Hi there! Jackie here. The canine voice behind the duo that is the Eat, Drink, Be Hairy blog. I write this blog along with my Humom (Human Mom), Joelle.

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What do you do with a city experiencing turmoil? You support it. It is for this reason Humom and I head to perhaps the most well-known locally-owned apparel store in St. Louis, STL Style House.

A call to STL Style (3159 Cherokee St., St. Louis, Mo. 63118 | (314) 898-0001) prior to our visit confirmed dogs are welcome in their store. They did caution us, however, there is a cat in residence at the store.  So visiting dogs must be cat-friendly.

But dogs are not the only animals to make their way into the store. Our visit has been preceded by a chinchilla, a ferret and an ostrich, said Max Wright, a style consultant at the store. Though he was admittedly joking about the ostrich, it’s safe to say they are pet-friendly. “We get dogs in here all the time,” said Randy Vines, part-owner of STL Style.

Randy and his identical twin brother, Jeff, are the creative minds behind STL Style. What started as a hobby for them, turned into a full-fledged business in 2001. At that time, according to Randy, “there weren’t any cool t-shirts that really reflected the city.” But when some of their first designs sold out at a local festival, they knew they were on to something. Together with the help of designer Kadie Foppiano, they would go on to create some of the most unique and recognizable designs in St. Louis – designs that include not just t-shirts, but stickers, messenger bags and hats. Their minds are always thinking of the next cool design, Randy said.

Cool designs are an understatement. Each neighborhood and area within St. Louis has its own design, unique to the area. Even catchphrases unique to St. Louis have their own design, such as “Highway Farty”.  At the store, once you choose your design,  it is printed on the t-shirt, baby onesie or undergarment of your choice while you wait – a mere two minutes for your custom-made garment.

The design of our choice, printed by Jeff on a doggie t-shirt, is for a neighborhood that has been in the news quite a bit recently. The “Hands Up for Ferguson” design was created in support of the City of Ferguson, where a young, unarmed black man was killed on Aug. 9. Proceeds from the sale of this particular design are being donated to the United Way Helping Ferguson Fund.

I’m proud to say I shopped locally on Black Friday this year.  And I’m equally as proud to wear my new shirt.

~ Jackie Brown