Laura and Kate Mulleavy, the enigmatic sister designers behind Rodarte, are hard to pin down as personalities. They’re right in our backyard (in a studio downtown, actually), yet they have virtually zero presence here.

But in a new piece for the New Yorker about the siblings, writer Amanda Fortini digs up all kinds of interesting things. Here are some tasty tidbits:

“People have a difficult time telling the Mulleavy sisters apart. Both have glossy brown hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. Laura, who is twenty-nine, is thinner, with wavier hair and sharper features. Kate, who is thirty, has larger eyes and a rounder face. ”

“They do not attempt the six-inch heels they routinely send down the runway.”

“Physical differences aside, the sisters act like a single organism.”

“Although their clothing is considered ready-to-wear, the sisters use couture-like methods. One mid-length yellow chiffon dress from fall, 2006, took a hundred and fifty hours to complete.”

“Neither Mulleavy sister has any formal fashion training. The sisters learned basic sewing techniques from their mother, Victoria. By mid-2004, they had cobbled together the money to start their line.”

And at some point, they talk about that ill-advised weight-loss program undertaken for a feature in Vogue: “The sisters do not see why their bodies are relevant. ‘It’s assumed, I think, that if you’re a woman designer you must be designing clothes for yourself,’ Kate said.