Greece who was very interested in the Truehome Workshop and our website. Her name is Michaela Theofilou.

She had read the New York Times article about how we approach architecture and told me her publication - Hommes Magazine - was planning a September issue with a focus on homes.

(Not Hommes, which means "men" in French but the garden variety homes that I design.)

Since I am not up on fashion magazines, I had to google Hommes to find out what type of content this European magazine typically printed.

Omigod! Her publication turned out to be Vogue's men's fashion magazine for Europe! It is filled with scantily clad hot young men and women sporting the edgiest new fashions. I am all for woman in scanty clothes, but Hommes is not exactly the type of publication I thought would be interested in an aging - and to be frank, a bit portly - design/builder from rural Texas.

After all, every woman I know has made it clear I have no fashion sense at all. To me, "dressing up" means means avoiding pants that are 3" too short in the inseam and replacing my Hawaiian shirt with a button down. I have one suit - which I squeeze into for only the most serious of business meetings and the occasional, sad funeral.

My concerns were eased when her interview included many intelligent and intriguing questions about how I practice and even the science behind what we are doing at Truehome.net. I have been hoping someone in the media would ask me those questions. I certainly hope a few of my answers show up in the story.

My clients seem to have no issue with my informal outfits, though my attire is far from Haute couture. Perhaps they are too kind to comment. But I had to ask myself, "what does a reporter for a high fashion magazine want with me?"

After dwelling on the question for a while, I rationalized my relevance to a fashion magazine as follows: "Haute couture" means "high sewing" or "high dressmaking" and refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted fashions.

I often refer to myself as a "psychological/environmental tailor." I design homes that fit people - in mind and body - in exact ways.

Still, it appears I am once again moving into circles in which a small town guy like me is - as they say - out of my depth. Some days running this little Internet start-up from a town with a population of 77 takes me for a fun - but really weird - ride!