much a year do I spend on
clothes? Clothing is a hobby
with some women.'’
H/hen Ann and Dee dress for
work in the morning, it’s ob
vious whose hobby is the
clothes rack and whose is the
car engine.
Ann wears her own mer
chandise, seldom buying
clothes anywhere else. Today
she is dressed in light colors. A
profusion of looping threads
curtain her beige sweater. On
her wrist, she wears a di
amond-rimmed gold watch
with an all-diamond face.
And Dee? Blue coveralls.
It s just a tew steps from the
gas station’s ice freezer to the
Fashion Station's Italian sweat
ers, from Miller Lite in neon, to
Erez in leather.
Despite the contrasts within,
from outside the store, it’s not
immediately apparent this Tex
aco sells anything that doesn’t
go in an engine. Many first-time
clients are surprised when they
walk in, they say.
“I’ve had several husbands
sav, This is the most expensive
gas I’ve ever had to buy,”’ Ann
says.
The couple says that al
though Hearne seems an un
likely place for an exclusive
women’s shop, it’s a convenient
stop for commuters. The Sta
tion survives on business from
Dallas, Waco and College Sta
tion, just passing through. Busi
ness from students at Texas
A&>M was slow at first, Ann
says, but is picking up. And it’s
not t-shirts which interest her
clientelle.
They’re buying imported jew
elry, giraffe sweatshirts and In
donesian cut-work shirts. They
are the type of blouses, sweat
ers and dresses that become the
centerpiece of an outfit.
D
ee masterminded the con-
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L ■■■■ M Mi BE M Ml ■»■■■■■* BU Jl
version from garage to bou
tique, but Ann did the decorat
ing. Her store assaults the
senses with color. Red, orange
and yellow straw handbags, a
sweatshirt in fashionable
peach, a dress in bright purples
and aqua blues, all fight it out
against an earthy, green back
ground.
The Weatherfords have plans
to expand the clothing store bv
another third, into the remain
ing garage.
“Eventually she may take
over the whole building,” Dee
says. “The gas business is not
that good.”
Dee says business is so good
he's going to have to build two
more dressing rooms.
Three, savs Ann.
“T
1 get a carload of six women
all the time." she savs. “They
make a whole dav of it.”
Ann says it's the character of
her store, not the novelty, that
brings clients back to her.
“People are hungry for a per
sonal touch," she says. “When I
go to a big shopping center I
can walk all day and go home
without anything.”
Her steady client and fan
Mattie Earle McCoslin, of
Hearne, agrees. She finds Ann’s
stock superior that of mall
stores.
“Everybody loves to come to
her shop,” McCoslin says. “If
you’re looking for a certain
something, she’ll get it for you.”
When buying her inventory at
the Dallas Apparel Mart, Ann
looks for suppliers who will sell
her the smallest possible quan
tities.
“Jewelry I’ll mostly buy one
of,” she says. “If I buy a dress,
I’ll buy three.”
Knowing her customers also
allows her to keep them in
mind when she shops.
People like being waited on
by the boss, Dee says, especially
older people who would rather
work with someone their own
age. Ann doesn’t employ any
strangers.
Ann Weatherford (above) runs the clothing half of
the store, while her husband Dee runs the self-serv
ice gas station. The clothes store is located in an area-
of the station where the service bays used to be.
“I’m here almost all the
time,” she says. “If I’m not here
you’re either working with my
stepdaughter or my-mother-in-
law.”
When Walmart came to
Hearne, it put a lot of pressure
on small stores. But Dee has
confidence in the Fashion Sta
tion’s approach. It will survive,
he says, long after the others
have “gone bottoms up.”
Ann says she has had several
requests to open stores in other
places, such as Biyan/College
Staton, but she has refused.
“I’d rather do an excellent job
with a small store and person
ally know my customers and
personally buy for them,’’ she
says.
Ann and Dee have no plans to
leave Hearne. So keep watching
for the store that says “Texaco,”
“Low Clearance,” and “25% off
summer items.” There’s no tell
ing what they’ll be selling next.
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