Guest Blogger @ Alex Grant

Hey, hi, hello. Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm a guest blogger over at Alex Grant today! Click on over, get comfortable, and stay a while. There's lots of great content to get lost in, so check it out.

The Style Cooperative on Valet Magazine

Hey have you heard? The new Batwing Bow Tie landed us here at The Co-Op on the Daily Report of Valet Magazine thanks to the truly stylish Skip over at Alex Grant. The nice folks over at Valet said something about the Bow Tie being "too good to be true" because of the quality of handmade American craftsmanship and a totally reasonable price. Glad you like.

If you aren't familiar with Valet, it's menswear essential reading. No, really.  If you aren't familiar with Alex Grant, it's quintessential prepster style blog in the best way possible. Gander on over to both and check out our goods and his awesome style kits.

The Week in Links

via

... because sharing is caring

• A little too much detail about the intricacies of this pair of jeans. And I love ever moment of it. For clothing/sewing nerds only. 
• Even more in Complex's coverage of literally everything you need to know about denim (with mens brand guide!)
• "The hipster moment did not produce artists, but tattoo artists. It did not yield a great literature, but it made good use of fonts." Via New York Times
• Design swaps for the designer in you. 
• Soviet prison tattoos and via the Hunt for Cool

Guest Blogger: Meredith of Fifty First (J) Dates

I met Meredith once upon a time while we were both fashion interns in New York. You know, the really (un)glamorous stuff that makes the beautiful things happen... that was our job. We've stayed in touch and as it turns out, she's the voice of the hilariously honest blog Fifty First (J) Dates.  That's right, she is a proud J-Dater and gives you the play by play along the way. (I made a little appearance on her blog today as well! So hop over to check it out. Pleaseandthankyou.)

As an expert dater and quite the stylish girl as well, Meredith is our go-to for date style and advice.  Here's what she had to say:

How do you decide what to wear for a first date?

You have to consider the slut factor. And you have to choose the top of bottom half. If you're going to show your boobs, wear pants. And if you're going to wear a skirt, wear something that doesn't show cleavage. I always wear heels - but they do dress up/intensify an outfit, so be careful if you're a heels lover too. And consider how tall your date is. But don't ask him, that might be weird. My go-to is usually - wedges, jeans, and a cute silk top by a brand like Joie or Tucker.

What is your ideal autumn date?

Autumn is when leaves turn orange and you get to dress like a floozy for Halloween! And you eat enough candy pumpkins to make you want to hurl. Strolling hand in hand, in an apple orchard, picking apples and tossing them at each others' skulls...or just some pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin pie at a normal restaurant.

If you could dress a guy for a date, what would he wear?

Oooh! Loafers. I love loafers, I think they are universally flattering. As are mocs/driving shoes. I also kinda dig guys who can pull off converse. But if you can't, don't. Maybe jeans and a button-down. More than anything, tailoring and execution is key. Make sure your shirt isn't too baggy. Look like you care (a little.) A cute or interesting tee and a blazer always looks good too. Just no sneakers. Or adidas bath shoes. Yes, the latter happened. Fortunately, I saw past these little pieces of rubber and offensiveness, and he's now my boyfriend. I just threw out his shoes.

The Mens Content Guide

Guys, I know you care about style and I know it's kind of hard to sift through all the garbage out there to find consistently good and current info and ideas when it comes to contemporary menswear.  So just for you, I've made a list of my favorite mens urban(ish) lifestyle blogs*.  Big or small, they're collected here just waiting for you to add to your Google Reader to kill hours of future time.

Thank me later.

On and Beyond

Great for: Beautiful photography, lifestyle musings, and a generally down to earth tone.

Marcus Troy

Great for: Getting you in the know about cool stuff before the rest of your friends.

Street Etiquette

Great for: Personal style inspiration and history/interesting clothing knowledge. One of those blogs your friends already follow because they read about 'em somewhere. And by somewhere, I mean GQ.

The Madbury Club

Great for: It's quintessential in keeping me hip to all things that matter when hanging with the guys. A dirty little secret of mine.

Getting Beat Like You Stole Something

Great for: Being some of the freshest content to come out of the Midwest.  Great photography and he provides a little style perspective for the ladies from a male perspective. Fancy that...

The Brooklyn Circus

Great for: Style inspiration and eye candy. It's a label, but I like to think of them in the same group of general content builders.

Bad Tofu

Great for: Honest, raw, refreshing content. It's totally sans pretense.

*All images from the respective blogs mentioned above

Featured On: Shop Influence

Recently, the exceptionally kind Erin over at Shop Influence did an interview and created a feature for me & The Style Cooperative.

We talk business, fashion, inspiration, and more.  Be a friend and hop over to Shop Influence and check it out.

