Leigh is a designer, writer and the tireless co-editor of a brand new style, design & arts journal: Synonym. She's also whip smart, has her hands in many pots, a true minimalist, a lover of West Texas and a truly warm person.
I spent a rainy evening at Leigh's house curled up on her couch with a glass of red wine. There's not really anything better on a dreary night. Especially in Leigh's immaculate West Austin perch. Every item is considered, carefully selected and something you'd want to spend a lifetime with. Sipping away, we spent our evening chatting about a mutual love of navy nail polish, the budding community of creative-profesional women in Austin, the the calming quiet of West Texas, her crazy collection of mailed art (that is to say, a friend who mails her objects sans packaging. Think a banana slathered in stamps, really, it happened) and a shared love "intellectual fashion." Who says style & smarts can't be synonomous?
My personal style is… simple, lots of neutral colors and different textures. I get excited about fashion but I basically wear the same thing every day and am a very careful shopper.
My style icons are… Jane Birkin, Kate Lanphear, Princess Diana in the 1980s
those aside, I think I am most drawn to "style" in the way certain people present themselves and in the work they make and not exclusively in the way that they dress. many of the women I consider to be most stylish actually just create work that i find to be really aesthetically in line with my own.
I’m inspired by… the usual things: travel, friends, the internet. I find the most inspiration by just keeping my eyes open and paying attention to what is around me.
If I lived in another era I’d choose… I'd love to re-live the late '80s-early '90s with a different frame of mind. man, the Clinton administration! Good times.
The last book I read was… I re-read John Jeremiah Sullivan's Pulphead. It's just so great!
Right now I’m obsessed with… these woven wall hangings at Totokaelo by new friends, Contigo's smokin' gypsy cocktail [&] Tauba Auerbach.
Lately I’ve been listening to… Zola Jesus, Garth Brooks, Balmorhea.
When I’m at home I love to… make lots of coffee, take afternoon baths (ultimate luxury!), make dinner for friends.
When I walk up to the bar I order… gin, ginger, lime.
My go-to beauty product is… Queen Helene Mint Julep masque. something about wearing a mud masque makes me feel like a real woman.
I’m crushing on… art book stand, building block & my boyfriend, Michael.
On a sunny afternoon I love to… is this a trick question? Sometimes the sun feels like a punishment around here. When it does not, I like to go for exhaustingly long walks by myself.
When I’ve got money to burn I head to… Justine's.
Five things I can’t live without are…
-time to myself
-chapstick
-conversations with my friend leah
-glasses
-perspective
I feel most myself when I am… having a really conversation with friends; absorbed in my own projects; well-rested.
Nothing has made me more nostalgic for Austin than this blog. Now I'll fantasize about moving back there and somehow falling in with all these fabulous women.
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