Laura Leezy
Have you ever thought about how hard it would be to keep up, sartorially speaking, with a rockstar? Being the style sleuths we are at Bare, we were wildly fascinated by what it takes to keep a musician chicly dressed for hundreds of shows. So, we asked Laura Lee (also known as Leezy, her stage persona) to interview her stylist, Megan Boyes, on the eve of setting off with her band, Khruangbin, for a 100-show tour. The band, in which Laura is the bassist, just released its new collaborative EP Texas Moon, with singer/songwriter Leon Bridges. On the day we chatted, however, there were no musical notes, just style notes.
Laura Lee: Hi!
Megan Boyes: So good to see you.
LL: I was actually thinking about what I’d ask you because you and I met in the bathroom of a club. In 2016?
MB: Yikes!
LL: What made you follow up with me?
MB: It was a really small club, wasn’t it? We kept bumping into each other in the bathroom and I was fan-girling. I thought you looked like Carey Mulligan. Your friend asked what I did, and I said I was a stylist — and your friend said, “she’s looking for a stylist!!”
Clothing Laura Leezy’s own
LL: Another friend had been helping me with styling. But the first tour was going to be 60 shows. And I thought, how am I going to afford that? So, I started interviewing people and nothing was really sticking. Why didn’t I think of looking in the girls’ bathroom?
MB: The universe has its way.
LL: I remember going to your house for our first fitting…
MB: Can you remember one of your first outfits?
LL: There were quite a few vintage pieces.
MB: From Dawn Porter! You were into the flow-y dresses.
Skirt: Batsheva Tights: Laura Lee’s own
LL: How did you get started in this world?
MB: I did journalism and then fashion. I was an assistant at Tatler. Then I worked on The X Factor. I had gone freelance when I bumped into you. You were my first proper full-time client after X Factor.
Cape: Batsheva
LL: I remember feeling important because performance clothes are different than non-performance clothes.
MB: You had just left your job when we met.
LL: Literally that week! I worked until the very last day before touring. I had to work until I couldn’t. I worked at a creative agency, and they were cool. Eventually I told them I wanted two months paid time off to go on this tour — but that I hoped I’d never be back. And they were, like, “you should probably quit.” Then everything began happening.
MB: It became real.
LL: I remember thinking, why me? We had nothing going on really. There was no incentive for you to work with me other than it just being fun.
MB: It was fun and creative. I didn’t know your music before, but I got to know it and loved it. I knew it was quite niche. But it was so much bigger than I thought. I just got the vibe.
Top and Skirt: Batsheva Tights: Laura Leezy’s own
LL: Well, thank you! So what’s next? Where do we go?
MB: We have gone from floaty dresses to wide leg pants and crop tops, which you rocked. And you already loved color, so we had that in common.
LL: When I came to you, bold colors and patterns is what I was pushing for. I’ve been calling my looks my “seasons” of touring. What’s your process for finding clothes for my tours?
MB: At the beginning, because you weren’t that known, I had to call in a lot of favors with people I’d worked with before — which is why you wore a lot of vintage. My research skills got really good — the independent labels have beautiful clothes that don’t get shown as much.
Top: Batsheva
LL: It makes me look more unique and I like championing brands that don’t get as much attention. I also think the younger and more independent brands are wilder and have more creative freedom. The independent designers are still finding themselves, so they can be a bit more experimental.
MB: Experimental brands are happy to take feedback on board, too. For example, you can’t wear strapless holding a guitar!! What’s been your favorite look from each of your “seasons”?
LL: Ana Sekularac has been consistent. Her clothes just feel so good.
MB: She has so many looks we haven’t even touched the surface of yet.
LL: It’s been interesting for me. You grow as an artist and in life. Crop tops feel like a younger person.
Dress: Batsheva Tights: Laura Leezy’s own
MB: You rocked the crop tops. They looked so good, but we needed to move forward. It’s important to keep changing and bringing new things in. It sort of happens naturally.
LL: I feel so happy that I wore Virgil [Abloh]. What are some of your ideas for upcoming seasons?
MB: I think we’re going to keep with tights. I’ve called into a lot of vintage and U.S. brands. And some cool jewelry. We’re going to get it all covered!
LL: Amazing. I’ve been on a few photo shoots lately and I have a suitcase that has tights on one side and shapewear and things to wear under things that are too short on the other. I take it to every shoot!
MB: You’re also good at knowing what they’ll like in different parts of the U.S. You’re know when something is Dallas.
LL: Yeah, southern culture. If you’re playing anyplace where Dolly Parton is queen, you can push the flamboyancy. It’s also beautiful and ironic that I used to keep as many things as possible in Leezy’s closet because I didn’t know how long touring would last. I didn’t know if I’d ever play Glastonbury again, so I kept everything. But now I have this growing collection of Leezy clothes. So, I’ve been questioning whether I should, you know, wear it to the supermarket.
MB: You do realize there’s always going to be more…but I love how into fashion you are!
LL: My mom loves to tell me that as soon as I learned how to dress myself, I did it four times a day.
Photos/Makeup: Tina Turnbow using Ogee
Editor: Didi Gluck
Founder & Editor in Chief - The Bare Magazine
