*STOP* Before moving forward, if you do not bookmark this page for future gift ideas, you are doing it wrong.
Ok, just had to get that out of the way. The Art of Style is a collection of DC area based start-ups that focus on men’s grooming, maintenance, 
appearance, and general well-being. But this isn’t the beer and nachos well-being, more like, what a man should wear when meeting the parents of his significant other for the first time. Or how to generally outfit oneself in comfortable, yet functional wears that look good and show that you can be presentable.
For this comparatively drab photographer/reporter, this week’s Art of Style intervention at Jack Rose Dining Saloon was a long time coming.
Stubble & ‘stache was one of the participating vendors focused on the grooming aspects of the modern male and focused, expectedly, on facial hair. Like almost all startups, Stubble & ‘stache had an interesting start; US Marine Special Ops member Nicholas D. Karnaze found it tough to 
maintain the badass beard he grew in honor of his fallen comrade so he designed a beard and skin care product of his own. Stubble & ‘stache products are a combination of facial moisturizers and beard softeners, so us bearded fellows can take care of our faces and beards in one step!
Taking grooming practices one step further, Georgetown based Roosters Men’s Grooming Center set up a couple barber chairs in Jack Rose and offered free beard and neck cleanups. Talk about bringing everything but the kitchen sink.
Once thoroughly groomed and moisturized, attendees were presented with a couple options for properly accessorizing themselves before a night out or day at the office. Nice Laundry is, and I’m not kidding, revolutionizing the men’s sock industry. That’s right. Revolutionizing the men’s sock industry. They offer a variety of styles, colors, and packs that ship in 6 pair packages that include a return shipping label for an equal pair of your 
retired socks. This way, you can replace a batch of your dreary, yet ever loyal, socks for a fresh new set and make a statement. The old socks are sent directly to a textile recycling plant and repurposed for a number of commercial fabric applications. Don’t worry though, they are thoroughly cleaned and treated so you don’t have to worry about buying a set of sheets made out of someone’s old pair of socks.
Bull + Moose was also on hand with their line of popular neck and bow ties, plus a preview of their new Fall 2014 patterns. These patterns not only look good, but help make sure the person wearing them safely arrives at wherever function they are wearing them to. Their patterns include an interwoven reflective silver element that shine in the face of street lights and headlights, so the biking man has an extra bit of visibility when traversing the District.
Luckily, all of these realizations of my own slovenliness were tampered with some smooth tasting Scotch from Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Glenmorangie provided attendees with complementary tastings of their Nectar D’or 12 Year, a perfect companion for reconsidering one’s personal maintenance and appearance practices.
Other companies in attendance, like Urbanstems, strive to keep the people around a man happy in the form of a hand crafted flower bouquet delivery service. Best part? They promise free delivery in the District area within an hour! Keep that in mind for those holidays that have a tendency to sneak up on us. This delivery time is made possible by having three or four seasonal bouquets available at a time, so the prospective flower giver can simply choose from a set of professionally arranged bouquets and Urbanstems can quickly and efficiently take care of the rest.
