Heather Andersen on Platform Boots and Pilates

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Heather Andersen considers herself a classic millennial. The New York Pilates founder built her sense of style flipping through Delia's catalogues and re-creating the looks with vintage pieces. Now she turns to Vogue Runway for fashion inspiration, screenshotting her favorite looks and sourcing similar vintage pieces from eBay, Etsy, or the RealReal later on. Extensive research into trends and their sources has led her to some of her best vintage finds, from under-the-radar interior designers to vintage leather jackets.

She looks at style as a painter's palette rather than a list of labels; good style "can't just be designer," she explains. "It's about being able to mix high and low." Mixing colors and shapes is also vital, but the most important component of good style is having your personality represented, she says. Her own personal style has a bit of a punk edge, she says; she likes layering on oversize pieces, vintage tees, and lots of platform shoes.

We caught up with Andersen over Zoom to see where she got the pieces that made it into her curated lifestyle.

At an auction. They are a Henri Valliere nightstand pair. There is a dresser that my husband Brion bought me for my birthday. They are white with mirrored drawers and have molded plastic. He has such an eye for finding pieces like this that later end up on the design blogs!

On my nightstand, I have this really cool charger that charges my Apple Watch, my phone, and my headphones all at the same time. I try and keep the nightstand pretty clear besides a light fixture and the earrings that I was wearing for the day.

The most important thing is being warm. I like to have layers on, but also when I get hot, I like to layer off. I start with a base of leggings and a sports bra or shorts and a sports bra or a little onesie, then I layer sweats on top of that. I’m in a full New York Pilates sweatsuit when I’m working out. Then I just start stripping off layers throughout the workout as I get warm. I also like this yoga mat from Solana.

My Michael Hoban jackets from an Etsy vintage dealer, Hooked on Honey, who specializes in ’80s designer. Michael Hoban makes incredible leather. It's like really intricate and the quality is insane. They’re so wild. I think it goes with everything. I love wearing it with a checkered mohair sweater.

My mohair checkered sweater from the men's section at Totokaelo (RIP). It's one of my absolutely favorite things! It looks good with all black. It's the No. 1 item people always try to steal from me and I’ll say, "Get your own damn sweater, this is mine!"

Wine Therapy in Nolita. I’m really into the natural wines. Once you get a palette for them, I think that the flavors are much more interesting; it's adjacent to kombucha. They just do such a good job of selection. I love a pét nat, which is a natural fermentation process. It's like kombucha with alcohol. Rosé and red pét nats are my favorite.

My husband scored our sofa on Pamono. It's a 12-piece 1960s Percival Lafer patchwork leather sectional. When we first moved in together, the sofa became one of the topics we would circle around. We were looking at some famous vintage designers and we wanted something different. He did tons of research and eventually came across this Percival Lafer sofa. It's beautiful, minimal, and really cozy. We snatched up six pieces and another set from another time period for the price of what you’d find at Crate and Barrel.

Vintage stores. I have a whole collection of vintage T-shirts that I bought when I was 15. They just sit in the bottom of my drawer, like, neatly folded because they’re paper-thin and I’m terrified to wear them. They’re around for whenever a special occasion would call for a deteriorating vintage T-shirt. I’m not sure when, but I’m sure this moment will arise. More recently, the vintage T-shirts that I wear most often are Harley shirts from Metropolis.

R13 and Prada. They are, respectively, the Double Stacked boots and the studded Monolith Lace-Ups. I grew up as a ballet dancer and I had ankle injuries, so I’m obsessed with having the correct footwear. I’ve always been crazy about my shoes.

I love a punk vibe, but also a very feminine one. As to balance those two forces, I almost always go for a platform shoe because I’m really short. They also have to have a unique characteristic because otherwise, I’d have a hundred pairs of black boots. So I always like to look for something that makes them unique or stand out.

I got my Miu Miu purse in a store in London on my honeymoon. When I’m not buying vintage, I buy directly from the designer or artist. I walked in to browse and I saw this and said, "What sort of a crazy person would wear that?" Then I put it on and thought, "Me. I am the crazy person who would wear this bag." I’ve had it for so long and it's completely worn down on the back. I’ve had to repair it several times. It's something I’ll get compliments on from fashion people and random people who aren't into fashion. It's just so wacky!

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