New York-based fashion designer Tanya Taylor has spent the last decade building a brand that brings colorful confidence and high-energy happiness to women’s wardrobes. Inspired by the energy and diversity of N.Y.C. and art — Taylor is a painter — her collections fuse color, texture, and optimistic hand-painted prints.
In our new series, “A Perfect Sunday,” we spotlight our favorite tastemakers and their ideal Sunday vibe, life advice, and beauty and style must-haves. Here, Tanya Taylor shares her weekend routine.
Wake Up Routine:
“My perfect Sunday is waking up at home in the West Village with my husband and two sons, aged 5 and 2. This is my idea of cozy, I don’t need to be anywhere else. I’m wearing a pair of silk pajamas by Olivia Von Halle that I’m obsessed with. They have cats on them and they make me feel so luxurious. I make my first coffee at home. I like making rainbow waffles for the kids on Sundays, so I do this multicolored pancake mix thing. I don’t eat the pancakes, so I make myself an omelet.”
Morning Beauty Routine:
“I’m a skin person. I don’t wear makeup on Sundays; it’s so nice to have a fresh face. I use an oil-based cleanser and apply a hydrating serum. I love the Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum. My normal wardrobe during the week is heels and a little more polished and professional. Makeup-wise, I love the YSL Nu Bare tinted moisturizer, a little Charlotte Tilbury Liquid Liner, and a little bit of Westman Atelier Foundation if I’m a bit red. Then I do a lip gloss and fill my brow in a bit, nothing crazy. I do still like to get dressed up but on Sunday, it’s more of a cool downtown mom look. This past weekend I wore leather pants, and a creamy cable knit burlap sweater and threw on a big mohair leopard coat of ours that was cool, and chunky Chelsea boots. I have never left the house in sweatpants.”
Mid Morning:
“After breakfast, I convince the kids to go for long walks. We are usually out the door around 8.30 a.m. I need some kind of exploration of the neighborhood, and then a lot of family time. We live right by a Maman, so I have a second cup of coffee there. The kids will also eat a chocolate croissant, I don’t know how the kids have an appetite after the waffle pancakes. We stroll down the cobblestones of Jane and Horatio Street. It feels really romantic and I’m always inspired by the streets of New York. Then we do the High Line and go to The Whitney. I always need an art gallery.
We recently took the kids to the Guggenheim and saw the Alex Katz exhibit. It was so cool. I love Alex Katz and John Wood and how they are very color-driven artists. It’s amazing how Alex Katz was born in 1927 and has had generations of influence. I love seeing his work through my kids’ eyes — they love the sense of color, how the flowers are so big and all the miniature cutout people that were their size.”
Lunch:
“After the Whitney, we go to the Chelsea Market and I pick up some fresh vegetables and we go home and I make a really nice late afternoon lunch for everyone. I’ll do a quesadilla for the kids and something light like fish and roasted veggies for my husband and I. Sometimes we’ll have some friends over. I love cooking. I just don’t have time during the week. So on the weekends cooking and baking gives me a lot of comfort. I probably make two banana breads a weekend. We put music on and have a nice glass of Sancerre. My husband’s French, so there’s a European style to what our Sundays feel like.”
Afternoon:
“On Sundays I always like to do something creative, so we usually do arts and crafts in the afternoon. We recently went to a hardware store and found fun things like locks that we could make into art with little notes and put up around the city. This past Sunday we made paper mache hot air balloons, it was so fun. I paint all the time and I had never thought about actually painting my kids, so now a new Sunday afternoon project is to carve out some afternoon time to light a candle — I love Boy Smells Rhubarb Smoke Scented, Byredo, and Le Labo Santal — put on some music, and start a portrait of each of them. My little one still has naps, so I also get to have some nice alone time with our five year old. We’ll read books and keep the energy low and make it feel like a peaceful point of the day.”
