Lauren & The Lost Boys - The Standard Store

Lauren & The Lost Boys

The team and I first met Lauren in our Barangaroo store, where she was painting some of her illustrations onto tote bags for our wonderful customers. You will find some of Laurens' work in collaborative projects with fashion labels, surf and skateboard brands, photographers... and I know she has some exciting things coming up!  Below is an image from her recent work with Mambo (Cool ey)!

Let’s get the main ones out of the way. ....
Who are you, where do you live and what do you do?

I’m Lauren Webster, I’m currently living in Sydney and I’m an artist.

What makes a Sydneysider?

I have lived in Sydney for much of my life now but I still don’t really consider myself a Sydneysider and I don’t imagine that I ever will... I’m originally from the country here is Australia and grew up on a farm with no neighbours for miles around. Those open spaces and the wild natural environment still holds a tight grip on my heart and my identity. It’s always home for me out there.

What makes me feel at home when I’m here and what like about Sydney the most is how much of the city is surrounded by ocean. The raw, more natural parts of this town are what I’m drawn to and what I connect with the most.

What is the favorite thing in your wardrobe right now?

A sparkly, long sleeve vintage dress with beaded collar and cuffs! It’s warm and cosy like a coat with a real 60’s shift dress silhouette. I’ve had this piece for years and it always ranks highly in my favourites.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I’m definitely a morning person. That said I tend to push through and make sure I get the most out of the day by either painting into the night or dragging myself away from the paints after dark to go have some fun.

What advice would you give your 16 year old self?

In this moment looking back I feel like my 16 year old self knew what was what... If anything I would probably like to go back and ask her for some advice.

Name your style muse

I don’t have a specific style muse as far as icons go. I draw inspiration from different men and women, usually from era’s gone by, and bring those attitudes together to create my own look depending on my mood.

I will say however that my mum has always strongly encouraged me to do my own thing and find my own voice through fashion. She has a unique sense of style and certainly never conformed to trends or the norm. I’m so grateful for this now and equally as grateful that half of my wardrobe is made up of pieces of hers from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s that I’ve stolen. Ok fine, my mum is definitely my style muse...

Before I die, I’ll buy....

A beautiful vintage car

Where’s a favorite place you’ve travelled recently and why?

A recent road trip North along the coast. It seemed insignificant at the time, it was particularly unglamorous and not the most adventurous of my travels, however I now know that it changed the course of my life. You never know what the open road will bring.

How do you approach fashion and getting dressed?

I really use fashion to channel what I want to achieve in a day and how I want to feel. Even if I’m at home by myself and the rest of the world would be none the wiser I still consider what to wear in terms of what energy it will bring me for the day.

Some days I want to feel more feminine and playful while on others when I really mean business in the studio so I’ll throw on the paint splattered jeans or overalls, boots and a t-shirt and embrace the workwear vibes. This can last for weeks on end until out of nowhere that sparkly vintage dress I mentioned earlier might make a surprise appearance!

Sneaker, runner or trainer?

Sneaker

What or where would be your last meal on earth?

When I was spending a lot of time hanging out in the desert my friends and I used to race against the clock to throw a heap of things in a car and drive even further out along bumpy roads (or no roads for that matter) into the middle of dusty nowhere. All this to cook over a fire, drink wine and be eating dinner in time to watch the sun set behind the curve of the earth. The sky puts on a real show in the desert and those nights were so special. I’d happily take one these meals as my last.

What’s your poison?

Chocolate and red wine.

Locals Only -Tell me something about your hometown that I wouldn’t read about in the guidebooks (Secret spot that only a local would know about)

I know I said that Sydney isn't my hometown but lets face it, you’re more likely to travel here than to hours inland to where I’m from so lets go with this town. There’s not too much in a place like Sydney that feels like a secret but I love walking along the coastline and rocky cliffs where you can sneak off to find little nooks or caves and sit there with no one around and nothing but ocean in front of you. It’s cool to feel like you’ve stepped away from civilisation for a brief moment.


 

Leave a comment