Style Like U

Lately people have been asking me pretty often where I get inspiration for some the projects that I work on.  Whether it's styling for shoots, designing for events, or whatever the case may be.  I think that's tough to say because for me, inspiration comes from everything around me, but especially things that aren't.

Ying Chu from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

And then there are those times when I stumble upon people, places, online content, etc. that just surprise me into feeling a certain way. Inspired.  Watching the Style Like U video interviews make sense to me and kind of feel like I'm watching an interview with an old friend.  They are people who speak the same language of creativity, and possess this energy... that's inspiring.

Welcome to the Social

For the more long term readers, you've seen this blog go through many phases.  I've been doing a good amount of thinking about the purpose of why I blog, and what it is that I want readers to walk away with.

Here's what I know:

I love talking about what I do. I love leaving people feeling inspired and even empowered to take a chance on themselves. I love creativity, lifestyle, and all the beauty that comes with it.  So I write this post, dear readers, as an open letter of commitment to focus my chats with you on (life)style.  You know, developing personal style, following people following dreams, tidbits about The Co-Op, and the like. 

Life, style, and stuff. Welcome to the social.

Definitive Culture is Here to Stay

It feels like I haven't written in ages! I took a few days off from blogging and other work (much needed) and was working on a really great project that culminated in an event last night.

There is a great new lifestyle site based in Chicago I've been working with, Definitive Culture, that is finally ready to be discussed with all of you lovely folks.  As the featured style contributor, I'll be sharing musings on style, fashion, ideas, and other bits of loveliness.  So do drop by for additional content,events, and more from me and a handful of very talented and passionate folks.

Also, if you missed out on the launch event last night, I had my very first trunk show of sorts.  The best part is, the goods were actually displayed in a trunk that you may recognize. It was so very exciting to FINALLY share some of the actual product with people and allow them to see and feel and enjoy. This was the perfect way to start off the week with a real bang.

Guest Contributor at the CraftMBA Book Club

It's been quite the week as I prepare around the clock for the photo shoot for the line this Sunday.  It's all moving hyper fast, but I'm looking forward to showing you the behind the scenes.  Be sure to follow me on twitter @RachelABrooks if you want the play by play at the shoot, getting ready, hanging with the models, sneak peeks at the product, and the antics along the way.  There will be antics.

I also wanted to give you a heads up that the ever resourceful Megan over at Crafting an MBA recently started the new book for the Crafting an MBA Book Club, "Business and the Buddha: Doing Well by Doing Good".  I'm one of the guest contributors reading the book and talking about it at this stage in my crafty biz life.  It's more of a forum style, so feel free to leave comments even if you aren't reading along!

More details and fun content to come. Do something brilliant today!

Tutorial Tuesday Lives On!

Because today's post wasn't exactly a tutorial, and because a lovely one popped up in my Google Reader just a few minutes ago... I will share with you a great tutorial that was posted today by the completely darling Rubyellen on Rachel D's blog.

It's a simple way to use your scraps to make something useful and fun.

Fashion's Rookie

Thanks to the somewhat overwhelming amount of coverage of the NY Fashion Week Shows over at Fashionista, I've decided not to do any direct commentary of it. I'm not there. They are. They win.

However, the real star that has started to emerge is not one of the hottest young designers showing in the tents. It's a 13 year old from the suburbs of Chicago. Enter Tavi Gevinson.

Now adorning the cover of POP! Magazine and countless other publications, talks fashion with Rodarte, a guest at the Marc by Marc Jacobs show (among others), her blog is witty, honest, and has the kind of charm in awkwardness that only 13-year-olds are truly capable of.

A personal favorite moment is when she talks to her readers via video and then posts a second video of her later dancing in Margiela in her room. It kills me to watch as I silently (read: awkwardly) hold back my giggles in the tea shop.

Street Etiquette

It's been a while since I've had a true blog crush like this. I admit that I've been neglecting male readers lately, so in researching some good material, I stumbled upon a amazing blog written by two guys from the Bronx who have style for days. Years. 2 lifetimes.

They focus on developing a more refined and worldly view of fashion in an urban setting, while their style exudes all that's right about New York style.

With incredible images and a lot of time and detail that goes into the posts, I can see why

they have quite the active following.

They have an eye for detail, and this is really evident in their recent post/article on wrist accessories.

All images via Street Etiquette

Bringing a Little Brightness

I'm not sure if many of you have heard about this yet, but there is an incredible site/blog out there that is dedicated to bringing opportunities to get free and fantastic goods everyday. You read it right, everyday. This month they are concentrating on beauty.

The Bright Side Project serves up quality wares that make you feel even better because you know they are quality products that look and feel a little extra special. Chock full of independent designers, artists, and a few labels you may have sworn by years ago, there's a little something for everyone.

If the product of the day is of interest to you, just leave a comment on the post answering the questions, and you're entered to win. It's that easy, and the odds aren't terrible either.

Hope this brightens up your day!