“The first time Hamish and I went to a house party in LA I was in a black dress and tights and Hamish was in a jacket with nice pants. Our friend opened the door, looked at us and was like, ‘This is not gonna last.’” - Andi
My Uniform: Andi Teran & Hamish Robertson
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Every month we ask our friends how they found their personal style and to share the pieces that make up their daily “uniforms.”
Writer Andi Teran and creative director/photographer Hamish Robertson live in Los Angeles with their two (adorable) children, Griffin and Cleo (ages 3 and 2). With Andi hailing from El Paso, Texas and Hamish from York in Northern England you might think their personal styles would greatly diverge. Not so, and it’s not just because they’re a couple. Both look to musicians for style cues, like to layer and have an affinity for neckwear. But we’ll let them tell you about it...
AM: Andi, how does what you do affect how you get dressed?
Andi: I’m a writer and right after we moved out [to LA from New York City] I sold a novel, Ana of California. It’s the Latina modernization of Anne Of Green Gables. The same week I handed in the final draft of my book was the exact same week I found out I was pregnant with my first child, our son Griffin. I’d say our LA lifestyle is comfortable business casual. When you’re working and parenting in LA you need light cotton, easy basics like a chino or jean that you can cuff and wear with a nice flat. For instance today I’m wearing black jeans with a simple cream turtleneck.
AM: So you haven’t completely gone LA abandoning black and white for lots of color?
Andi: There’s been a learning curve. The first time Hamish and I went to a house party in LA I was in a black dress and tights and Hamish was in a jacket with nice pants. Our friend opened the door, looked at us and was like “this is not gonna last.” I still love layering. Even when it’s hot I never leave the house without a jacket—a nice blazer usually—even on a hot day over a tank top or T-shirt. It’s that tiny bit of elevation. Plus, a neckerchief for me has become a staple. The simplicity of just a neckerchief does the trick.
AM: Hamish, has your style changed much over time? Do you have a uniform?
Hamish: From a very early age I went to schools that had uniforms so the concept of the uniform is both nothing new to me and something I love. I think uniforms are good things, especially in school. It takes a lot of the stress out of it, it’s a leveler. In the younger years, one day a week, you’d change after noon and walk into city center and that was an interesting thing because then everybody was in their real clothes. What you wore was very considered. It was 1995, and there was a friend of ours who, all of a sudden, would emerge with eye makeup and a Nine Inch Nails T-shirt. It was a huge middle finger to the institution. We immediately bonded.
AM: What were you wearing at that time?
Hamish: Jeans and plaid shirts, Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins tees. Generally it evolved and from the age of about 15, I got into Mod music: Small Faces, The Who, and the Jam. That meant fishtail parkas with suits. It was both a companion and a contrast to punk: intentionally unintentional. Mod style was about looking sharp and paying attention to every bit of your clothing and everything that went with it. For me, what I wore possessed a confidence that I didn’t have in my adolescent personality—but clothes I wore with ease. Which, looking back, is strange to me.
AM: Andi, what were you wearing while growing up?
Andi: I grew up in El Paso, Texas, and my parents have always been lovably preppy. Growing up they were very into the Ralph Lauren preppy casual look that was inherent to the style of the ‘80s. I gravitated towards the poppiness of brands like Esprit. I was a hybrid of my parents in the sense that I embraced preppy-casual but with bold prints. I’ve always loved menswear too. I went to an all-girls high school, and when we would have a “free day” to dress in whatever we’d like, I often wore men’s clothes, like with a necktie worn as a belt.
AM: Fast forward to today: What do you wear to write?
Andi: Typically a comfortable pair of loose cotton pants or a jumpsuit, my neckerchief, maybe a jacket and lapel pins—lapel pins are something I’ve collected from everywhere I’ve been. I’m wearing a tiny ceramic pizza today. My mother-in-law gave me a crocheted shrimp that I wear all the time.
“From a very early age I went to schools that had uniforms so the concept of the uniform is both nothing new to me and something I love.” - Hamish
AM: Any celebrities or icons you look up to in terms of style?
Andi: I love Patti Smith because she has a uniform that defies age and gender, and it works for her onstage as much as it does for her day-to-day life. It seems to have stayed the same throughout her time being a mother—motherhood seemingly hasn’t changed her style. I love Miranda July too. She’s another artistic working mother who always has a sense of play. She has the look of what she creates. I think style is an extension of who you are.
AM: Hamish, what are the hallmarks of your current style? The things you always wear?
Hamish: Neckwear. I’ve always worn ties even if not required (and they really aren’t required much in LA). I’m not a massive fan of the climate in LA, I constantly feel that I’m one layer away from where I want to be. I like layers, I like the aesthetic, the feel and what you can do with layers. I never wear shorts, always a lightweight cotton trouser, slim flat fronted. A slim chino, a lightweight cotton shirt, even in winter. And I always top things off with a cotton shirt or cotton jacket.
3 THINGS WITH ANDI TERAN + HAMISH ROBERTSON
Andi’s uniform in 3 pieces: Relaxed cotton pants or jeans, my well-worn Reebok sneakers and a blue work jacket with pins on it.
Hamish’s uniform in 3 pieces: A collar, usually (except that striped Alex Mill shirt), Socks, always.
Desert Boots, always.
3 people you’d like to have dinner with tonight:
Andi: Patti Smith, Haruki Murakami, Oprah
Hamish: Keith Richards, Sophie Calle, Wim Wenders
3 professions you’d pursue if not for your current career:
Andi: Film director, theatre performer, podcaster
Hamish: Documentary director, shopkeeper, something in professional soccer
As told to AM on March 31st, 2019
Photographed by Nicki Sebastian at their home in Los Angeles
