The first place I visited after arriving in Stockholm (with the exception of my hotel) was the men’s shop Rose & Born. The weather in Stockholm that day was sunny, clear and warm –an altogether perfect day in Scandinavia. The enjoyable conditions outside didn’t seem to hold back the steady stream of men stopping into Rose & Born to browse the new fall arrivals, check in for their second fittings and generally shop the nice assortment of men’s clothing and accessories.

After a few minutes browsing, I approached one of the guys on duty and asked if it would be okay if I took a few photos for my website. This is always a tricky moment for me – to have to be the guy who says publicly that “I have a blog” and wait for the reaction. Honestly, at this point, it is sort of painful for me to even ask, because there are so many embarrassing-blog-hucksters in the world. Thankfully the guys working at Rose & Born knew ACL and they were gracious in allowing me any photos I wanted. Those kinds of situations can go either way, I’ve been denied more than a few times and it is never that much fun.

Interestingly enough, the Rose & Born blog and magazine has gained this otherwise small shop a bit of a cult following with guys not just in Stockholm, but all over the world. It’s amazing when that happens, how the internet can help revel the great things that are out there. Take a look at the editorial that the shop produces and you’ll get why everyone likes Rose & Born so much. Not only do they have great taste in clothing, they can communicate that finely tuned sense of style through editorial – as a small independent shop no less. It’s nothing short of remarkable.

The styling and assortment is Swedish meets Italian with pops of English and American flare. It’s perfect for what’s happening at the moment, and it seems like it could easily have longevity. Most of the clothing and sportswear is private label for Rose & Born. Most of it is made in Italy and almost all of it wanted to come home with me. The accessories were from other brands like a very nice selection of Crockett & Jones, many of which looked like exclusives. A lot of them also looked like they wanted to come back to New York with me.

The beauty of Rose & Born, besides all of the great looking clothing, is the fact that they aren’t trying to be super cool. They have good taste and confidence in a way that is more inclusive than exclusive. That was the bit I liked best about them, there was no pretension to being the coolest shop in the world. Because the world doesn’t need another “cool” shop or “cool” blog. We all just want good things that are real for a change.