Not a Standard Love Story

By Marisa Charpentier in Special, Travel, TXEX on February 14, 2017 at 8:00 am | 1 Comment

Two Longhorns went all the way to Europe to find each other.

When Drew, BBA ’08, Life Member, and Christine Bagot, BS ’08, tell people that starting a business as husband and wife doesn’t cause friction, most people think they’re lying. But to them, staying up late into the night working on their website or finding vendors is just another way for the Texas Standard owners to spend more time together.

“It works really well for us,” Christine says. “We think alike. We come to the same conclusions on a lot of things. It’s not like I’m sitting at home and he’s out working late nights. We’re in this together.”

The couple’s shared love of Texas and desire to start a business propelled them to create the men’s clothing brand. And though the brand’s barbed wire logo and assortment of button-ups and polos are entirely Texan, had it not been for the couple’s penchant to see the world, the two might never have met.

Fresh out of college in 2008, Drew and Christine were eager to see Europe. They each decided to sign up for a Flying Longhorns Essential Europe trip. Although they were both part of the same graduating class and regulars at Cain and Abel’s on Rio Grande Street, Drew and Christine never crossed paths on the Forty Acres. It wasn’t until their first day abroad that the two got to talking at a group excursion to a stock exchange-themed bar in London. “He was always making jokes, and I was drawn to his personality,” Christine says. “I just wanted to be near him the whole time.”

Early on in the trip, the rest of their friend group started to get annoyed. The second the tour bus disembarked to a new location, Drew and Christine were glued at the hip. In Rome, they cut away from the group, traversing the ancient catacombs and exploring the depths of the expansive Colosseum. In Greece, they hopped on four-wheelers and rode around an island together. Over the course of just a few weeks, they were instant best friends.

But if things had gone just a bit differently, the Bagots might never have met. Christine was one of the last people to sign up, and when Drew’s friend backed out right before the trip, he almost followed.

“It feels like fate that we both ended up going on this trip, and it almost didn’t happen,” Christine says.

Over the course of a month, they learned more about each other—like their shared love for traveling and business. They spent their days sightseeing in France, Germany, and Austria, frequenting restaurants and bars at night, and finally crashing for a few hours before getting back on the bus by 5 a.m.

When the trip came to an end, Drew and Christine headed back to Texas, but to separate hometowns. Drew was in Dallas working for a private equity firm, and Christine was working for Nikon in Houston. They kept in touch over text messages and Facebook. Christine’s work often sent her to Dallas, where they had their first official date.

They continued dating for five years before getting married. During that time, the two formed a shared dream: starting a company together. They never thought they would be part of the apparel business, but Drew kept struggling to find options in men’s clothing. “I never really got into Vineyard Vines or Southern Tide because they weren’t really Texan.”

Wanting to create a Texas-inspired brand, the two set out to design the perfect logo. They decided to go with a prominent image in Texas history: a piece of barbed wire. “Texas became what it is because of ranching and that culture,” Drew says. “Before oil, it was cattle. You still see barbed wire strewn across Texas landscapes today and probably will for the rest of time.”

The Bagots officially launched Texas Standard in September 2016. They sell their assortment of polos, sport shirts, hats, pocket tees, and accessories online and in a few specialty shops such as St. Bernard’s. Ten percent of all profits are given to four charities in Texas: Feeding Texas, Texas CASA, Habitat for Humanity Texas, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.

Travel continues to be a part of the Bagots’ relationship. They take a few trips each year to places like Japan, Thailand, and Peru, and Drew proposed to Christine in front of the Sydney Opera House in Australia in 2012. No matter where they travel, though, they can’t see themselves living anywhere else but Texas.

“We love to travel and see different things,” Drew says. “But we always love coming home.”

Photos courtesy of Christine Bagot. 

Tags: bagot, flying longhorns, texas standard, travel