By Amanda Bedgood
Photos by Robin May
People around Lafayette have a penchant for style. Style that's about more than fashion or labels.
Style that comes from somewhere beyond the rack. This month we honor eight such people.
IND Style honorees are a blend of fearless and funky, thoughtful and effortless. They represent the sort of dressing that's about the person as much as it is the clothing. They are proof that personality, beauty and, above all, style are something you simply can't counterfeit. And that dressing is truly a form of art.
Jillian Johnson
Jillian Johnson is a story teller. It's something you know when she speaks. It's something that's clear in the way she dresses. With a penchant for the '20s and '30s and a quiet confidence, the tall designer of Parish Ink, owner of Red Arrow Workshop and once member of the Figs lets her style speak volumes, whether it's a pair of high waisted jeans and red pumps or accordion pleat skirt and funky boots.
**Roxanne Graham
**Roxanne Graham is style head to toe. Whether it's a vibrant silk dress from Vanessa V. or leather-trimmed top from Hemline, she manages to stay trend-worthy without going overboard. She admits to a closet full of statement pieces and we believe it's true. There's never a dull moment in her sartorial choices or the bits of bling you see from jewelry that's as sparkly as her personality.
Angela Cole
Angela Cole does sexy in a way that's impossible to miss and even more difficult to emulate. With a love of vibrant colors and timeless shapes, she's a kind of chic that's as sophisticated as it is playful. On the day of our IND Style shoot she arrived in neon pumps with a stunning green dress before switching into a formfitting blue dress with feather-trimmed heels. While the shoes are eye catching, it's her wide and genuine smile that's proof serious style doesn't have to be quite so serious.
Amy Guidry
If dressing well is a form of art, it's no wonder Amy Guidry has it nailed. The artist with a vision as powerful as it is far out has a love for vintage and devotion to all things vegan. She's a thoughtful dresser who loves color, prints that beckon the past and anything with a bit of beading and bling. At our IND Style shoot she arrived in leather shorts and a jacket with a hearty dose of gold sequins. And while some of her choices have a kind of flash, she maintains a sort of quiet beauty with soft hair and minimal makeup. Proof that an artist knows the art of balance.
Ben Berthelot
Ben Berthelot knows how to dress. It's something anybody who knows the guy knows. In a world of men in suits day after day, Berthelot manages to do a rare thing - bring the fun. Whether it's his signature quirk - wild socks or none at all - or his choice of tie or standout seersucker, the man at the helm of LCVC has taken the inspiration of dressing well from his father and grandfather to new heights.
JD Mosley
JD Mosley is the definition of sharp dressed. The man of many talents - banker by day, movie producer by night - certainly has a knack for pulling his look together all day, every day. His casual look for the style shoot? A head to toe ensemble that fit impeccably with a hearty dose of smooth attitude and absolute confidence. And while he believes in investing in what he wears: It's not just the pieces of clothing he chooses that speak to his style, it's that elusive little something you can't fake and can't even buy - class.
Don Holbert
Don Holbert doesn't take things like his sartorial choices too seriously. It's something you realize when he arrives for a shoot in kicked back Converse with sunglasses on his head. It's something you hear in his witty answers to questions about style even though he believes one can never be overdressed. Holbert takes his cues from what he says are the two best dressed people he knows - his dapper dad and elegant mom - and when he shops it's at spots like F. Camalo, where he stocks up on pieces that are easy, timeless and as fun as the charmer himself.
Burton Durand
At the risk of using a cliché, Burton Durand describes his look as geek chic. With his narrow pants and black rimmed glasses, it might be an apt enough description. But the art director at BBR also has a sort of humor to his clothing choices, to his life. He's sensible enough - often pairing neutrals with a splash of color like surprising red pants - yet quirky enough to keep things interesting. He once did a PSA addressing the travesty of socks with sandals. In short, never a dull moment.
