Photo of an outdoor basketball game at Vassar College by E.L. Wolven, May 1913, via The Library of Congress.Women's college basketball 100 years ago. #pantaloons
SCENE | Vassar College, 1913.
Photo of an outdoor basketball game at Vassar College by E.L. Wolven, May 1913, via The Library of Congress.Women's college basketball 100 years ago. #pantaloons
STUDIO VISIT | Victoria Morris Pottery
Moment of honesty: When I started this blog three years ago, I didn't think it would last this long. I thought surely I'd run out of things to blog about, there couldn't possibly years worth of material. But then, day after day, week after week, I stumble upon a new designer or someone emails me a little-known tomboy of decades past. Somehow I'm constantly being introduced to cool women doing cool shit. I frankly haven't gotten used to it! I don't want to get all schmaltzy on everyone, but this community is so rad and I'm so thankful for all the help, emails, and introductions. Today was no exception, I met the incredibly talented potter Victoria Morris in her Echo Park studio. Her pottery has retailed in a handful of shops around the country that basically make up the who's who of design stores. We're talking the upper echelon: March in SF, OK Store and Commune in LA, and Partners & Spade in NYC. Her work is influenced by her love of Japanese aesthetics and her own Scandinavian heritage—the results are a stunning range of clean but soulful pieces. And I cannot omit the fact that Morris is not only talented, but so cool too—laid back, humble, hilarious—I could hang out in her studio for hours shooting the breeze talking surfing and bird feathers. Check out her website for more images and info.
This last photo is of a drawing that Morris' great-grandfather drew of her grandmother—an airplane-flying, motorcycle-riding 20th century tomboy. We see where Victoria gets it from!
Q&A | Alyssa Larson
Photo of Alyssa Larson in a beekeeper suit by Bon Ton Photo.
I honestly don't know how this happened, but one day maybe six months ago I decided to follow Alyssa Larson on Instagram. Maybe she followed me and I checked her out? Not exactly sure. She was a perfect stranger but I fell in love with her photos—horses, days on the slopes, fishing, farming, and all the cool outfits that go along for the ride. Cut to a few weeks ago: I land in Montana and after a day hike along the Madison River we sit down for dinner at Stacey's Bar. My host for the weekend, Ben Nobel, the brand manager at Kletterwerks, says his girlfriend "Syl" is on her way over to meet us. So there we are hanging out over beers when all of a sudden the circle gets closed and I find myself saying, "Wait, you're Alyssa Larson, the same Alyssa Larson from my phone!?!?" A small world moment in Big Sky country! Of course Alyssa is even cooler in the flesh (didn't know that was possible)—she's a beekeeper, and agriculturalist, a ski patroller and yoga instructor, and the absolute real deal when it comes to tomboy style.
A few photos from Alyssa Larson's Instagram feed.
If not in Bozeman, I would live in...Chamonix.
My dream vacation would be to...ride with the nomadic Kyrgyz of northeastern Afghanistan and ski in the Wakham.
My current obsessions are...my pinto, organic bee-keeping, skiing, yoga, sustainable agriculture and textiles, farm-to-fashion, perennial gardens, rubies, steer hides, huaraches, espadrilles, parakeets, madras, natural hot springs, industrialized hemp, crop circles, and Bon Ton Photo.
Food: Honey, farm-to-table restaurants, and Indian vegetarian cuisine.
Music: Milo Greene and Willie Nelson.
Fashion: Levi's Vintage Clothing, Lee, Wrangler, The Hill-Side, Vintage Cabela's, Woolrich, Patagonia, Prana, Armor Lux, Battenwear, Tender Co, Mountain Equipment, Industry of all Nations, Keds, Jungmaven, Snow Peak, Red Wing, Kletterwerks, American Optical, Shoes Like Pottery, Boast, Solemate Socks, OMgirl, M. Nii, Waste(twice), and Kapital.
I channel my childhood self when I...ski.
The fictional character I most relate to is...Charlotte A. Cavatica.
If I had to be outdoors all day I would...wake to the sound of sandhill cranes and herd the cows on horseback at the ranch concluding in dinner with family and friends on the back porch.
My favorite quality in a man is...passion, mountain sense and a willingness to dance. (You can tell everything about a man by spending a day with him in the mountains.)
My favorite quality in a woman is...authenticity, intrigue and self-love.
I'm terrified of...being mundane.
My dream car is a...Defender SVX Truck with my American Collie riding shotgun, but I’m also a Chevy girl at heart.
My cocktail of choice is...a glass of dry red wine.
My celebrity crush is...Charlton Heston and Keith Malloy. And I think Mélanie Laurent is fabulous.
My beauty product of choice is...sandalwood essential oil, Juniper Ridge Sierra Summer Pine bar soap, and coconut oil.
My friends and I like to...fly fish.
If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...to the Rocky Mountains in the early 1900s.
As a teenager I was totally into...horses, traveling and saving my favorite photos from the Patagonia catalogs.
