INDstyle

Dressing with Less

by Amanda Bedgood

Style done simply

When you're talking style, the fashionably minded don't always use words like "simple" and "comfortable." But Valerie Woerner is not most people.

The Lafayette blogger and designer of paper goods from wedding invites to unique prayer journals has a way of looking effortlessly put together. Fresh and classic. She's most certainly a minimalist and can often be seen in structured pieces.

"I think it looks better on me. I know how to dress for my body," she says.

The new mom to 7-month-old Vivi Mae is drawn to the nearly colorless portion of the color palette.

"I love white, chambray, cognac, grey. I'm definitely drawn to that and to black," she says.

She does have some color (she let us inside her closet and I spotted a bit in there). But Woerner is making an effort to do minimal in more than just the aesthetic sense. She is literally minimizing her wardrobe. While she's not naturally a pack rat, she says living in a small apartment helps to get rid of the unnecessary.

After pregnancy she found herself with a frustrating closet where little fit. And thus, the capsule wardrobe. She picks 33 pieces thoughtfully for the season. And then she stops shopping. Period.

"It's frustrating to walk into my closet and have so many things and yet, nothing. The capsule wardrobe - I wanted to fi nd pieces that fi t and were easy to get dressed every morning. I know all these pieces fit and look good. I don't have to spend time in my closet."

She loves skinny jeans, and on the day we met wore a creamy little top and cognac flat sandals. Vivi Mae wore a little white ruffl e top and stretch denim-like leggings. As we're talking Woerner points toward the one drawer where Vivi Mae's clothes are kept. It's a decent-sized drawer. But, it's just the one.

The littlest Woerner has a wardrobe much like her momma of simple shapes and easy colors - a selection of interchangeable pieces like white jeans and blue jeans, chambray

bloomers and white bloomers. While some moms are busy buying any and every piece of clothing, the Woerners are happily living with less.

"She's a little minimalist," Woerner says with a smile.

Looks like she has more than enough.