Style Profile: A Couple of Swells

For the creative couple, style is about doing your research and then doing what you want.

Amy Tisdale, 31, is a second-grade Horizon Elementary School teacher and member of the band Detective Agency. Her partner, Ty Ziskis, 24, is a “sales-gentleman” at vintage clothing store 20Twenty, a musician and half of the design team CMRTYZ. Tisdale traces some of her heritage to Salish culture and has a huge collection of moccasins. Ziskis used to wear a rotation of jumpsuits in high school and designed the scarf that Grand Hallway guitarist Jeremy Koepping wore on the cover of last month’s City Arts, Seattle edition.

The pair met when Ziskis worked at the Bellingham clothing store Paris Texas. Now they can often be found strolling around Ballard together (sometimes in similar outfits) escorted by their husky, Luna.

City Arts interviewed and photographed the couple during such a stroll and later that day as they prepared for an evening out. Consistent throughout the outfits the couple wore was a spirit of making bold personal statements and having no fear about considering, and then breaking, department store formulas.

Photograph by Natasha Kroll

What Amy’s wearing: Vintage hat, blazer, gloves; Silence + Noise blue silk dress; jewelry: Fiona Paxton black/white beaded chevron necklace; Rad Summer Silver and Tiny Glass Bottle with Saffron inside, handmade Native American craftsman pink and red bead choker; DKNY tights; Kimberly Baker stud earrings; MIA shoes.

What Ty’s wearing: Army Navy Surplus fingerless gloves; Brixton hat; purple string tie from Private Screening in Fremont; Vintage vest (stolen from friend Nate); H&M Blazer; Vintage shoes from Sugartown Vintage in Ballard; H&M trousers (“sawed-off” by Ty); Vintage oxford shirt from Goodwill

How do you avoid feeling self-conscious or costumey in public?
TY ZISKIS You can’t even worry about that. You just have to love what you’re wearing and be comfortable; who cares what anyone else thinks?
AMY TISDALE I think that when I blend in with those around me I feel more self-conscious than when I’m wearing something radically different. Also, I always just ask Ty what he thinks. A nod of approval from him is golden.

Who or what do you look to for inspiration?
TISDALE Some favorite style icons are Kate Moss, Chloë Sevigny, Alison Mosshart, Natasha Khan, friend and stylist Amanny Ahmad, all of my girlfriends and our beautiful Siberian husky, Luna. Really anyone, male or female, who takes a risk with their clothing, pulls inspiration from interesting places and feels confident doing it.
ZISKIS High-end silhouettes, mixing new and old clothing, Amy, and the shapes and textiles of mid-century-modern furniture and house wares.

TY ZISKIS’S RULES FOR STYLE ROOKIES
Dress only for yourself, always. Go online; look at blogs, designer and retail sites, etc. Educate yourself as to what’s out there the same way you would if you were shopping for a new TV, for example, but... Don’t automatically accept what you see. Take “expert” opinions into consideration, but make up your own mind. Try things on (you never know how something will look until it’s on your person). Remember you have to really live in something before you can truly appreciate all its nuances and possible pairings. (Think of a cast iron pan that needs to be seasoned before it cooks really well).