SCENE | Behind the Lens

Photos of photographers clockwise from top left: Dorthea Lange via Meme Play; Cindy Sherman via Averil Dean; Margaret Bourke-White via LKWD Public Library; Garance Doré via Forty Over Twenty; Annie Leibovitz via Oblong Books.

I think female photographers are, by nature and profession, some of the ultimate tomboys because they often have to be adventurous, bold, confident, and dress for mobility to follow the trail of a great photograph. Tomboy Style photo correspondent Simons Finnerty created this round-up of contemporary cameras for everyone from the analog party snapper to the digital pro blogger. 

Top row: Canon EOS 5D Mark II ($2900): A favorite among professional photo bloggers (a la Garance Doré), this digital camera does not fool around. It takes videos too. Nikon FM10 35mm SLR ($270): If you miss shooting on 35mm film, but still want full control of the camera, this all-manual with a built-in light meter is a great option.  

Middle Row: Lomography La Sardina ($110): With a sardine can pattern and a retro feel, an attachable flash and several color filters, this film camera is just plain fun; Nikon D5100 ($700): This beginner-friendly DSLR camera is easy to use but still produces high-quality photos, and the bonus is the pop-out screen, which makes self-portraits a snap.  

Bottom row: Fujifilm INSTAX 210 ($60): The Polaroid of this millennium and a party favorite. Check out The Impossible Project for more coolness about instant photography in the digital era. Fujifilm X100 ($1200): A favorite of Kodachrome collector and menswear blogger Michael Williams of A Continuous Lean, this camera has the look of a vintage camera, but is a digital point-and-shoot. It's great for beginners and advanced photographers, and the results prove, more often than not, incredible. —Simons Finnerty


 I'd love to know what camera you use and if you like it!

GEAR | Peak Dot Wayfarer Rucksack

Hard working, good looking, made in NYC. Peak Dot Wayfarer Rucksack ($220).

DEEP THOUGHTS | Etymology and Word Choice

Since I launched the blog in May of 2010, almost two years ago exactly, I've been blown away with how positive and genuinely enthusiastic people have been about this topic. The blogosphere can be a pretty nasty place with anonymous commenters, but the followers and readers of this blog have been and are tremendously supportive, positive, friendly and smart. I'm so thankful for that. To that end, I want to bring up an interesting and rather complex criticism that I've faced recently as I work to publicize the book.

Why use the word tomboy? Here's a sampling of comments I've received on the blog,  in emails, and on other websites:

When are strong, independent, fashionable women going to be defined by a term that doesn't include "boy"?

There is nothing ‘boy-like’ if you grew up playing in the dirt, throwing a ball or playing hockey! That IS what being a girl is!

My response:
First, the aesthetic I've curated here is based from the idea of women borrowing from or being inspired by menswear. Then, I find it goes much deeper. That correlation between the spirit and this singular style is what Tomboy Style is based on. In other words, there are strong, independent, fashionable women that dress in a traditionally feminine way as well. Those women wouldn't be accurately applauded under the word tomboy. In fact there are some amazing amazing women that are all of those things that have never landed on this blog because their style doesn't edge toward or encompass the tomboy aesthetic.

So yes, I agree, in an ideal world a girl playing in the dirt and throwing a ball should just be a designation of what kind of kid you are, not what kind of boyish-girl you are. But gender lines do exist. Yes, we are blurring these lines more and more and accepting a less rigid approach every decade, but these lines are still deep—in advertising, in fashion, in almost everything. I was born in 1983, well after the Women's Liberation Movement, and I (maybe naively, maybe blindly) have never remembered feeling that my gender would hold me back or that there were things I couldn't achieve that my male peers could. I'm so lucky to have landed where I did in the arc of feminism (although there are still clearly inequalities) and so grateful to all the women that I celebrate on this blog and in the book who pushed those boundaries and dared to live and dress differently, precicely so I could have the luxury of feeling the way I do now. Tomboy Style is about celebrating the women that came before us and urging women to continue to be who they are. Sometimes it's as surface as a simple fashion choice, but often it's about the woman's spirit. The word may be imperfect, like countless words in the English language, but I'm not sure there's a better one out there that so neatly describes what's on this website and in the book. And even if there was, I'd probably still use the word tomboy, because I think maybe we're redefining it as a new kind of feminity here and now—and that's really empowering.

Those are my two cents, but I'd really like to hear your thoughts and opinions as well.

