Some rarer photos of Coco Chanel: Left: Coco Chanel in 1912, before she cut her hair, dressed up for a ball in the costume of a page boy at a village wedding. Her close-fitting jacket, black bow and round hat are pure Chanel. Right: Chanel in her English period, photographed with her friend Vera Bates in 1928. Both had borrowed tweeds and sweaters belonging to Chanel's wealthy lover, the Duke of Westminster. Both photos are scanned from the 1996 book Chanel, which I borrowed from the library of Heather John.

In the Tomboy Style universe, Coco Chanel was the big bang.