How He Wore It: Kenji of the Passport Project

Meet Kenji: the mind behind Passport Project, a lifestyle not-for-profit that aims to build "'The Coalition”, a network of Millennial global travelers and citizens across various industries and “Passport Life Grants”, a fund that helps young non-passport owners in subsidizing passport application fees and facilitating travel abroad experiences." If you've ever seen #PassportLife on twitter, this is the guy behind it. With the help of a collection of pretty heavy hitting media and lifestyle types, there are big things on the horizon for the project.

How He Wore It: Cameron Forbes

You've met Cameron Forbes here on the blog before.

He's one of the most intensely talented songwriter/artists I've come to know, and is one of those forces that is quietly but quickly making waves when it comes to his craft.  We made a pact about 5 years ago late night on a Brooklyn-bound F train to chase the dream with full force one day. It's that day every day, and it has been for some time now.

Social Study: Guys, Girls, and Style

Background: People often ask about my experience as a woman working in and designing menswear. I get a good amount of questions from guys asking my opinion about style, and of course the standard "Um, can you take a look at my shirt? I think I (insert a variety of damaging behavior from daytime fails and nighttime blunders)."

But at the end of the day, I wonder if guys in general  feel open to or are even seeking the opinion or approval from women in their sartorial experience.

Method: In this so very scientific study, I tweeted to the masses (and some more pointed folks* to balance out the group among style guys, married/commited guys, proudly non-commited guys, manly man guys, etc.) asking if women were a major influencer in their style decisions. This is just part of some of what you taught me:

Personal favorite response: "the right girl"

Conclusions: As it turns out, responses were pretty split down the middle. Some guys do it all for the ladies, while others just lean on your own personal style and attention of the female variety is a nice bonus. But a lot of agreement came around the idea of confidence being what women recognize, more so than any article of clothing. So is there some confidence soap you guys are scrubbing up with in the morning?

What do you think? Is it women, guy friends, blogs, or just your taste that influences how you leave the house? 

*People with protected tweets have names withheld to protect the innocent

You're Invited: Chicago Holiday Trunk Show

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If you're local to Chicago, you won't want to miss this. And it's just in time for some last minute holiday gifts. Ladies are absolutely welcome too!

I really hope to meet some readers there, so make sure to say hello and let me know you've seen the blog. It'll make my day.

The Style Cooperative - Sir & Madame Style Guide

Want to see something cool? 

One of my favorite stores in all of Chicago (well, I guess in general actually), Sir & Madame, is a well-curated mix of great labels, a private line of American made loveliness for guys and gals, and is home to the Midwest outpost of The Brooklyn Circus. So they're basically pretty awesome. You can see inside the store in the vid.

Today they posted the first of a series of Style Guides, and guess what showed up. Yep, that's a tweed tie from The Style Cooperative. Styled well with their private label suspenders, which I'm thinking looks excellent together.

Take a look, then have a look see at what Sir & Madame have going on at their site. More about them soon.

And All That Jazz

We had a friend of The Style Cooperative at the loft earlier today, the always impeccably dressed Prosper. As one of our favorite supporters, we invited him by to try out some of the new men's products.

With his clever mixing of new, vintage, handmade, and finely crafted, we love this look paired with The Co-Op's Butterfly Bow Tie in Navy. 

It's always a good time when we get to kick back for a little while midday with great folks. Life and style, now that's what we're talking about.

Tutorial: How to Tie a Bow Tie

Just like any other sartorial know-how, tying a bow tie is a life skill that not enough of us have. You may have seen one of these little guides floating around the interwebs. They are complicated looking, I know. So guys (and girls!) listen up. This is how it goes:

I'm working here with a double-sided Diamond tip bow tie from The Co-Op Holiday collection (available starting tomorrow!) in Deep Red Silk and Gunmetal Chevron. 

Start with the tie around the back of your neck. Let one side fall about an inch below the other... like a regular necktie. Then take the longer end, lay it over the short, and pull it through from underneath. Just like how you start to tie a shoe.

 Make it as tight as you want the end result to be; you can't really adjust it once tied.

Take the longer side and make a loop and lay it flat across the center of your neck. This will be the first half of the bow. Hold it in place right above the knot with index & thumb.

With your free hand, take the shorter end (which should be behind the first loop you just made) and pull it over the top of that loop.  This will create the center tie part of the bow. Hold this in place with the center knot that you've been holding. Multitasking, I know.

Here's where it gets tricky. Pull the hanging side behind the first (and still only) bow loop.  There will be a small gap behind the loop that you will push the base of the hanging part of the tie through.  This will create the other half of the bow. This will take practice.

Now take a second to adjust the sides so that they are even, the bows are pulled to look even, and everything is centered.

Something you probably won't realize when tying, and get frustrated by: the loop parts will not be both in front. Only one side will have a front loop, the other side will have the end of the tie in front. So just when you thought you messed up, like magic, you've got a great looking bow tie.

