Paris’ Missing Palace and the Making of the Louvre

In many ways, the history of the Louvre is the history of France, from the era of monarchs and the temples they built to their power to the radical ambitions of the French Revolution and Paris Commune. While many of the millions of tourists now flocking back to Paris will gawk at the architecture of…

How Bugs Bunny Became a Queer Icon

Celebrities from Judy Garland to Madonna to Lady Gaga have been granted the title “gay icon,” but there’s one often-forgotten figure who deserves a spot on this list: Bugs Bunny. The Warner Bros. Cartoon character not only experimented with gender presentation but also married a man in at least three cartoons, in the 1950s. With…

Haute Couture? The Tudors Did it First

Just look at the details on that dress. Seriously, zoom in! Fashion trends have always been cyclical, and the latest inspiration may be coming from the ‘90s, the 1590s that is. The Tutor period marked not only a time of economic prosperity but also developments in the arts, notably in fashion and textiles. The French…

That Time they Stripped the White House Down to its Bones

When American President Harry S. Truman took office, there were many signs that the White House needed some construction updates. The literal breaking point came in June 1948, when the leg of First Daughter Margaret Truman’s piano fell through her second-floor sitting room’s rotting floorboards into the family dining room below. What followed was a…

Behind the Mask of Lonesome Gal, Vintage Radio’s Virtual Girlfriend

“Sweetie, no matter what anyone says, I love you better than anybody in the whole world,” whispered Jean King over the nation’s airwaves. She was the virtual girlfriend to everyman during the golden age of radio in the late 1940s and developed a cult following as a sultry-voiced siren. Long before we could live out entire relationships…

That Time Reality TV made a Real-Life Lord of the Flies

One of the most popular questions in ethics is what would happen in a real Lord of the Flies in which a group of children were left to fend for themselves. In 2007, one reality TV show decided to find out, letting 40 kids loose on a movie ranch set with no adult supervision —…

French Folk Costume or Next Season’s Haute Couture?

French fashion designers have long been at the forefront of avant-garde style and Paris has long been considered the birth city of fashion – the ultimate fountain of sophistication, glamorous muses and endless inspiration. But let’s turn back the clocks and leave the capital for the villages of provincial France where a part of French fashion…

The Vault

Paris Inspiration & Events Guide for Spring and Summer 2022

It begins with the first sightings of cherry blossoms, those warm evenings that take you by surprise and before you know it, Spring is here. Paris is finally swinging open its doors, polishing its wine glasses and getting its groove back. As always, we’re here to accompany you with a little inspiration and guidance as…

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

Eight Hundred Lost Children and a Voyage Around the World

In 1918 a group of American men and women from the American Red Cross wound up in Siberia where they encountered 782 Russian summer campers and their teachers. The schoolchildren were from Saint Petersburg, and had been away at summer camp when a violent war broke out. They fled the fighting by heading east to…

The Eiffel Tower’s Lost Art Nouveau Restaurant

Meet us for dinner in Paris under the Iron Lady … circa 1900? Over the 135 years since the Eiffel Tower was built, there have been some surprising additions that have come and gone from the site of city’s most iconic landmark. In our archives, we’ve shared the tower’s various transformations and experimental uses, including…