Topman, the kid brother to the big sister Topshop, recently opened stores in Atlanta and Houston.

I was invited out to the store opening in Atlanta but seeing as I'm in Texas at the moment that wasn't really an option. It just so happened that Houston was opening a store not a month later in the ritzy Galleria mall.

I posted on instagram about the store opening in Atlanta before I left for a week at Baselworld, as was insisted by Topshop.

What I'm most glad about with this Houston store opening, the one I committed to attend, is The Cadillac Getaway. I would not have contacted Cadillac or been connected with @DistrictDrive. My getaway to Galveston and Rice University with Ruth would not have happened.

Seeing Blake Scott and Marcel Floruss wearing Topshop gave me a much higher impression of the brand than I otherwise would have had. In the not so recent past I have been accused of not being contemporary enough, my wife thinks I should probably like more color and pattern and seeing pictures of myself even just two years ago embarrasses me.

This is all to say that you should take any critique I make with a grain of salt, and maybe some cayenne pepper.

This shirt is the only one I liked of the few that I tried on. That's all I have to say about the shirts. They weren't amazing, but they weren't awful either.

The jackets were an interesting story. The first one I tried on was perfect in the arms but wouldn't button up around my thin figure- though I may have put on a few pounds in the last 6 months.

The second was perfect in the arms and buttoned around my waist but was far too broad in the shoulders. I had to try on several sizes and all of them were odd in one way or another.

After attempting three different jacket styles I found one that fit. In a size that I would swear is labeled to big (labeled 38 though in every other brand I'm a 36) but fits great around my chest and waist and might be just sneaking too wide across the shoulders, something I'm not too concerned with.

The highlight of the Topman opening was meeting David (@_fromnytotx). We have a mutual friend in Robert Twitty (@gentsamongmen) from NY. He's working as a stylist at Topman and was a pleasant person to get to know, if only for a few moments.

It seemed appropriate, as a fashion illustrator to take a moment and do some sketching at the store. As an invitee I was given a $100 gift card and two gift bags- one for me and one for my wife who was selflessly snapping shots the whole time.

Selfishly I took even the two $10 gift cards in the gift bags and purchased the $150 jacket as a memento from the opening. I quite like the eclectic green accent to my wardrobe, especially for next years St. Patty's day.

After purchasing the jacket I donned it and began drawing.

It was simple and sweet. Sketching from some of the promotional material hanging around the store. Capturing the aesthetic of the Topman.

I didn't have much time to sketch as we were on our way to Galveston...

More on Galveston in the next Cadillac Getaway post.