Need more visuals? Check out a tutorial with Swizz Beats on Dynastee, and hooray for them shouting me and Co-Op ties today! Be a friend and show them some internet pleasantries.

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.

Field Trip: Optimo Chicago

Remember when I shared the video of Optimo Chicago? You know, the hand crafted artisan hats from their workshop on the south side?  Well, I finally visited.

Long-haired beaver felt. No, seriously.

And the hats were unbelievable.

They start with felt base shapes of hats, the work them into the precisely shaped and deliberately crafted goods that are made to order.

When I spoke to one of the people in the shop, she mentioned that it takes about 1 month to received a hat upon ordering. After watching them in action, it's definitely worth the wait to have something made special and just for you.

Classic production, done the old-fashion way. There are signs of quality in goods like this that you just can't find when you buy off the rack. While the price is steep, you definitely can't buy the experience.

I've got my eyes on a new hat, and hopefully it'll be an Optimo.

Style Q&A: Suspenders

Hey Rachel, I just bought a pair of suspenders, and want to incorporate it into a look that's casual enough to wear out to dinner, or dressy enough for going out. Any suggestions for shirts/shoes that would work? -Lost in L.A.

Hey there West Coast! Can I call you that? Great.

Now that we're friends, let's get to work and break down your question. What I'm getting is that you're a guy who wants to style your suspenders in a versatile way, so you don't look like a slob or a tool. Fair enough; let's begin.

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I'm into the mixing/matching casual and tailored approach to creating a look so it's inherently versatile. That is to say, casual shirt or v-neck/nicer slacks/biker jacket or very tailored shirt/skinny or bow tie/rolled up denim/hard bottom shoes.  Experiment with other accessories too, like hats, bracelets, and patterned socks.

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 In either case, you're keeping some aspects very sharp, while leaving the rest unfussy so that you don't look so... calculated. The fact that it is, well, we can keep that between us.

Got a style question? Ask me anonymously or otherwise at Formspring. I'll share the answer here on the blog.

The Girl Version

Maybe it's just me, but lately it seems like guys are having a way better time and doing far more interesting things with clothing.  I've been a long standing fan of the urban prep looks from people and places like The Brooklyn Circus, Street Etiquette, and all those other men's style blogs I spend way too much time on.

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But here's the thing: I WISH THERE WAS A GIRL VERSION.

via... somewhere. Help me out if you have the source!

So girls like me (and the very awesome Sham!) have to get a little creative in order to incorporate these pieces into our looks. We dress menswear up, down, and contort it into something that looks like it was almost made for the body we possess. So maybe the world's ready for the real(ly cool) girl version of it all.

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*suspicious grin*

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

That's What He Said

Men, I know like most other things, you like to keep things easy. *Insert inappropriate joke here*

It's always the same story:

"I want to dress well, but I hate to shop. I go shopping, I don't know what I'm looking for, I don't find anything, get frustrated, and leave with random stuff I never wear or nothing. I hate shopping."

Sound familiar?  Shop more effectively to get in, out, and call the trip a success.  Here are a few top tips for men:

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Know your role.

Do you have a look, vibe, or lifestyle you're trying to dress for? Stick to places that you know will work with what you're going for.  If you're a prepster, don't bother going to Urban.  Similarly, if you're into the vintage urban vibe, know who will stock the goods you're searching for like small lifestyle boutiques or online specialty brands.

Be Different Enough
You may not want to be the guy who is known for all the wacky clothing choices, but you do want to have a little extra something about you right?  Try something that is slightly off beat, and let that be your signature look.  Mine right now is my little yellow suitcase that doubles as a handbag. I get complimented on this silly little bag all the time by men and women alike- it's just that easy.

Relinquish Label Snobbery
Labels don't equate to style, your own sartorial judgement does. Personal style and dressing yourself is about dressing the body with visual interest, and there is nothing terribly interesting about that giant horse on your shirt, guy. Pick something in the store that looks interesting, and give it a go. If you can think of 3 different ways to wear/use it, make the purchase.

Men, Upgraded: Real Men of the Year

Typically, I try to stay on top of men's style and the happenings within it.  Quite honestly, I enjoy helping a man shop more than I do shopping for myself.  I think because men's style here in the US is so much more defined than the options provided for women, guys have to get more creative.

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In hearing from some of my male readers and friends alike, it seems like what guys are really missing is some consistent and practical style advice that isn't too "fashion-y".  Real-Guy style should be celebrated, and it is at places like Esquire's America's Best Dressed Real Man.

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Real, everyday guys (from bankers to college professors) submit images of their look, and talk about it a little.  Esquire has selected the top 25 semi-finalists.  Check out the homepage to see what the guys are doing, and maybe get a little inspiration while there.

This guy won last year.  Who's in your top pick?