Colombia’s Beloved Jeeps Loaded with Everything but the Kitchen Sink

In the Coffee Triangle of Columbia, the locals worship an unlikely icon– the Willys Jeep, America’s military vehicle of choice during World War II. Every year in the small towns of Quindío, there’s a big folkloric parade celebrating the utility vehicles, loaded with (literally) everything but the kitchen sink. They call them “Yipaos” (loaded Jeeps) and they have become…

What they Wore to the Vanderbilt Ball: Inside the Photo Album

Like they do at prom, the guests of the 1883 Vanderbilt fancy dress ball each had the opportunity to have their photo taken at the event of the year, or perhaps the century. All of New York’s elite society turned up at the Fifth Avenue mega mansion dressed as pirates, goths, animals, gypsies and other inventive…

Congo High, Class of ’72

I still cringe when I look back (usually against my will) at my high school yearbook pictures. It’s probably because I can see how utterly lost I was at that age, in every sense of the word. But these school portraits, taken at a Protestant secondary school in Mbandaka, Congo in 1972, are in another league from your…

Dressing the Woman in Gold: The Unknown Bohemian Designer behind the Paintings

You know a Gustav Klimt painting when you see one. His gold leaf Japanese-influenced portraits of women, one of the most famous of which was the subject of a major Hollywood film (Woman in Gold), dressed in vibrant, multi-colored and almost psychedelic prints, saw him become one of the most prominent painters of his era.…

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

1. Johnny Depp’s secret hideout in his French villa And the property also has it’s own make-believe café for the kids. See the full property for sale on Sotheby’s. 2. These Pool Floats Shop on Urban Outfitters or Amazon or Larkstore. 3. Watch Jaws on the Water The Alamo Drafthouse— the movie theater…

The Secret Swimming Pools of the Paris Catacombs

It felt like the pavements of Paris could have melted these past few days. The city’s swimming pools were overflowing with splashing bodies and escape from the heat seemed futile. But there is one place, beneath the baking pavements, where only few will venture and plunge into the cool waters of the underworld. So let’s follow them…

This Empty Sicilian Town is Giving away Free Houses

There are records at Ellis Island in New York showing that between 1892 and 1924, the small Sicilian town of Gangi lost about 1,700 of its residents to the American dream. They abandoned their homes to board trans-Atlantic ocean liners, sold to the prospect of a better life by shipping agents pushing emigration in the region. Those…

Meet the Original “Victoria’s Secret” Beauties of the 1920s

When looking at black and white photographs of women considered glamorous in the 1920s and early 20th century, I often find it difficult to relate to their look. Their make-up is strange and melodramatic, their hairstyles usually unflattering and even macabre; almost like there was a preference for a rather un-natural beauty. But then I came across…

The Vault

Wander through the Sicilian Village in a Cave, Frozen in Time

In the province of Trapani, Sicily, there’s a portal through time about eighty meters high and seventy meters deep. Nestled inside the natural opening of two mountain peaks, lies a tiny village, consisting of quaint earth-colored houses, a chapel, stables, workshops and one cobbled main street. The village “piazza” of Grotto Mangiapane is located at the mouth of the cave where…

Pssst! You've stumbled across content that is exclusive to Nessy's Keyholders.

There’s a new way to access the really special stuff from Messy Nessy Chic …

Hidden beneath the surface layers of the internet, there’s a place where we keep our most secret addresses, untapped archives, creator’s inspiration, collector’s guides, explorer’s manuals, obscure research and much more… And it’s made for our keyholders only!

Apply now to unlock the Vault

Keyholder Login

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

1. Collages of Detroit: Then & Now “Not very long ago, Detroit was a rich, beautiful city, full of vibrant people. I found pictures from the previous century and combined them with the photographs I took during my most recent visit to Detroit.” – Flora Borsi. “What if these people from the past could see their…