I sometimes wonder what I would wear these days if I wasn’t a magazine editor. Seriously, I’m from suburban Maryland. I don’t know how much you know about Maryland, but it’s pretty much as mundane as a place gets. Bottled water has more flavor than Maryland. I grew up dressing in drab rugby shirts, Izods and acid washed jeans – a cross between Northeastern and trailer park. Stepping out on the fashion ledge meant flipping your collar up (we NEVER called it “popping”, I don’t know where that came from). The emo kids crap their pants with envy when I tell them that, but I got news for you emo kids – just because it happened in the 80’s doesn’t mean it was cool or that it looked good. And it especially doesn’t look good pear shaped asses and pasty bodies. Following MD I moved to eastern North Carolina, and I think I actually tucked my jeans into my boots for a while. So in fashion terms, I was up against it, for sure. But then I moved to Florida, became a wakeboarding editor, and the world of flow opened up for me. I went from owning no black t-shirts to owning approximately 400 of them. I entered the magical world of The Box — occasionally receiving goodwill packages of free apparel from friends who work in the surf/skate clothing industry. The guys at Matix in particular have taken me under their wing, and recently sent me this box of stuff, including some Miner jeans, a few tees, some L/S dress shirts, a bulky winter jacket and a convertible backpack/briefcase called the Normandie. If I had to choose, I’d say the pack is my favorite thing in this season’s Box. It has a side handle and backpack straps, so you can go hands free or professional-like. Check out all the new spring and summer gear at www.matix.com. I’m guessing that after they read this, they might even give me my own line called Rockville (MD). Suede Marlboro Man jackets, re-issued Pony high top rip offs, tweed trench coats … I’ve got some ideas Matix, call me. – T. Smith