I tend to splurge on...pure carbon fiber DPS skis, handmade Carter’s cowboy boots. My Nana taught me to never pinch a penny when it comes to quality.
Grace and grit...is what makes me have Tomboy Style.
UNIFORM | Avenger Field
Photo of Madge Rutherford, pilot trainee in the Women's Flying Training Detachment, writing a letter home at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, TX. by Peter Stackpole for LIFE, 1943.Ray-Ban Ambermatic Aviators ($215); Loren Stewart Lightning Bolt Studs ($317); Men's Save Khaki Good Will Hunting Jacket ($268, also check-out Save Khaki's Shop Jacket available in XS and up at Shelter Half in L.A.); Ancient Greek Sandals ($215).
ICON | Jean Shrimpton
Photo of Jean Shrimpton (a.k.a. The Shrimp) suited up for the April 1965 special edition of Harpers Bazaar, edited and photographed by Richard Avedon via Iain Claridge.
WEEKEND EXTRAS:
This Saturday in L.A.: The Echo Park Craft Fair.
Limited edition Tanner Goods luggage collection for The Woodlands.
The French label Filles a Papa's S/S 13 collection is all about the tomboy (thanks Simons).
Upstate.
In case you missed it: Levi's X Liberty of London.
Keep up with Tomboy Style elsewhere: INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
SCENE | The Dock
Photo of three girls from the Iowa State University canoe team by George Skadding for LIFE, 1948.
GEAR | M. Hulot
I've said it more than once: I'm not a big 'it' bag person. A lot of it seems to be ornamental hardware and sub-par manufacturing fetching exorbitant price tags. When I do get excited about a handbag it's functional, utilitarian, and well-made. Enter English-made M. Hulot out of London. They're all about the classics and attention to detail. In their words the brand "is a direct response to the throw away culture of the mass-market and an antidote to heavily branded designer goods." They're speaking my language (English!) (zing!). I love the name too—M. Hulot comes from the stylishly attired fictional Frenchman Monsieur Hulot, and reflects his struggles with the modern world and its increasing pace.
Here's one of their bags I'm really going crazy over: the Garrad clutch bag (approx $232). And not that it matters or anything, but doesn't it kind of remind you of Sebastian's journal from Cruel Intentions?
SCREEN | Breathless
Flights are such a great opportunity to sit and watch classic films. When else do you have a chunk of time to sit still with no distractions? I had seen Breathless in college, and again a few years ago, but I re-watched it a few days ago; it's one of those films you could watch once a year. There's always even more to it than the time before. I found myself not wanting to descend.
UNIFORM | Bozeman, MT.
Just back from a weekend of hanging with the Kletterwerks crew in Bozeman, Montana. What a place. I was there working on the forthcoming Tomboy Style X Kletterwerks bag and had I not had a husband, dog, and house here, I may have never come home. The hikes, the fishing, the skiing, the bars, the restaurants, the views, the animals, I could go on. Here are a few things I saw, bought, wore, or wished I had while in Bozeman.
Clockwise from top left: Jungmaven Mountain Henley ($75); Vintage Remington aviator sunglasses ($20); The Kletterwerks Kletter Flip ($197, made in Bozeman); Hand-dyed Found Rope Leash ($56-$66); Rasox tie-dyed socks ($25); Schnee's Forester Hunting Boot w/ Tongue Tassel ($129, made in Bozeman); Armor Lux Summer Scarf ($35); Levi's X Liberty of London collaboration jean shorts (available in mid-May at select Levi's stores). Honorable Mention: Carter's Cobbler Shoppe of Bozeman for work boots and moccasins.
ICON | Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten
Photos of blues and folk legend Elizabeth Cotten in Washington D.C. by John Cohen, 1960.
Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten has been covered by Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, and Taj Majal. She played in the home of Senator John F. Kennedy. She's a Grammy winner. The Smithsonian Institute recognized her as a "living treasure". But more impressive than all of that, at just 11 years old, Cotten went door-to-door looking for work to save up the $3.75 required to purchase a Stella guitar from a local dry-goods store in North Carolina. Eventually after making less that $1 per month as a house helper, the guitar was hers. She taught herself how to play a right-handed strung guitar upside down with her left hand, which produced a singular and inimitable style later known affectionately as "Cotten picking". Cotten wrote the seminal hit Freight Train before she was a teenager, but didn't find recognition until many decades later. Her legend certainly lives on as she is today considered a beacon of folk music history. For more on Cotten, check out this video of one of her last (if not the last) recorded performances and interviews.
Big thanks to Kelly O'Rielly for the great suggestion.
P.S. Headed to Montana tomorrow for an exciting project, so I may be short on the blog for the rest of week, but keep up with Tomboy Style on Instagram!
UNIFORM | GREI.
GREI. is a New York-based accessories company that came together as a side-project between two friends who loved collecting vintage bandanas. After hunting down bandanas at places like The Brooklyn Flea, the two friends, Larry Paul and Andrew Spargo, decided to try their hand designing bandanas themselves and "maybe make a few designs for fun". Two years later, they're a full-fledged company, releasing two collections a year and retailing at some of my favorite shops in the country, like Mill Mercantile and its brother store Unionmade in San Francisco. And their bandanas, while crisp and new, are totally solid.