Late Afternoon:
“Around 4 p.m. we get out of the house again to do some sports or something active so we don’t go stir crazy. We’ll hit golf balls or go bowling at Chelsea Piers, or walk around Little Island on the West Side Highway which has all these cool little parks to explore. This past Sunday we did something really cool. We went to the grocery store and filled one cart for our family and one to take to one of the community fridges on Bleecker Street. It was so touching to see them fill the fridge and watch as people came for their groceries. Anyone can take food from it if they need it.”
Dinner:
“We have dinner around 6 p.m. and I’ll cook again. We’ll do shepherd’s pie or something comforting. Then we put on some music and do a little family dancing. We love Brazilian samba. When I was pregnant, I listened to it a lot; it feels like you’re in a different world and our kids really respond to it. I also like old stuff, like The Eagles or The Beatles, things that are kind of family friendly, and have good lessons in them; we’re a very musical family. We have a keyboard, so one kid will pretend they’re a DJ, while the rest of us dance. Then it’s bath and bedtime for the kids at 7:30 p.m.”
Evening:
“My husband and I then appreciate having a few hours together, to have a glass of pinot, and just talk. I’ve known him since I was 17 and I still just love talking to him without the TV, about travel and fun plans before we go back to the grind on Monday. We’re renovating right now, we are both obsessed with interior design, and love collaborating on it so we share photos of things that we found and look at fabric swatches, and marble, and stuff.
We’ve only been at our apartment for a year and didn’t need to renovate — it’s more about adding our personal style. We’ve given it a British feeling. We have old with really modern furniture. Our couch is super light mint and has a weird-shaped curvature but then all the walls are white molding. I love that tension between really old art in modern marble frames. As a fashion designer, I create collections for somebody in mind, so with interiors it’s nice to build a story around you, not a customer.
Nighttime Beauty Routine:
“Sunday is when I do more self-care and look after my skin better. I’ll have a long bath, wash my hair, and exfoliate and moisturize my body. Then I do 30 minutes of my skincare routine. I love the Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Cleanser as it gives a deeper clean, and the C.E.O. Afterglow Brightening Vitamin C Gel Cream — my skin can get really dry and this makes it look so healthy and glistening. My word for this year is healthy. I want a healthy balance of how I feel emotionally, a healthy balance of my work and life worlds, and healthy relationships with girlfriends. That’s something that’s really hard as a mom and running a business to find time for girlfriends that have nothing to do with work. My goal is to also have a consistent workout routine. I do Pilates on and off but I love tennis, pickleball and cycling with loud music on. I need activities that are high energy.”
Bedtime Routine:
“We go to bed at 10:30 p.m., but before that, I set out my outfit for the next day. I like Monday to be a little bit more organized. Then the candles are on and I am reading in bed, and feeling super relaxed. Sometimes I’ll do [exercises in] Happy Not Perfect. It has some elements of meditation, but it’s also creative. It’s like, ‘Draw the kind of day you want tomorrow.’”
Tanya’s Tidbits
What is the one accessory or style item you can’t live without?
“A chunky gold old Celine necklace I bought when I first moved to N.Y.C.”
What are you binge-watching or reading right now?
“My husband and I recently binge-watched the British show Slow Horses, it’s a thriller about MI5. We go through stages, but right now we are trying to cut back on TV. We both love reading, I recently read Two Nights in Lisbon.”
What does self-care mean to you?
“My word for this year is healthy. I want a healthy balance of how I feel emotionally, a healthy balance of my work and life worlds, and healthy relationships with girlfriends. That’s something that’s really hard as a mom and running a business to find time for girlfriends that have nothing to do with work.”
What always makes you smile?
“My family, cooking, dancing, painting, and creating art. I also love getting out of the house and exploring New York.”
What inspires you lately?
“I am obsessed with interior design. As a fashion designer, I create collections with somebody in mind, so, with interiors, it’s nice to build a story around you and your home, not a customer.”
What are you looking forward to this year?
“We are opening our first store on Madison and 77th in August. I’m definitely designing it from an instinct that is centered around who I am, who my friends are, what our lifestyle is. I’ve always loved being around people and I can’t wait to pop in and be closer to and learn from our customers.”
We only recommend products we have independently researched, tested, and loved. If you purchase a product found through our links, Sunday Edit may earn an affiliate commission.
