Sister style
Sisters Llisa and Josie Keating are self-confessed shopaholics who love pampering women who visit their fashion boutique, writes Sarah Catherall.
LLISA KEATING is a brunette who likes Parisian rock chick style clothing, and is often found wearing black. Her blonde, younger sister, Josie, loves colour and vintage clothing, and laughs that she’s ‘‘a bit more boho’’.
Just as well they don’t like the same clothes or there might be scraps over the clothing racks at Keats Boutique, which the sisters own and run on Willis St. There, you’ll find the sisters plumping the racks or lounging on a Parisian-style sofa, while Llisa’s fluffy white pooch, Boo, is most likely to be asleep in his basket behind the counter.
Since they shifted their shop from Petone to Willis St a few months ago, they’ve been literally run off their heels. There are no signs of any belt-tightening at this upmarket clothing store, where customers are happy to pay $300-plus for a Colette Dinnegan lace top.
The point of difference at Keats Boutique is that labels are lovingly selected by the sisters who have a keen eye for fashion, while the self-confessed shopaholics are also offering more than just a functional exchange across the counter. You’ll find investment pieces here – you won’t encounter screeds of the same garment on the rack so risk spotting others wearing it, too – and there’s always a bottle of bubbles in the fridge.
Llisa, 40, is the only one of the two with a fashion background, but both women were taught to sew by their mother, while their paternal grandmother, Margarita Keating, was a clothes horse. Says Josie, 38: ‘‘She had the most gorgeous clothes. She always had these amazing brocades, and bags that matched her dresses. We loved going to her house and dressing up in her clothes and jewellery.’’
The sisters also inherited their grandmother’s love of shopping. ‘‘I could spend all day shopping, I really could,’’ laughs Josie.
But while Llisa is very considerate about each purchase, labouring over the racks and often walking away and returning to the shop later, Josie is more impulsive. Llisa is a shoe addict, while Josie can’t resist swimwear.
They opened their boutique in Petone three years ago, after talking about it for years when they both lived in London. Says Llisa: ‘‘The two things we both love besides lying on a beach are shopping and travelling and we thought the boutique would allow us to do both.
‘‘We also love being surrounded by beautiful things.’’
Some of those beautiful things are from labels they exclusively stock here in Wellington, such as Collette By Collette Dinningan, American Vintage, NUE 19.04, Harry & Co, First Born, DEVaL and Frank & Eileen.
Llisa’s dog, Boo, is chasing a fly around the shop as Llisa walks over to chat to a customer.
‘‘We left Petone because things were getting a bit quiet, and here on Willis St we get the foot traffic.’’
‘‘We look for quality and beautiful fabrics, and a lot of the pieces we sell here are investment pieces. We also don’t try to follow the seasons too much, because when you’re paying money for something you don’t