Closets: Boutique Chic

Even if you don’t know Josi Wert personally, you’ve probably heard her name, and you might own something she picked out for you. For eleven years, she helped Twin Citians look cool thanks to her eponymous Uptown boutique. After all, she was the first person to sell Kate Spade handbags here.

Since shuttering her store in 2006, Wert has turned her attention to her own closet in the Minnetonka home she shares with her husband, Steve Javinsky (owner of Copycats Media), and their five-and-a-half-year-old twin girls, Eve and Julia. Lately, Wert has been weeding out some of her old life, but more than ever, her wardrobe signals a woman of discriminating taste.

Her style:
“Pretty eclectic—a cross between vintage and rock ’n’ roll.”

What she’s wearing these days:
“I’m on a personal vacation from fashion. I’m into yoga pants and hoodies. Even though I don’t do yoga. I look better in more casual clothes.”

Which labels rule her closet:
“Nobody. I don’t buy a designer, I buy by a look.”

Best bargain ever:
“A pair of Bottega Veneta black pumps that I got for $9 at the consignment store, Couture, in downtown Hopkins. The heels are wrapped in leather and so are the toes. My other bargain was a silver vintage Chanel jacket that I got for $200.”

Also a bargain:
“The ottoman. It was from Sticks and Stones on Hennepin. I got it for $660 [down from $2,400].”

Who’s on her best-dressed list:
“Winona Ryder and Natalie Portman. I like classy, almost prudish, but with flair.”

The best outfit she’s ever worn:
“A Robert Rodiguez black bubble skirt, white blouse, black patent belt, and black patent pumps with a square toe and a silver buckle. I feel really good when I’m in something simple.”

Favorite magazine:
“I’m a bookworm. I like to wear a hoodie, glasses, and ponytail, and curl up with The Sun, a literary magazine, or the book I’m reading now, The Comeback.”

Her twins’ styles:
“Julia is my uptown girl. She’s bohemian. She wears long pants and a long-sleeved shirt in the summer, and in winter she wears sundresses to school. She dresses for herself. Eve is more appropriate and more fashiony, like Hannah Montana.”

Can’t live without:
“Short-sleeve cardigans, including many from my mom. I make my girls carry cardigans everywhere, to the point of being really annoying about it.”

Fabric of choice:
“Cashmere, but I can’t say enough about a good cotton sweater.”