Lizzie, congratulations on the publication of your book. For those who don’t know your blog – what is tomboy style?

Thank you so much! The blog is a way to visually explore the definition of tomboy style, past and present, and think about its tangential subjects. It’s been so much fun to do!

How did you come up with the idea?

I was a classic tomboy growing up, everything a boy did, I wanted to do.

I noticed that there was a link between this “tomboy spirit” and the fashion that identifies with it. I thought it would be an interesting topic to explore from there.

What did you enjoy most about the making of your book?

Pouring over all the photography and the decades of fashion.

There is so much to look through and be inspired by and learn about. I was a history major in college, so I was definitely in my element during that process.

The editing was very difficult though!

Who are your favorite tomboy style icons and why?

I love the unfussy style of Jane Birkin, she always seems so casual, comfortable, and herself while still looking undeniably stylish.

Why is tomboy style more than just women/girls wearing trousers and dressing in a mannish way?

I think tomboy style is made up of equal parts style and spirit—anyone can put on an outfit, but to be a real tomboy it takes more than that.

I think there’s a certain rebelliousness, confidence and sense of adventure in a true tomboy.

What is the most important accessory for a tomboy?

Good question. I like men’s watches and sunglasses.

Tomboy Style - The Grid

Will you continue with your blog now that the book is published?

Yes. It’s something that I really enjoy doing. I get great suggestions and comments from readers turning me onto icons, designers, musicians that I’ve never heard before, and even some of their family members and friends that continually excite me and inspire me.

Which of the seven tomboy archetypes described in your book are you?

I think I’m a mixture of the prep, the girl-next-door, and the sophisticate. That’s what my closet tells me anyway!

At the moment, tomboy style is part of mainstream fashion – what advise can you give to those women who are true blood tomboys and will remain so even when the fashion has passed?

The fashion world has embraced tomboy style over and over again for over 100 years, it will continue to ebb and flow.

I think following fashion trends is never all that helpful to creating and maintaining your own personal style.

The important thing is to be true to yourself and reflecting that honestly with your wardrobe. Trends in fashion should have little to no influence on that.

What’s next for Lizzie Garrett?

A little book tour and a little rest, and then on to something new!

Tomboy Style is now available at Rizzoli.

Jodhpurs Nr. 75 by Myrna Loy in the film “Wings in the Dark” 1935

Check out the cream aviator jodhpurs that Myrna Loy wore in the film on my tumblr http://jodhpursandsons.tumblr.com/ or here.

To see the full history behind the costume, click on centre of the number that appears in the middle the photograph.

Jodhpurs Nr. 74 by Audrey Tautou in the film Coco before Chanel (2009)

Keeping up with blogging is hard enough in between doing the laundry, living in the real world and raising the piglets (1 and 2).

Nevertheless, Wallflower Dispatches has spawned a progeny on tumblr.!

Jodhpurs & Sons collates the photographs of all of Wallflower Dispatches’ “Jodhpurs Nr….” posts into one blog.

Watch out for new pictures and paintings of the elephant-eared lower garment in a never-ending celebration throughout the centuries.

“Jodhpurs Nr…” will continue as before on Wallflower Dispatches.

In the  meantime time, check out Jodhpurs & Sons now: http://jodhpursandsons.tumblr.com/ where you can follow daily updates.

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Jodhpurs Nr. 74 by the winner “Most Dashing Dame” at the London Tweed Run organised by Rugby Ralph Lauren which took place on November 26^th 2011. Participants gathered at the Rugby store in Covent Garden. A classic Tea Break was held in the grounds of Royal Avenue, Chelsea.

Jodhpurs Nr. 72 by Queen Elizabeth II as Princess Elizabeth on 21st April 1939 in front of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park on Princess Elizabeth’s 13th birthday.

Sixty years ago today, Princess Elizabeth ascended to the throne to become Queen Elizabeth II following the death of her father, King George VI.

Regardless of what will happen throughout the rest of the day, the last twenty-four hours will enter into the folklore of our village history.

Perhaps it will be known as “l’hiver de deux-mille douze”, maybe we will refer to it as “l’année de la grande neige”.

Outside our house next to the disused water fountain stands a small snowman of about a metre. The village is quiet because the snow that began falling yesterday around 1pm has grown to a height of about 30 centimetres and stayed.

Not only does it muffle the familiar noises of footsteps in the small alley ways, but has also arrested any traffic on the main road that leads to civilization which feels a little further away than it did a few hours ago.

The morning after the night of snowfall unfolded slowly. Most schools in the surrounding area were closed partly because there was an official “ban” on the circulation of public transport decided and pronounced by the préfecture of the Var.

At about 11 o’clock it seemed that everyone in the village had woken up and took a tour to drink in the unusual sight of our medieval Mediterranean enclave dressed in pure white.

Around the same time, the electricity failed. “Mais”, as Émile who we bumped into navigating the snow put it: “ça donne encore plus de charme à la situation.” He smiled like an excited child.

By 2 o’clock we were cooking rice on our Godin woodburning stove and began living on leftovers.

