Dangerous Dancing Dandies were the Bad Boys of the Belle Epoque

The Paris of the Belle Époque saw the emergence of a certain type of street outcasts; a subculture that combined killer style with the criminal underworld. They were known as, les Apaches. They lived in secret dens in the city outskirts, shunned the idea of honest labor and took their name from the allegedly savage native American…

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

1. Zorita, the 1940s “Half and Half” Snake-wielding Burlesque Dancer She was an American burlesque dancer. She was best known for a twenty-minute dance which she performed with two boa constrictors called ‘Elmer and Oscar’ Some of her other unique and subversive numbers: In another act, she emerges from a giant spiderweb dripping in rhinestones. Dark ‘spider’s hands’ slowly peel…

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.…

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.…

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…

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

1. With Tennis in the Brain, check out the Wilson Tennis Ball Factory in Thailand Photos by Amanda Mustard found via Present & Correct. 2. This tiny Cor-beurre-sier chair From Instagram’s @suea 3. The picturesque Paris of Czech Artist Tavík František Šimon TavíTavik Frantisek Šimon (TF Šimon) (1877-1942) is one of the most important Czech…

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

1. A Prolific Female Pioneer Photographer Lora Webb Nichols left behind 24,000 images, 65 years of diaries (plus an unfinished memoir) providing “an intimate window into life on the Wyoming frontier in the early 20th century”, where she had lived up on a homestead since the late 1800s. Spanning from 1899 to the 1950s, “her…

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

“Women are like teabags. We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt Today’s 13 Things is dedicated to women. 1. Tradeswomen, magazine for blue collar workingwomen in the ‘80s & ’90s it became an integral tool for organizing in a landscape of sexist gatekeeping. See the full article…

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

1. This Abandoned French Chateau, on sale for €150,000 How it was: The castle dates back to the 15th century, located in the Loire-et-Cher region of France, 2.5 hours southwest of Paris. The castle was last the property of art dealer and collector Sylvain Durand (1928-2018) who made his fortune with the paintings of Fernand Léger. The castle’s…