BLACKBURN AND SWEETZER

Things are on the up-and-up for discerning men in the ‘hood. All Purpose opened in late ‘06, helmed by designer Alessandro Tomassetti and biz partner Alon Rosenfeld, a platform for Tomassetti’s Filius line and a complementary collection of bags, products, and other accessories. Next, Kairi Scott transformed his Na’Pali boutique with partner Martin Gooding into Kingsbury, a shop stocked with J.Lindeberg, Artful Dodger, Nixon watches, lots of limited edition sneakers, and - get this - they’ve equipped the place with a flat-screen, bar complete with tap, and BBQ on a patio out back. The latest addition, DF Feet, comes from Third Street veteran Jon Noble, owner of Douglas Fir, a men’s mainstay for eight years running. Housed in what used to be ANKA, a pretty dress shop, DF Feet is what you’d expect from a Douglas Fir spin-off, an impeccably designed shop with well-edited stock.

What you’ll find now (Jon made it clear there’s more to come): casual sneaks from Commes des Garcon Shirt, Yohji Yamamoto, You Must Create, Pirelli, and limited edition Vans; lots of Paul Smith lace-ups, Martin Margiela boots, and breathable woven canvas Le Plagiste slip-ons (found only here in the U.S.); linen and leather Yohji bags; and Tracy Watts hats. A store fave: Falke socks for $19 that come with a left and right sock in every color and size, thicker on the bottom than the top, and made for sport and non-sport alike. Shoes ranges from $85-$775; hats $110-$175; bags you’ll be dropping some hundreds. What you won’t find: a website, at least not yet. Not totally confident that web presence will happen anytime soon though, since Douglas Fir is also site-less.

Another upshot: the people are really cool and nice. Jon let me take a ton of pictures and took the time to chat and I left feeling I actually knew him a bit. You’ll also see Trevor Einhorn (pictured below left in front of a custom-built wall for CDs, a nice touch) and Will Jones (pictured below right), two friendly dudes who know about the merch and know how to make customers feel at home. 8318 1/2 West Third Street, 323.658.5445