Sidewalk Style: Busting Out the Boots

Jeff Dufour, 35
DC editor, UrbanDaddy.com

What he’s wearing:
“The jacket is Filippa K, a cool Canadian designer from the long and dearly departed Alex Boutique that my friend Liberty Jones ran. It was a great place to shop. It’s cool for the daytime because it’s kinda professorial. It’s got these snaps instead of buttons, which jazz it up a little bit. I’m wearing a lot of layers today because it’s Arctic outside: The sweater is a gift from my wife a few years ago, the shirt is Hugo Boss from a trip to Los Angeles, the jeans are Rock & Republic from this great store in Nashville that sells a lot of rock-music T-shirts—I can’t remember the name. The boots I got pretty recently from Bloomingdale’s.”

Is shopping in Washington a challenge for guys?
“Absolutely. It’s hard to find stuff here that you couldn’t find anywhere else. We have Bloomingdale’s, Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Barney’s Co-op. But we don’t have anything you couldn’t find anywhere else. There’s Lost Boys, Farinelli’s, and a couple of boutiques on 14th Street like Caramel. There might be a piece or two at Foreign Exchange, Lettie Gooch, Rue 14, or Redeem, but those are all somewhat casual. And there’s the fact that Washington is somewhat conservative.”

So where do you shop?
“My strategy is pretty simple. I generally go to the Barneys Outlet in Leesburg once in the spring and once in the fall. And then I sort of augment that with whatever else I find around: Barneys brand, Varvatos, and Hugo Boss are the brands I generally get at Barneys. I have a lot of Ben Sherman, too. And Billy Reid is sick.”

What are you reading to get style inspiration for work?
“There’s our own blog called Kempt. There’s a lot of really good national blogs: A Continuous Lean, Valet, Off the Cuff—a local guy. He’s pretty good.”

Any style pet peeves?
“Fabric belts with whales on them.”

Any personal-style epiphanies of late?
“This winter—in part because I can dress more casually now and in part because I walk around a lot more—I’ve really become obsessed with boots. They should be a staple. I wear them all the time. They’re warmer, for one thing, they’re functional, and they look right with jeans. They’re just cool.”

Rachel says:
I couldn’t agree more with Jeff on the boots-as-essential for a man’s wardrobe. Check out Justin boots on eBay (I like them for girls, too), the offerings at local outposts of J. Crew or Rugby, and brands such as Wolverine. Insta-swagger!