Fresh Loaf

“I’m just a boy in pumps.” These are the humble words of Derek J, who’s tamed tresses for music videos, hair competitions and local celebrities — including the ladies of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

How did you get started?
I’ve been doing hair now for 10 years. My aunt used to do hair out of her house, so I used to watch her. I liked the transformation of women. You would see a woman come in and she was having a bad day, and then she would get her hair done and feel so much better. With a woman, when she has a physical change she has an emotional change.

Where would you say your inspiration for your style comes from?
If I want to come to work with some booty shorts on and have an off-the-shoulder top with some thigh high boots, that’s what I’m going to do. When I first started wearing heels, I would wear them with a dress slack so you couldn’t really tell I had a heel on. Then I moved to skinny jeans. I used to say I will never wear my toes out, and then I put on a peep-toe. It’s about pushing the envelope and seeing how people respond. To see people’s reactions and their acceptance makes me strive to do more

(more…)

Bookmark It

This photo was taken at 7 Forsyth St N.W. on May 22. Red Clark is working on one of his regular clients Dante. Red estimates he has given 30,000 haircuts in his 10 years working as a barber. He says he got the cross tattoo on his arm to remind himself “to keep the faith.” I chose the photo for this week’s Time and Place because to me it captures the intimacy of getting a haircut. How often do you see two men interact in public in this way?

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It