French Connection

With nothing more than the rucksack on her back and just enough money for a deposit for her first apartment, French-born Lauren Guillery landed on Irish shores at the age of 21, with little intention of becoming a musician. With her second pay cheque, she bought a guitar. If she were any more of a rock cliché, she’d be Debbie Harry.

Lauren’s fiery performances and “always ready to rock” attitude immediately set her apart from the tamer front women of the Irish music scene. After a few years on the Dublin open-mic circuit, she now frequents the stage at Irish institutions Whelan’s and Doran’s with her band Lauren Guillery and the Claws.
On her MySpace page, Lauren describes herself as, among other things, a pixie, a pirate, a hippy, a punk and a bohemian. But don’t be fooled into thinking that the punchy young songstress puts too much thought into what she wears. “I suppose it’s kind of a rock chick look,” she muses. “Just casual, t-shirt, denim jeans. I’m not really girly or anything. I wear a lot of black and dark colours.”
Unsurprisingly, heels and skirts do not facilitate her high-energy stage performances. “I can’t wear high heels,” Lauren confesses. “I wore a dress once at a gig, only once, with high heels. After a few songs I had to take them off, just throw them away!”
When it comes to fashion, Lauren advises two things: to buy in bulk, and to keep it personal. “I wear a lot of t-shirts of bands that are friends of mine, I like to promote them,” she says. “My favourite item of clothing would probably be my denim jacket. I keep all the badges on it that I get in clubs or of bands that I meet.”
The quirky singer observes that the Irish style doesn’t exactly match up to the glamour of the French. “I find that French people have a very different style in the way they wear scarves. They wear polo-necks a lot compared to Irish people who wouldn’t really wear that kind of thing, they’re more into their t-shirts.”
As an unsigned artist, money inevitably plays its part in Lauren’s wardrobe decisions. “I try not to spend too much money on clothes, you know. Being a musician, I’m not very wealthy. But I’ll pay money for clothes if they’re good quality clothes. I usually buy my clothes in second hand shops.”
Despite her love of a good charity shop rummage, she doesn’t subscribe to a particular era or icon for inspiration. “I kind of just have my own style," she says. "I try not to follow the trends.”
Currently working on a follow-up to her 2007 debut EP Listen, Lauren hopes to have her second album ready for the shelves by the end of this year. And with a working title of Men And Other Disappointments, you can tell that this self-confessed rock chick follows nobody’s trend.
Lauren supports Liz Seaver at the Boom Boom Room on June 13, and performs with Lauren Guillery and the Claws at McGruders on June 15 and Eamonn Doran’s on June 19.

Lauren wears:
SHIRT: From Cult in Belfast, £10
TROUSERS: From Cult, Belfast, about £35
SHOES: From George’s Street Arcade, Dublin, €20
DENIM JACKET: From Jeanius in Rathmines (one of Lauren’s favourite shops)
CRYSTAL BRACELETS: Purchased at the Mind, Body and Spirit festival.