Instead of presenting their collection during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week next month, Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos decided to take an early road trip now. And like any good tourist, they brought along their camera.

The duo, whose "classic with a twist" designs for men and women regularly draw praise from the fashion press and loyal customers, set up a photo studio in the middle of Barney's Co-Op Wednesday night.

As part of their "Fill in the ______ Photo Tour," Halmos snapped enthusiastic Galleria shoppers while Shipley asked each person photographed to fill out a short questionnaire, asking "What did you do at camp?" and "What is a slang word your grandparents used?"

Each person photographed will be showcased on the Shipley & Halmos website; the duo will also publish a book of photographs available at Barneys in late November.

"We wanted to get out and visit the stores and meet people," said Halmos. "Instead of coming in and sitting behind a desk and saying, 'hi," which is kind of boring, this lets customers interact with us."

During their two-hour stint at Barneys, they expressed little interest in hawking their collection, which was displayed in other areas of the store. Instead, Halmos photographed each subject while Shipley bantered with them as they filled out the questionaire.

Shipley estimates that 25 percent of the people they have photograph know their brand, 25 percent have heard about the tour from online sources, "and 50 percent have never heard of our company. That's pretty cool," he said.

While several the Houstonians didn't know of the duo, they had one big fan. "Their style is clean and classic," said Jason Lau, who showed up to have his picture taken. "I appreciate that even though it's classic there's always something that's a little unusual."

At the halfway point of their 13-city road trip, the duo estimates they have taken more than 6,000 photographs.

"You never know what you are going to get," Shipley said. "It's completely and utterly random. But the one thing they share in common is they are very individualistic."

Their subjects have ranged from an 80-year-old woman in Philadelphia to a five-month-old baby in Chevy Chase, Md. "We've shot a dog, brothers and sisters, fighting couples. It's been crazy," Halmos said.

In Houston, the group included Michelle Thomsen, who is wheelchair bound after a leg injury and also has stage four breast cancer but an indomitable spirit, artist Laughlin Artz, a Houston artist in Spandex pants, and writer Rob Hays, nattily dressed in checked shirt and bow tie.

Before the photo shoot, Shipley and Halmos explored resale furniture shops on lower Westheimer and had lunch at Hugo's. They said they wished they had more time to spend in Houston, but they are driving to Austin today and then on to Dallas, before hopping a plane for the last leg of their excellent adventure on the West Coast.

People being photographed chimed in with suggestions where the designers should dine before they left Houston.

"You have to go to Shipley's donuts," Hays said.

Shipley, who is no relation to the donut store owners, seemed intrigued.