I never thought I would find a store where they actually turn away customers, but the Denim Bar in Arlington, VA. doesn’t let anyone just walk away with the latest and greatest in designer denim. Mauro Farinelli is more of an educator than a store owner and that is for good reason. Jeans are not just fabric to Farinelli, but rather works of art each crafted and stitched in their own unique way. Its not called the Denim Bar for no reason either, the sales staff dress as bartenders and you can enjoy a drink while you peruse the complex world of designer jeans. Mauro and co-owner Mary Alexander make sure to stock denim for a wide range of customers. For the denim enthusiast that enjoys their jeans more untouched, you can find great pieces from Kicking Mule, Sugar Cane and Nudie. But, if you want a nicely distressed jean with a fashion forward fit, Mauro has got you covered with jeans by SFAM, Tsubi and True Religion. If all of these different brand names have your head spinning, don’t worry. Mauro gives every customer there very own free consultation to help find the pair of jeans that best compliments your body. The Denim Bar is located in Pentagon Row at 1101 South Joyce Street Arlington, Virginia 22202 703.414.8202

From the minds of Jared K. Nickerson (J3 Concepts) and Leigh Flurry (Font Deli), System Kings is an “idea” that consists of exclusive artists brought together by their motivation to express art beyond its typical convention. It is not an art group, but rather an active unified portfolio which allows the 10 talented artists to submit at anytime. This lack of project deadlines and due dates leaves the artists, including 83grafik, Abstractmix, Cycloidbeta, Docvek, and Ovrmde, to be driven solely by emotion, imagination, and experiences and shows art in a more pure form - the antithesis of corporate media. System Kings online art gallery of mixed media is art beyond its typical conventions and is definitely not to be missed!

Wallet, keys, mobile, bag. There seems to be an over-saturation of the market with these quirky yet ordinary objects. However our comrades at Delfonics have provided us with one more piece to worry about for our daily routine. Slim, stylish and sexy, however overused, are appropriate adjectives for this line of stationery, staplers, key holders, mobile straps, and just about anything else that you always use but never think to splurge on. The accessories come in a variety of tasteful colors, so you can coordinate you stationery and mobile (charming!). A note of caution: the website seems to need some updating as all the products at the Omotesando Hills Store in Tokyo were not available online. But hey, it’s a good excuse to visit Tokyo, right?

It takes a lot for a t-shirt line to really impress me, but when I came across LA based Materialust, my hand immediately reached for my wallet. Materialust is really a globe trotting brand and I mean it in every sense. Each design is based on a different place across the globe: Paris and two versions of Tijuana shown above. Now don’t jump on me just yet, what makes this t-shirt line stand out from the rest is the great feel and fit of the tee itself. When I initially picked up the shirt I had to check the sign on the door and make sure I didn’t accidentally walk into a thrift store. Apparently, I am not the only one catching wind of this new brand because the line is available at a handful of top notch boutiques. We’ve seen many great t-shirt lines come and go, but this one looks like they are here to stay.