Who

Kalinsky is the founder of the ultra-chic meatpacking district store Jeffrey, renowned for its flawless selection of high-end labels.

Backstory

Kalinsky's career started in the shoe business. A Charleston native, he spent his teenage summers working at his dad's store, Bob Ellis Shoes, before heading off to George Washington University. Kalinsky returned to footwear after graduating, working as the shoe manager of a Bonwit Teller outside of Philadelphia and as a shoe buyer at Barneys New York. In 1990, Kalinsky returned to the south—and the family business—to open an outpost of Bob Ellis in Atlanta in partnership with his father, Morris.

In 1994 Kalinsky expanded with Jeffrey Atlanta, a fashion-forward store selling a handful of upscale designers. In 1999, he transported the concept to the city, opening Jeffrey New York in a 12,000-square-foot meatpacking district space in the shadow of the crumbling High Line, a block from a gas station. Jeffrey was one of the first high-end boutiques to open in the soon-to-be swank enclave, but a number of major fashion labels—not to mention clubs and restaurants—soon followed, earning Kalinsky a rep as the neighborhood pioneer. In August 2005, Nordstrom purchased a 51 percent stake in the company, and he signed on as the company's director of designer merchandising.

Pet cause

Kalinsky founded Shoe Cares (later renamed Fashion Cares), an organization that raises money for AIDS and breast cancer research in 1990. The event, held annually in Atlanta and New York, raised more than $700,000 in 2007. Past honorees have included Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, and André Leon Talley.

For the record

Kalinsky says he knew he'd arrived when he was spoofed on an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2001. Will Ferrell played Kalinsky and yapped on a thumb-sized cell phone as a snooty salesperson (Sean Hayes) informed a shopper (Molly Shannon), "You can't afford anything in here!"

Personal

Kalinsky says an eight-year relationship with an Atlanta doctor ended in heartbreak and a broken engagement in the late 1990s. He now lives alone in a West Village townhouse, which he purchased for $4.25 million in 2005.