And if you're interested in the Etymology:
The noun “tomboy” (formed by joining the male name Tom and the word “boy”) was coined sometime before 1553, and meant a boy who was rude or boisterous. The Oxford Dictionary of Etymology says it was related to the terms “tom-fool” (a buffoon) and later “tomfoolery.” And according to the Ayto Dictionary of Word Origins, since “Thomas” was the archetypal male name, the word “tom” was often used in the 16th century to indicate maleness (hence “tomcat”) and male aggression. In 1579 the word “tomboy” was applied to a bold or immodest woman. By 1592 it was applied to a girl who acted like a spirited or boisterous boy, and that’s been its meaning ever since.

Q&A | Whitney Bickers of Myrtle

Ok, so many things! First, L.A. friends: I'm SO excited about Saturday night because Myrtle is hosting a Tomboy Style book party in Echo Park! Please join us! Check out the invite below the Q&A...

Photo of Myrtle owner Whitney Bickers by Megan McIsaac.

I've gotten to know Myrtle owner Whitney Bickers a little bit over the past month and not only does she run her own insanely cool, well-edited shop full of vintage finds and new designs for your wardrobe and home, but she is also whip-smart and totally hilarious. Can't wait to party with her this weekend! Check out her store! And her Q&A, which is right under these awesome Polaroids from the most recent Myrtle shoot by Megan McIsaac.

If not in Los Angeles, I would live in...Brooklyn in my dream life, but probably in Louisville (near my family).

My dream holiday would be to...go to South America or back to Sicily which was the most dreamy holiday I've ever taken.

My current obsessions are...
Food: I just traveled to New Orleans for the first time so beignets, bananas foster, cafe au lait, gumbo, seafood...I could go on!

Music: Probably Watch the Throne! I saw a shirt recently that said "rap music makes me feel invincible" which is definitely true for me while working out or in high-stress times. In the shop though, I love when "I Get The Neck of the Chicken" plays on the jazz station and I play old Dolly Parton when the record player feels like working.

Fashion: My first love in fashion was Valentino (thanks Westerville Public Library!) and the recent collections have been so stunning. On the out-of-budget list I would also have to say Proenza Schouler and Jenny Packham. For my actual closet, it's the designers I carry here--Ermie, Filly, Hetterson, Dusen Dusen, and a few too small to retail: Wiksten, Rennes, Primoeza. And vintage! I am a sucker for a crazy detail on a vintage dress.

Retail Stores: This list would be endless for me! So I will restrict it to the ones I have been in for hours, forced others to go to, and never ever walked out of empty handed: Aunt Artie's Antique Mall and Cake Ladies Dream Shoppe (both New Albany, IN) and Legendary Beast (Washington DC). The concept of having my own 'dream shoppe' helped me get over some of the hurdles of opening Myrtle as well.

I channel my childhood self when I... play with clothes. One of my earliest memories is my grandmother letting me play with the hem of her silk slip in church. She would also let me play with things in her amazing closet whenever we visited and I'm honored to have inherited some of her things. I also still totally wear the shirt I wore for my seventh grade school picture—thanks boxy 90s cuts!

The fictional character I most relate to is...Alexander in Where the Wild Things Are.

If I had to be outdoors all day I would...have a good book; whether an outdoor cafe or the beach, I like to read outside.

My favorite quality in a man is...strong hugs.

My favorite quality in a woman is...steadfastness. And the ability to call everyone "honey" with sincerity.

I'm terrified of... everything! Not really, but I can make a mountain out of a molehill; starting your own business does bring up countless problem scenarios I've never thought of. Also, to my boyfriend's amusement, the planetarium show—the infiniteness of space! Terrifying.

My dream car is a...a tiny 1970s/80s Fiat.

My cocktail of choice is...scotch & soda. If I go to a fancy bar, I'll sometimes get an old fashioned or a gin drink instead.

My celebrity crush is...Jason Schwartzman.

My beauty product of choice is...most days I only manage three things: drugstore mascara, Nars blush, and cherry Chapstick.

My friends and I like to...eat brunch, preferably with cocktails.

If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...this is tricky! I'd have some fashion answers but really it would have to be a time when women had a lot of autonomy and optimism about what they could do and be. Maybe the 1920s? I'd love to hang out with writers and artists like Anita Loos and Elsa Schiaparelli.

As a teenager I was totally into...movies. I worked at a theater and would watch anything at any hour on TCM and IFC, this is what made me move to Los Angeles in the first place.