Q&A | Naomi Scott
When I met Naomi Scott in her home tucked underneath the Hollywood Sign, she was squeezing a peeled blood orange with her bare hands into a blender while giggling. And that's sort of just it, she's unpretentious, funny, and willing to get her hands dirty. (And smart and successful.) When taking time off from making Calming Blood Orange Spritzers for bloggers, Scott co-runs the production company Gettin' Rad with her husband. They recently produced the hysterical mockumentary called The Greatest Event in Television History starring Paul Rudd, Jon Hamm, and Adam Scott. It's so funny. Watch it now! The next one airs on Adult Swim June 6th.
P.S. Those neon Tretorns.
***
If not in Los Angeles I would live...all over the place: New York, Montreal, San Francisco, Lucca, but only for short amounts of time. I'm one of the few to admit that I truly love living in Los Angeles.
My dream vacation would be to...Amangiri Canyon Point, Utah. Mama's tired.
My current obsessions are...collaging, a stack of cookbooks (my idea of bedtime reading), Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar by Kelly Oxford, and GAME OF THRONES (course).
Food: Gluten-free pecan cookies from Forage in Silver Lake, recipes from Easy Chinese host Ching-He Huang like Radish And Sesame Soy Noodle Salad, coconut water (late to the party), fish tacos, cocktails and tons of peel and eat shrimp from The Hungry Cat, maple cornbread from Beachwood Cafe and Suck It's avocado popsicles.
Music: Rilo Kiley's new release RKives (download here), Foxygen, Bad Books, and Beirut. Going old school: the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, Sleater-Kinney (always), Big Star, and in honor of my recent wedding anniversary, Bright Eyes' First Day of My Life.
Fashion: Emmanuelle Alt's wardrobe please, my vast and ever-growing Clare Vivier bag collection, Golden Goose for K. Jacques shoes, nailart (on other people, I'm a "buff shine" kinda girl), and anything my daughter thinks is cool.
Retail Stores: Lake, Tomboy (I've been known to buy oversize kids clothes for myself), Sweet As...Vintage in Echo Park, Target, and Lost & Found.
The fictional character I most relate to is...Nancy Drew.
If I had to be outdoors all day I would...plant something! My friend Lauri Kranz has taught me so many things about putting my hands into the dirt and I love the rewards of having a little mini harvest. When I was a whiny tween, my mom would beg me to help her in the yard and I never understood why she enjoyed spending so much time gardening. Now I do!
My favorite qualities in a man are...a sense of humor and understanding a woman's need to hang with her girlfriends.
My favorite qualities in a woman are...self-assurance and kindness.
I'm terrified of...another Newtown shooting.
My dream car is...my old Saab but upgraded with SiriusXM!
My cocktail of choice is...prosecco with a splash of St. Germain. Mom always told me to order a white wine spritzer so I wouldn't get drunk too fast. She was right!
My cocktail of choice is...prosecco with a splash of St. Germain. Mom always told me to order a white wine spritzer so I wouldn't get drunk too fast. She was right!
My celebrity crush is...there is only one way to answer this question: Adam Scott.
My beauty product of choice is...anything from Face Place or Josie Maran.
My friends and I like to...watch terrible movies together. Parental Guidance or Because I Said So are good bad ones.
If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...the 1980s. The music, fashion and all my favorite fads: Rubik's Cube, flavored popcorn, neon Vans, horny teen comedies, jelly bracelets, Madonna, Guess jeans, Sun-In.
If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...the 1980s. The music, fashion and all my favorite fads: Rubik's Cube, flavored popcorn, neon Vans, horny teen comedies, jelly bracelets, Madonna, Guess jeans, Sun-In.
As a teenager I was totally into...boys and music.
I tend to splurge on...sunscreen and groceries.
Having grown up with brothers and loving every minute of it...is what makes me have Tomboy Style.
UNIFORM | Sleepy Jones
If you've been on practically any other website over the past two weeks you've heard of the new pajama and loungewear line, Sleepy Jones by Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti (Partners & Spade). I didn't cover it right out of the gate, so I thought I was too late, but now it's Sunday night and the sun's setting and the crickets are starting to chirp and I want to go have a beer on the patio. I guess I'm being a little lazy by not thinking of something else tonight, but that's what Sleepy Jones is all about: lounging, tinkering, laying around, not doing much of anything. That time of day before work, or bed; the home life, the good life.
Sleepy Jones makes sleep separates for men and women (I want one of each please!) as well as socks, tees, robes, et al. Great concept, perfectly executed.
SCENE | The Starwood Club, 1980.
Photo of four women (Skipper Smith, Stephanie Smith, Danielle Myers, Maggie Murphy) dressed in "punk-new wave fashion" at The Starwood Club in West Hollywood, originally published by The Los Angeles Times, 1980 via The UCLA Library Digital Collection.
Have a bitchin' weekend.
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