A million times, yes.

Scenes from NY

Video: #WORKROOM

A great clip of what I'll go ahead and say was the best night that hit Chicago in a very long time, hosted by yours truly at The Style Cooperative workroom along side the most excellent Marcus Troy. The hand selected guest list made for a great time.

Shoutout to Broadway, DJ extraordinaire, for producing this video. +1 bajillion cool points (I can still say that, right?). More pics to come!

Evolution of Street Culture & Jeff Staple

Jeff Staple gets a lot of virtual fist bumps all around the internet. Logical, forward thinking and the kind of guy I wish I wish I went to college with so we could talk about foolishness over 2 hour lunches just because we could. I vote start at 1:55.

You're Invited: Chicago Holiday Trunk Show

click to enlarge

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.

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.

Hair: A love story

Remember this? Click it, make it bigger, and bask in how flipping LONG my hair was then. Curly, at that.

The tutorial was a good one too, so go check that out again too. Side note: I made some ombre socks for fall to be worn with heels. Oh yes. I. Did. But I digress...

Or even remember the straight hair that sometimes showed up?

So if you are one of my favs because you follow my nonsense on twitter, you'll know my quite volatile ride to cutting off all of that curly glory you see above. At one point I was threatening to shave my head. Not quite Amber Rose,  but close enough.  People yelled at me. No, really.

This jacket is way cooler than it looks here

Then I finally did it! I cut my hair off 2 weeks ago, and haven't shot a look for The Co-Op since, so you all get the good pleasure of these cheesy phone pictures for now. 

Sans makeup...

I'll talk more in depth about the change in an upcoming post, but here are some pictures to pacify you (and to stop the harassing tweets about not sharing what it looks like. jerks.) I kid. Kind of.

Curly mohawk- image shamelessly stolen from a friend

There's been a bunch of looks- from Great Gatsby-esque to the curly mohawk. And a few other looks in between.

Side view.

My stylist told me this would be a great way to reinvent myself and have a new costume every day. She knows me all too well.

Notes on Personal Style

Let me briefly state the potentially obvious: I'm a huge nerd. If the blog writing and the musing of business articles from random industry journals isn't a dead giveaway, maybe hanging out on college campuses while I work on The Co-Op is.  Yes, I do that too because I like the academic energy.

So what makes this nerdy girl so bold as to think her outfits are worth photographing? Well, funny you ask.  The truth of the matter is, I'm not some high fashion girl or somebody who even goes shopping nearly at all.  So what gives? 

The thing is, I take this whole personal style thing pretty seriously. When I get dressed to step out, I don't do anything for shock value nor price tag insinuations. I simply decorate myself with what feels right that day and create a little visual interest; essentially costuming the story of me. Sometimes the costume sucks and I look ridiculous. Funny enough, I'm ok with it.

Want to know why? Because after a while, I started loving the fact that I dressed for me. And after that... people started looking at my costumes and would comment that only I could pull something like that off. Pull it off? Does that mean my fuzzy socks with spiked heels are now socially acceptable? What about those neon orange combat boots I like pairing with sun dresses? Oh, and the cut off shorts I made from my dad's old jeans?

My point is this: personal style begins and ends with confidence and nestled somewhere within that is being self-aware. Know what you like, build that into your life, and don't settle. Personal style therefore becomes lifestyle.

Well, whadaya know.

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

Film Bliss: Schmatta

2 things that I really can't get enough of are the fashion industry and documentaries. HBO really hit the nail on the head with their newest documentary film, Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags Again. I hear it just premiered this week, and while I don't get HBO to my apartment, I'm diligently looking for a way to see the film. It discusses, among other things, director Marc Levin's take on New York City's Garment District and the unfortunate downward spiral its been experiencing for some time now.

It talks about the good:

And the bad:

Have you seen it? No spoilers please, but is it incredible... or merely a little meh?

PS: For those of you who don't know what "schmatta" is... it translates to "rags" in Yiddish. Don't worry... I, too, had to google it as my Yiddish is a little rusty these days ;)

East to West, Then Back Again

Hi there! My apologies for such sporadic posts lately. It seems like I'm in a perpetual state of moving these days. Just earlier today, I arrived back home from an impromptu long weekend trip to Colorado with a pair of friends. Labor Day's long weekend is quickly approaching. Do you have anything planned?

Saturday, I had the chance to visit Idaho Springs and experience the charm of the Old West and how it intersects with modern style.

There were funky things.

Comfortable places.

Friendly faces.

And pretty pieces that left me wanting to come back again.

Shop images via Cafe Aimee

Life[Style]: Tea & Co.

I've never been much of a coffee drinker, this much is true. But within the last couple of years, I have really started to appreciate good tea. Coming from a household of non-tea-drinkers, learning the ropes from tea snobs in my adventures and travels was a little intimidating at first. Somehow, I became the girl who brings large amounts of tea [not magazines] in my carry-on when traveling back home from new places.

In preparing to move to a new apartment at the end of the summer, I have dedicated myself to only purchasing new items that I truly love. I'm thinking a glass teapot, perfect for blooming teas.

French presses are not just for coffee. The warmer is edgy and would sit nicely on the table at a meeting with clients.

This set is sweet and delicate in a not your grandma's tea set kind of way.

Trekking across town with this travel infuser in tow is a great and green alternative to your

on-the-go Starbucks addiction. Take note, Olsen girls.

And for the smartest looking desk in the entire office, opt for a single cup tea infuser

Like this tabletop-friendly version,

Or this one.

[Life]Style: Bicycles

When thinking about personal style, sometimes I overlook the everyday moments that contribute to it. Think the culture that comes from music, recreation, climate, utility, or even social concerns that shape our lifestyles.

One thing that strikes me as a recent cultural phenomenon is the resurgence of the bicycle. From business men to kids to the stay at home mom, the utility and utter style that a bicycle can provide is simply genius. Bikers and biking is a culture, really. So why not think of this not only as a new set of wheels, but as the ultimate accessory to your summer [life]style?

The vintage charm of this cruiser bike is sweet and contrasts well with delicate dresses on a summer afternoon.
Photo credit: The Sartorialist














Becoming the staple item of any good hipster and the trend chasers alike, the fixie bike is a city bike with attitude. Outfitted with a variety of colors, it is a casual way to ride to the cafe or across town to work.





Exceptionally practical, adding a basket to the front or back of the bike is perfect to carry heels for the office or veggies from the local farmers' market. Weather beaten wicker baskets provide country charm to a city girl on the move.