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

1. A Treehouse in Tuscia La Piantata, a B&B, found here. 2. Gucci arrives in Detroit Gucci has opened a permanent 3,500 sq ft store in a Renaissance Revival landmark in the downtown. The Italian heritage brand has been eying Detroit since 2019 when it launched its Gucci North America Changemaker’s programme to spotlight talent in the city.…

The Edwardian Style Spy Photographer

If you follow MessyNessyChic on Instagram, you’ll probably have stumbled upon a series I came to name as “Style Spy“, which to my bemusement, has probably become the most watched form of content on that social media platform, but more on that later. Today, I stumbled upon a kindred spirit of yore: Edward Linley Sambourne.…

Vice Versa: America’s Gayest Magazine

Hollywood has a thing for origin stories at the moment, and one origin story in particular begins in Los Angeles, in an unassuming building on Gower Street, just off Melrose Avenue. This is not the origin story of a Marvel Comics character, or even of a Hollywood bigwig getting their own biopic. Now part of…

The European Castles, Ruins and Unlikely Homes Opening their Gates to Refugees

Europe is filled with scores of enchanting abandoned and underused historic structures that have survived war and ageing. Only now, they’re offering shelter to those in immediate need: refugees. Cathedrals and churches, halls and barns have successfully sheltered armies, citizens and the sick in the past, surely the forgotten old wings of once-great castles and…

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

1. Reviving 17 Original Orient Express Carriages, Forgotten in Poland Now destined for a comeback on the storied Paris-Istanbul route, the 17 carriages discovered in Poland (12 sleeping cars, a restaurant car, three lounge cars, and a van) are being restored in France and will hit the railways in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics.…

A Real Life Diagon Alley, Buried in Time

It may not have sold wands or grimoires, but this subterranean shopping alley remained just as hidden as J K Rowling’s, until it was accidentally stumbled upon in 2002 by builders renovating the Edwardian Royal Arcade, in Keighley, West Yorkshire, situated above it. Believed to have last been used in the 1890s, it was when…

What To Do When Paris Becomes A Ghost Town

If you’re not subscribed to the Messy Nessy Chic newsletter (hint hint), you may be wondering why we’ve gone a little quiet these past few weeks. The fact that the MNC HQ is based in Paris may give you a clue. You see, Parisians close up shop for August to chase the last rays of…

Before Parisian Runways, Fashion Week was Born on the Side of the Racetrack

In the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century, spectating at the races was a glamorous event beyond comparison. Paris’ Hippodrome de Longchamp racecourse was the place to see and be seen; it was a stage where the bold and the beautiful would strut their perfectly tailored, coiffed and manicured stuff for…

Born into Slavery, She Became the First “Queen of Drag”

It’s a little before 11 PM on April 12th, 1888 in downtown Washington DC. President Grover Cleveland has just finished up a speech on what will become American Somoa, his wife Frances is already asleep, and, four blocks east, at the intersection of F and 12th Street, thirty Black, gay men are having a party.…

Parisian Street Sellers of Yore

Shopping in Belle Epoque Paris wasn’t exactly … well, convenient. General stores and grocery stores were still a very novel concept in the latter half of the 19th century, and the few that existed were only catering to the wealthy elite. There was also a French law that restricted merchants from selling or specialising in…