I tend to splurge on...my closet! Though I am really coveting a handmade chair at Heath Ceramics right now.

Drinking men's drinks, wearing boy's hair, and being the boss, but doing it as a lady...is what makes me have Tomboy Style.


THIS SATURDAY COME OUT AND CELEBRATE WITH US!

SCENE | Poolside at The Avalon Hotel

Last night family and friends gathered to celebrate the book launch of Tomboy Style in L.A. It was crazy-fun! And there were some seriously killer outfits on deck! Hope you can join us for our next L.A. event at Myrtle in Echo Park on Saturday (more on that tomorrow!)

I have to thank the three hosts, my dear friends Alex Malloy, Heather John Fogarty (who had her first night out post-baby!) and Dana Dickey. Thanks dudes. And thanks to Veuve Clicquot for providing all that tasty bubbly!

All photos © Patrick McMullan.

SCENE | The Backseat

 
Photo by Josh Moore via Vice.

NOISE | Grimes

Q&A | Alisa Gould-Simon

I've met Alisa, the Director of Marketing and Communications at Pose a few times, and every time I'm blown away by her style and how dialed in she is as a business/media/digital genius. Alisa has helped grow Pose from its infancy to what it is now, a huge iPhone and Android app and website that lets you share outfit photos, catalog your finds, and discover other people's poses (like what you see above and below) and much of it will be shopable soon! It's pretty rad. And so is she.


If not in Los Angeles, I would live in... realistically New York since I spend a quarter of my year there anyway, but I'd like to think Paris, Shanghai and Berlin are all contenders.

My dream holiday would be to...go on safari in Africa. It's been my dream since the age of five.

My current obsessions are...

Food: Oysters, sea urchin and stinky cheese.

Music: LCD Soundsystem (RIP), Radiohead, Jay-Z and Fleetwood Mac could sustain me on a deserted island.

Fashion: I love the Australian label Shakuhachi for fun party dresses; I think The Hellers' latest collection is genius; Emmanuelle Alt is an eternal source of sartorial inspiration; but, ultimately, I dream of one day being able to afford filling my closet with Celine and Dries Van Noten.

Retail Stores: Adore Maryam Nassir Zadeh in NYC and A+R in Venice, CA.

I channel my childhood self when I...sleep in an empty house and have to close any open doors to hide reminders of what could be lurking.

If I had to be outdoors all day I would...be one happy camper.

My favorite quality in a man is...compassionate pragmatism and generosity.

My favorite quality in a woman is...emotional vulnerability and a respect for fellow women.

I'm terrified of...ever becoming too stagnant.

My dream car is a...one that requires zero unsustainable resources to build and power.

My cocktail of choice is...a Negroni.

My celebrity crush is...a lovechild of Rachel Maddow, Terry Gross, Isabella Rosselini, Emma Goldman, Katharine Hepburn and Beyonce.

The beauty product of choice is...Vincent Longo's entire seaweed-infused line, but, specifically, the wet canvas foundation.

My friends and I like to...eat, drink and be merry.

If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...La Belle Époque (with women's rights of course).

As a teenager I was totally into...being independent and terrifyingly thin eyebrows.

I tend to splurge on...beautiful shoes that I swear have feelings.

An insatiable appetite for new experiences and ideas...is what makes me have Tomboy Style.

UNIFORM | Thom Dolan

Current obsession: Thom Dolan, an NYC-based women's clothing line started four seasons ago.

Top photos from the SS 2012 collection, bottom photos from the upcoming Fall collection. Shop the online store, or stop in to one of Dolan's retailers around the world.

The designer, Thomasine Dolan, told me that above all, she tries to make sure her collection expresses confidence and an independent spirit. Count me in.

GIVEAWAY | $150 to Envoy of Belfast

My pocketbook is so lucky that I don't live in Northern Ireland, because Envoy of Belfast has a seriously stellar tomboy P.O.V. They're giving away a $150 gift certificate to one lucky winner! To enter: leave a comment below, I'll pick a winner Wednesday at 6pm PST. Good luck!

***The winner is Caroline! Please contact me at lizziegarrett(at)gmail(dot)com to get your gift card!***

UNIFORM | Cher

Cher taping a guest appearance on the Stanley Siegel Show on ABC-TV, 1977.

Plumpton 8 piece cap ($72); Boy. by Band of Outsiders cotton and silk-blend shirt ($275); Vitrus tea cup and saucer ($99).

