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Category / Editor’s Picks

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.…

London’s Abandoned Eiffel Tower Replica

When a tower made of 7,500 tons of steel and iron was unveiled at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 in Paris, it was an immediate triumph, made even more victorious in light of the controversy which had surrounded the Eiffel Tower prior to its opening. Protesters had argued to “imagine for a moment a giddy, ridiculous tower dominating Paris…

The Disappearing Membership Cafés of Provence

The village of Gordes in Provence is one of the most beautiful & charming in a part of France that’s teeming with small towns that are … well, beautiful and charming. Perched high on the slopes of the Monts de Vaucluse, Gordes is a treasure trove of narrow, winding cobbled streets, crammed with old homes…

The Alluring Art of Fake Food in Japan

They say we first eat with our eyes, and no one seems to understand this better than the Japanese restaurant industry. From a pot of thick gravy mid-pour over a perfectly cooked steak to an ice cream sundae with everything on it– you name it, they’ll make a plastic replica for it. Sampuru, derived from the English word…

A Buried “Daytime Hotel” rediscovered in all its Art Nouveau Splendour

It was built to provide a moment of rest and rejuvenation for citizens going about their day in the big city; a temporary home away from home for travellers arriving in Milan to find their feet. Welcome to “L’Albergo Diurno Metropolitano”, which literally translates to the Daytime Metropolitan Hotel. Situated beneath Piazzale Venezia in Milan, indeed, it…

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…

Vacationing with Wes Anderson

It’s been almost two years since our “Location Scouting with Anderson” post went nuts all over the internet, and with summer fast-approaching and travel on all our minds, I thought it might be time for a new round of Wes Anderson-worthy locations – the vacation edition. So let’s check in for the night with Hollywood’s…

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, Louis XVI (AKA Louis the Last) and their posse at Versailles who were eating too much cake; the revolutionaries who kicked things off by storming the Bastille…

When They Dug up Paris

Paris in the Belle Epoque, what a fabulous time and place to have lived, right? Well, not so much. If you were living in Paris at the dawn of the 20th century, it probably would have felt more like a giant nightmarish construction site. Because the year before the city’s first underground railway line opened on 19 July…

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