We Love DC was born in 2008 after ten bloggers from Metroblogging DC decided to start a new site. They wanted independence from the city-blog network—declaring it on July 4, naturally—and have since nearly doubled their volunteer writing team and, in the past six months, tripled their monthly readers.

Don Whiteside and Jenn Larsen were two of We Love DC’s founders; Shannon, who likes to keep her last name under wraps, joined the blog in April. It runs the gamut on coverage—everything from urban culture to food to breaking news—and includes short, digestible items as well as long-form features. Don covers technology news—and uses his background as a software engineer to keep the site running—while Jenn covers nightlife and the arts, and Shannon writes on urban development, transit, and neighborhood news.

We caught up with the three Washingtonophiles to find out exactly what they love about our city. And because we couldn’t resist, we got the scoop on a few things they could do without, too.

Chris Hogan started his fashion blog, Off the Cuff, in 2006, but his love affair with personal style goes back to 1992, when he landed his first retail job at a Ralph Lauren store. “Ralph is the master of lifestyle branding,” he says. “I learned a great deal about the psychology of branding and brand identification.”

Hogan takes those lessons to the entries of his blog, where he helps men discover a style that works with their lifestyles and reflects their interests. He writes to an international audience—Hogan counts approximately 16,000 readers a month in more than 40 countries—so he focuses less on labels and more on pinpointing classic trends. Because he hails from New Haven, it makes sense that Hogan identifies his own style as “Ivy League”—think East Coast preppy—but that doesn’t mean he recommends his look for everyone. “I try to help my readers navigate all of the options and understand that real style is very personal and starts with the individual,” he says.

We caught up with Hogan to chat about men’s fashion in Washington. Wardrobe basics? Fashionable politicos? Skinny suit or classic fit? Read on for his picks.

Remember many moons ago when we tapped Rusty from Why I Hate DC for an interview? Today we’ve got his successor, Dave Stroup, who’s been helming the site since last November.

Stroup started writing for the site with a team of bloggers after Rusty moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 2008. One by one, Stroup says, the other writers moved away or they just lost interest, so he was eventually the site’s sole blogger.

During his tenure, Stroup says he’s aimed to push the blog in a new direction—less snark (though there’s still a good dose) and more news. “It’s less about hating DC,” he says. “I just hate that there are so many problems in the city that prevent it from being better.” High on his list is John Catoe—Stroup wrote a petition to get the Metro chief fired.

We couldn’t resist getting Stroup to put on his snark hat for just a few minutes to give us the dirt on what really gets his goat about the capital city. We asked him some of the same questions that Rusty answered so you can compare the new writer with the old. Check out Rusty’s interview here, then read on for Stroup’s take on DC.

Juliana Brint joined the staff of the Georgetown Voice, the university’s weekly newsmagazine, two years ago when she was a freshman. She’s worked her way up through the newsroom ranks and finally became blog editor in April. “I like blogging because it allows you to really engage your audience and respond to things as they’re happening,” she says.

The magazine’s blog, Vox Populi, is Brint’s domain. It’s a site for Georgetown students and alumni to keep up with the news and events around campus—everything from sports to crime to concerts. Brint updates the site several times a day with her own posts as well as content from other Voice reporters.

 We caught up with the 20-year-old California native to find out about campus life. We got her top three tips for freshmen, her take on campus architecture (Lauinger Library, anyone?), and whether she thinks the $37,536-a-year tuition is worth it. Read on for her answers.

Despite her blog’s name—Scary Mommy—Jill Smokler isn’t really so scary. Her son, Ben, inspired the title after seeing the witch in Snow White; for weeks, he prefaced everything with “scary”—scary baby, scary bottle, scary grilled cheese. “Scary Mommy seemed like the perfect name,” says the mom of three.

Smokler started blogging almost two years ago after moving from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to a suburb of Annapolis. She and her husband, Jeff, had lived in Georgetown, Cleveland Park, and other northwest DC neighborhoods for six years after college, before heading south and eventually moving back to the area. Her posts focus on the family’s latest adventures, Jeff’s aversion to “sophisticated” food, and of course the couple’s three kids: Lily, five; Ben, three; and Evan, one. The family’s golden retriever, Penelope, also makes appearances.

We caught up with Smokler on a busy week—Lily started her first day of kindergarten last Thursday!—so we got her take on everything from school-worthy outfits to fall fun with kids. Read on for her answers.

Redskins fans flock to the Washington Post’s Redskins Insider blog for the latest news and gossip on their hometown team. Jason Reid, who has helmed the blog since July, is entering his third season covering the Skins. He’s a sports fan through and through: After graduating from the University of Southern California, he worked for 15 years at the Los Angeles Times covering local teams. He joined the Post’s newsroom in 2007.

Reid says his blog readers are passionate fans: “They simply can’t get enough information about their team.” Reid takes a newspaper approach to blogging, focusing more on factual reporting than on opining. That bent probably comes from his main gig: Reid is the lead writer for the Redskins in the print edition.

Fresh with football fever, we enlisted Reid to offer his best predictions and commentary on the Redskins’ upcoming season. Clinton Portis’s total yardage? Most valuable returning player? Best wide receiver? Read on for his answers.

The local fashion blog Capitol Hill Style turns one year old this week. Twenty-seven-year-old blogger Belle—she keeps her real identity a secret—says she started the site to offer fashion and style tips for busy working women who don’t have time to worry about their wardrobes. Among her fellow Hill staffers, she says she noticed lots of fashion faux pas, from dated looks to drab ensembles. “I’m a big believer that the right clothes can open all doors,” says Belle.

Even with a busy work schedule as a legislative assistant, Belle posts several times a day with tidbits that are accessible to everyday women. “I wanted to give women an outlet that was inspirational but also realistic,” she says. Regular features include the aptly named 10th Commandment, in which Belle posts photos and links to items she covets, and the Floor Report, which covers Belle’s favorite products and trends.

We recently caught up with the style maven to find out what she likes and dislikes about Washington fashion. Plus—read on for where she bargain shops, how she adds flare to a work outfit, and her picks for top fashionistas on the Hill.