SCENE | Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Photos of Amelia playing in pluff mud on Kiawah Island in South Carolina by Simons Finnerty.

"I still believe that one can learn to play the piano by mail and that mud will give you a perfect complexion." —Zelda Fitzgerald

NOISE | Soko

Heading down the turnpike for New England, sweet New England...

SCENE | Brooks School Field Hockey Lawn

Photos from the campus of Brooks School by Simons Finnerty.

I have just recently gotten to know Simons Finnerty, a talented young photographer and student at Brooks School. It is very likely that he was born the year I started boarding school, but he instantly showed me how little things have changed on the staid New England campus. A very welcome idleness indeed. When I saw these photos it reminded me of my first fall. I could almost smell the grounds from his photos. And just then my personal memories from this scene all seemed to tie into Tomboy Style.


It was 1997. As recent and perhaps modern as that year may sound, it is a year forever embedded in the last century. Our identities were more three-dimensional then. More honest, more fleeting.

I sat beneath this middle-aged New England tree in September. On the sidelines of the field hockey lawn, cleats trotted past me while I rested. I put my ear to the ground and looked sideways at the horizon. The ground was green, but not Kodachrome green, just a dark earthy green. The sky was blue, but not a spectacular Mediterranean blue. It was a sensible blue. An autumn-afternoon-in-Massachusetts-blue. The memory isn’t a fantasy snapshot, it is exactly as it was—breathtaking in its simplicity and in its quest to be only itself.

ICON | Françoise Sagan

Photos of playwright Françoise Sagan in her iconic 1952 Jaguar XK 140 via Style Forum and E-TYPEのガレージ.

"Speed is no sign, no proof, no provocation, no challenge, but rather a surge of happiness." —Françoise Sagan

SCENE | The Aetherstream San Francisco

Just wanted to share a few shots from the San Francisco Tomboy Style party on Saturday (check out more in the SF Chronicle's Style Section on April 22!). Hanging out at Aether Apparel's pop-up Aetherstream was so much fun!





Photos by Aeschleah DeMartino.

GIVEAWAY | $100 to Maxton Men

I'm slow-moving this morning, came back from San Francisco with a little bug. But, I'll try to make up for the tardiness with a big giveaway from Maxton Men, a super-cool men's e-shop that carries Herschel backpacks and duffels, really really great colored shoelaces, and tons of fun gentleman's accoutrements that are perfect for sprinkling into the tomboy wardrobe. Plus, they always ship for free, no matter the price!

To enter to win a $100 certificate to Maxton men: Like them on Facebook and leave a comment below. I'll pick a random winner Tuesday morning at 9am PST. Good luck!

Maxton Men is also extending a 15% discount to Tomboy Style readers. Enter the code TOMBOY15 when checking out (good through April 21st).

***The winner is Joan of Joaney-Fresh! Please email me at lizziegarrett(at)gmail(dot)com so I can get you your gift certificate!***

ICON | Mary Russell

Photo of former fashion editor Mary Russell, who worked for Elle and Vogue, with Gunter Sachs in St. Tropez via Agnes Baddoo.

"Women look best and feel best when their clothes are not the uniform of the moment but part of themselves." —Mary Russell

Thanks Agnes!

Q&A | Jeanne Kelley

Photo of Jeanne Kelley by Sharon Suh.

Fellow Rizzoli author Jeanne Kelley, whose book Salad For Dinner (ranked #1 in its category!) just came out last month, was one of the star food editors when I started as an assistant at Bon Appétit Magazine. She would walk into the office from her home in the East Hills of Los Angeles (full of goats and chickens and all sorts of coolness!) with these great tomboy style outfits on and a certain laid-back cool girl vibe that I couldn't get enough of. I'd go on more here, but her Q&A really says it all.

If not in Los Angeles, I would live in...Mexico.

My dream holiday would be to...drive to South America. I've been to many amazing places from Timbuktu to Sumatra, but I've never been to South America. I think driving there from Los Angles and camping out along the way would be an adventure of a lifetime—and it might take a lifetime.

My current obsessions are...

Food: Oh so many food obsessions! Growing salad greens, especially arugula is one. Freshly grown greens are really amazing— just the tiniest amounts of good vinegar, olive oil and salt is all they need, and I eat them with everything. I'm also really excited by cooking with wood fire. I built a cob oven in my community garden with the LA Bread Bakers and learning to fire it up and bake pizza and bread, it's been a blast. I'm putting a Santa Maria style barbecue in my backyard so I can grill over wood too. I've always loved bonfires, so now I can cook and enjoy flames at the same time. And bread! I've been baking bread with sourdough starter and California grown Sonora Wheat from Whole Grain Connection.

