Over the weekend, my husband and I went suit shopping. He'll be in a wedding later this month and the one suit he has wasn't adequate for the occasion. Shopping for a suit with my husband is not a fantastic experience. He would rather be anywhere in the world than inside of a men's clothing store trying on suits.
Let's face it, the military makes it easy on our spouses. They know exactly what they're going to where each and every day, and their accessories are pre-selected for them. They have PT uniforms, everyday uniforms and formal uniforms. No guesswork required. Every day is groundhog day. I've often wondered if in addition to the pay and added responsibility that comes with climbing in rank, they're glad to be promoted just to see something different on their uniforms.
There's something to be said for wearing the same thing day after day, but I think our spouses pay a price for this. It seems they get confused when it comes time to dress for anything other than golf or a military outing. At least my husband does. I adore my husband. He hung the moon as far as I'm concerned. But having said that, he doesn't have an eye for mixing and matching civilian clothing. And really, who can blame him? I think he forfeited any fashion sense he may have once possessed when he joined the Army.
I was chatting with some milspouses about this very issue not too long ago and I've come to believe it's an epidemic. One of them threatened to institute a garanimals type of system for her husband so he would not go out of the house and embarrass himself. Not a bad idea...
The salesman who assisted us this weekend noticed very quickly that all questions should be directed at me. My husband put on a jacket which needed tailoring and proudly proclaimed that it would "do." The jacket was the first one he tried on, and it wouldn't "do" without tailoring. I kept looking, much to my husband's dismay. His exit strategy would not be implemented as quickly as he had hoped.
Sensing my husband's dissatisfaction with being in a professional men's clothing store, and just before he figured out he'd be better off dealing with the fairer sex in this particular instance, the salesman looked at my husband and said, "Sir, you seem rather.....reluctant?" Well, that's one way to put it.
But in my husband's defense. I mean, um, seriously....
