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Cabinet of Chic Curiosities

A Crash-course in French Yé-Yé Pop Culture

While the Beatles were singing “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” in England, continental Europe was forming its own musical phenomenon. The French called it, Yé-Yé, literally derived from the “yeah! yeah!” lyrics that had become the sound of British and American rock and roll. Inspired by the Anglophone craze, the Yé-Yé movement provided a…

The Weird and Wonderful Wheels of Jay Ohrberg

He has designed the “Ghostbusters” ambulance car, the “Knight Rider” car, the RoboCop car, the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle'” van, the Pink Panther mobile, and just about every impressive televised car worth a mention. Step aside Elon Musk, this truck driver and stunt racer turned carmaker from Illinois is arguably America’s most creative and innovative…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DLXXXVII)

1. This insane Connecticut Castle listed on Zillow Built in 2010 by the “great-grandson of a Chicago steel tycoon” the 18,777 square-foot estate, nestled on top of seventy-five acres, features 9 bedrooms, 7 full baths, 3 half baths and 12 fireplaces — as well as a moat and “towers rising 126 feet into the sky.”…

She was Too Scandalous, Even for 1920s Berlin

Berlin is a city of ghosts and one of the most alluring phantoms is Anita Berber, the high priestess of debauchery; she of the kohl black eyes and flaming red hair and vermillion lips. Immortalised by Otto Dix’s paintbrush, this Weimar cabaret goddess challenged all the taboos with her performances and broke boundaries that would…

How French Fashion Emerged even More Decadently from the Guillotine

Those of us who paid any attention in history class can probably recount a few key details and players of the French Revolution – there was Marie Antoinette, her Sun King and their posse at Versailles who were eating too much cake; the revolutionaries who kicked things off by storming the Bastille prison; and an…

Before Jazz, Ragtime gave us America’s First Music Stars

You know the sound of ragtime even if you don’t think you do. “The Entertainer“, a classic piano rag, is one of the most recognisable melodies of the 20th century (go on, have a quick listen). But it was written by America’s greatest musician that we’re betting you’ve never heard of – an African American composer…

Searching for Georges Méliès in Paris

Georges Méliès was an illusionist, in every sense of the word; a man who revolutionised cinema forever. He played an indispensable role with his innovations, creating the world’s first film studio, the first fictional film and when it comes to the invention of special effects in cinema, he’s the guy to thank. Yet, unlike other…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DLXXXVI)

1. Martin Luther King, Jr., arrested for “loitering,” Montgomery, Alabama, 1958 Public domain photograph (photographer unknown). Found on Reddit. 2. Lee Krasner Is Finally Appreciated for Being More Than “Mrs. Pollock” Her reputation as a painter was, for most of her life, dwarfed by that of her husband, Jackson Pollock. Within the past few years, however,…

Inside a Secret (but Shoppable) Antiques Museum on the Seine

If you thought the antiques business was on the decline, you only need to step inside the Galerie Kugel to realise you might have had it wrong. Familiar with Paris? You’ve likely ogled at this mansion on the banks of the Seine a dozen times before, and yet never dared to assume you could simply…

The Overlooked Art (and Drama) of Courtroom Sketching

As 2021 came to a close, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on charges of sex-trafficking in connection with her former partner and accomplice, Jeffrey Epstein. However, it wasn’t her misconduct or the salacious details of her lifestyle that went viral, but rather a courtroom sketch … of Maxwell sketching the sketch artist back. The…
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