Music: Singing songs of heartache with my husband on guitar because singing love songs would be corny.

Fashion: Blue shirts. They're all I want to wear lately.

Retail Store(s): Retail stores make me uncomfortable. I prefer thrift stores because I enjoy the "hunt." It's like therapy for me—when my world gets hectic and my mind is overloaded and I'm not solving anything, I know that I can quickly rifle through a rack of crap at the Goodwill or Salvation Army and find something beautiful. And I have found some really lovely stuff: silk batiks, lizard skin belts with sterling buckles, perfect Lucien Pellat-Finet cashmere sweaters, a Catherine Malandrino dress with tags that fits perfectly, the never worn Irish Fisherman's sweater that I lived in this winter.

I channel my childhood self when I...swim. I love to jump and dive, body surf and waterski. I feel just like a little kid when I goof around in the water.

The fictional character I most relate to is...Alice, but without the pinafore.

If I had to be outdoors all day I would...wear a hat. I have a new Panama with a cocoa brown grosgrain ribbon that is so totally sharp. I'm sure it's a mans hat—but it fits perfectly.

My favorite quality in a man is...character.

My favorite quality in a woman is...character.

I'm terrified of...the diamond lane freeway overpass that connects the 110 S to the 105 W (The Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange).

My dream car is a...bio diesel-fueled Mercedes Gelandewagen for the drive down to Patagonia—but not for the streets of Los Angeles—that would be silly.

My cocktail of choice is...silver tequila on the rocks with a healthy squeeze of a backyard Bearr's lime or Meyer lemon.

My celebrity crush is...weary. I've grown so tired of the current celebrity-crazed culture. It's not like I don't appreciate great musicians, actors, athletes, statesmen, writers, artists, but there is just so much mediocrity being celebrated—especially in my field, where all you need is cleavage and a recipe ghostwriter and you too can be a star!

The beauty product of choice is...Weleda Skin Food. Is smells like a Gin and Tonic.

My friends and I like to...gather for meals.

If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...to Ancient Greece—I'm really curious as there are no photos, but do I have to stay for 10 years?

As a teenager I was totally into...baking cookies AND the local Los Angeles music scene. So many clubs, so many bands, so many magic cookie bars.

I tend to splurge on...beer. $15 six-packs and $10 four-packs are super pricey, but they bring me joy.

My aversion to anything prissy...is what makes me have Tomboy Style.

ICON | Jane Birkin

Photo of Jane Birkin in Paris by Tony Frank, 1970.

"My mother was right: When you've got nothing left, all you can do is get into silk underwear and start reading Proust." —Jane Birkin

TOMBOY STYLE: ON SHELVES TODAY!

It's midnight on the East Coast, so the book is officially out! I've been flabbergasted, humbled, excited and touched by some truly excellent media coverage of the book! I promise not to do this often (or again), but wanted to link to some of the press to celebrate the book's release today! As always, thank you all for the comments, the suggestions, and the tremendous support.

Girls Will Be Boys T Magazine online/printed in the New York Times Sunday Styles.

Opposites Attract, Nylon Magazine.

Books in Fashion, Harper's Bazaar.

Tomboy Style Q&A, Matchbook Magazine.

Boys Town, Angeleno.

Book review, CBSNews.com.

Book review, Selectism.com.

Fashion Front Line, Marie Claire.

Don't People Realize that Outdoorsy is also Sexy?, The Independent.

Talking Tomboys, The National Post.

These Days, Girls Will Be Tomboys, Sydney Morning Herald.

Boy Crazy: We're Crushing On This Tomboy Style Tome!, Refinery 29.

Rugby Ralph Lauren endorses the Tomboy Style book.
There's a few other exciting stories in the works...I'll keep you posted.

SCENE | The First Base Line

Photo of spectators laying down beside first base watching the annual Artists vs. Writers Charity Softball Game in East Hampton, NY by Peter Simins, 1972.

Tell me your favorite athlete in the comments section by Monday night at 8pm PST, I'll pick one at random to win a signed copy of Tomboy Style!

The winner is Lexie, Little Boat! Please email me at lizziegarett(at)gmail(dot)com so I can send you your copy!