In the British Isles, the subject “weather” is a security blanket for avoiding any meaningful conversation and keeping intimacy at bay politely.

Today we all indulged in discussing the elements with the eyes of a three-year old, the unstoppable enthusiasm of someone newly in love, the camaraderie of humans in an exceptional situation, marveling at the simply profound beauty of nature.

In fact, my eyes are still sparkling a little from squinting at the sun through the glistening chestnut tree at the end of our road.

Jodhpurs Nr. 71 by Janet Bouvier circa 1930s.

Janet Norton Lee Bouvier Auchincloss Morris (December 3, 1907 – July 22, 1989) was an American socialite.

She was the mother of former United States First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill.

She was born Janet Norton Lee, the daughter of James Thomas Lee and Margaret A. Merritt. Lee studied at Sweet Briar College and later at Vassar College, but did not graduate from either institution.

Her paternal grandfather, Dr. James Lee, was a superintendent of the New York City public school system, although Janet Bouvier preferred to tell people that he was a Maryland-born veteran of the United States Civil War. She had two sisters: Winifred Norton Lee (Mrs. Franklin d’Olier) and Marion Norton Lee (Mrs. John J. Ryan Jr.).

She married three times. Her first husband was John Vernou Bouvier III, also known as “Black Jack”, allegedly for his swarthy coloring. They were married on July 7, 1928 and had two daughters: Jacqueline Lee (1929-1994) and Caroline Lee (b. March 3, 1933). “Black Jack” Bouvier’s womanizing and drinking led to a separation in 1936, a brief reconciliation for a few months in 1937, and then a divorce in 1940.

Janet’s second husband was Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr., an attorney and Standard Oil heir; she was his third wife. They were married on June 21, 1942 and had two children: Janet Jennings Auchincloss Rutherfurd, who briefly dated John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate, while she was a student at Miss Porter’s; and James Lee Auchincloss, born in 1947.

Her third marriage, after Auchincloss’ death, was to Bingham “Booch” Morris on October 25, 1979. Though they separated in 1981, the marriage lasted until her death eight years later, aged 81, from complications arising from Alzheimer’s disease, in Newport, Rhode Island.

It is important to be straight in this crooked world.

This maxim also applies to the lesser activities of life such as fielding marketing calls.

Unsolicited marketing calls.

Unsolicited marketing calls in French.

Unsolicited marketing calls in French while you are in the middle of something.

Unsolicited marketing calls in French placed from Algiers by a French speaking Arab. Who is trying to sell something to a German over a crackling line in the midday sun.

At first, these annoying interferences served as a measure of the level of our knowledge and application of every day French. Hesitantly mumbled – and plainly wrong – French vocabulary served as a starting point. (What is the French for the casual “I am in the middle of something” ?).

Then one day – progress! – when the rather perfect “Ça ne m’interesse pas” escaped my lips. Fluently, calmly and authoritatively.

The next step in the manifestation of our advancement the anticlimax of the familiar. The marketing call was taken, it was answered, the marketing person pushed, was pushed back, the call ended.

French marketing companies love to place their calls at lunchtime either when people are preparing or eating food. So one day my honest answer to the question if I had a need to replace my old windows was: “I am in the middle of eating.”

The reaction to this mundane piece of information was astounding. The marketing person retreated immediately, apologising profusely. Although I couldn’t see her, I swear she was walking out of the room backwards, bowing towards the phone that linked her call to my home.

The holy French practice of eating! Of course….

A few weeks ago, Piglet 2 was punished with detention at school. The school had ordered Wednesday afternoon after the official lessons finished. Since Piglet 2 finishes two hours early on Mondays, I suggested his detention be moved into that slot.

Last year, these requests were granted without much fuss as long as it was reasonable. This year, I had to justify myself over the phone to the officious person in charge.

Why did I want to change? Did I understand this was meant as a punishment? Did I not realise that this was not done for Piglet 2’s amusement? Wasn’t my request a bit useless? On and on it went (when French people make their point, they do not come up for air).

I had long accepted her refusal and said so calmly, when suddenly I heard myself say: “In any case, on Wednesday the canteen is closed and Piglet 2 won’t have had any lunch by the time he starts his detention.”

My innocent reflection on this minor organisational point stopped her in her tracks. “Of course,” she said as if she had just realised this painful fact herself for the first time. “You are right. In that case, I can move his detention to Tuesday afternoon instead.” Just like that.

Naturally it is very tempting to use the food argument at any given point, but it is hard to digest well on a crooked stomach.

Jodhpurs Nr. 70 by Lord Curzon in 1903.

George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as The Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911. He was the Viceroy and Governor-General of India between 1899-1905.

The photograph shows him with his first wife, Mary Victoria Leiter, the daughter of Levi Ziegler Leiter, co-founder of the Chicago department store Field & Leiter (now Marshall Field).

She had a long and nearly fatal illness near the end of summer 1904, from which she never really recovered. She died in July 1906, aged 36.

Nothing is known about the tiger at their feet.