Shoes from Laurise Taylor's wardrobe. Photo/John Borren
Shoes from Laurise Taylor's wardrobe. Photo/John Borren
Quality over quantity. Laurise Taylor, a graphic designer and designerat Vibe Clothing, shows us inside her wardrobe.
How would you describe your style? Eclectic, bold, colourful. I do wear lots of black but love bold prints, colour, texture and classic cuts.
What do clothes mean to you? Being a creativeperson, I view clothes as an extension of personality. I think you can tell a lot about a person by the way they dress. I only buy clothes that I really love and feel good in.
What's your favourite piece in your wardrobe and why? My vintage "table cloth" dress from Retro on Rushton (an up-cycled shop on Rushton Ave). I love it because it is completely unique. And it's pretty cool that it's very sustainable.
What do you wear to work? Dress and heels if I have client meetings, casual if I don't because I work from home. What's your weekend "uniform"? Casual dress and sneakers, jeans or leggings and a colourful or printed tee-shirt.
What's your oldest piece of clothing? A Thornton Hall batwing jacket that belonged to my aunty who had such cool style. It's extra special as she passed away 14 years ago. I love that it is New Zealand made and in perfect condition still. The tag says it was made in 1987… when I was nine years old!
What's the latest piece you've bought? A dress from Wadzee, a New Zealand designer based in Gore.
What's the most you've spent on an item of clothing? $380 on my Green Seduce coat, about eight years ago now. It was a lot for me to spend but I still wear it often and always get compliments on it. I would much rather buy less and buy quality items that last.
Tell me a little about Vibe Clothing. Vibe has evolved as the result of a struggle over the past couple of years to find quality, age-appropriate clothing for my own girls. After size 10 it is hard to find fun, comfortable children's clothing that fits with their stage of life.
I designed the garments and had a fabulous local mum Renata draft the patterns and do the sewing for me. I sourced the fabric here in New Zealand and had the stripes knitted especially for Vibe. The prints are originals I have designed/illustrated. The garments are strictly limited numbers because I want to keep them unique.
My goal is to provide quality, comfortable clothing tweens love … that mum loves too!
Green Seduce coat is the most expensive item of clothing Laurise has bought
