15 49.0138 8.38624 both 0 bullet 0 4000 1 0 horizontal https://www.messynessychic.com 300 4000

Category / Inspiration Vault

The Enchanted Cities Hiding Inside Theatres

For some lucky theatregoers, a trip to see the latest B-Movie at their local picture house also means a trip across space and time. It’s all thanks to the atmospheric movie palaces and theatres of the early 20th century, whose construction brought veritable mini-cities, from old Spanish streets to lost temples of Ancient Egypt, into…

A Brief Compendium of Fascinating Archives to Explore

If there’s one thing we love, it’s sticking our nose where it doesn’t belong. Or at least, where others seldom dare to tread. Our jewel box of a planet is overflowing with secrets, stories, and forgotten treasures, and we like to try and keep a finger on the pulse of the best archives, vaults, and…

Life Lessons with Momofuku: Patron Saint of Instant Noodles and Late Bloomers

Have you ever felt like you’ve started late in life? Have you ever experienced an epic failure in your professional career and felt like giving up? That you’re “past it” and it’s “too late” to make something of yourself? Meet Momofuku Ando, none other than the eccentric character who invented instant ramen with the lofty…

The Unsung Queen of Folk, Not Just Bob Dylan’s Girlfriend

The perfectly angelic voice of Joan Baez weaves through our guard to remind us of what has been lost or perhaps what should have been found. Laments for worlds lost or yet to come, Joan will forever remind us of our common humanity. Perhaps most poignant, her haunting rendition of The Night They Drove Old…

Movie Pitches for Women the World Forgot

Their stories have been buried in the past, eclipsed by others who perhaps achieved more or possessed qualities the world deemed more important. But today, we’re meeting a few muses that fell down the back of the history’s sofa. I’m filing the result of today’s internet finds under “women to make movies about”. Princess Amélie…

America’s “Bohemian Queen”: A Sleeping Surrealist

“I am a witch, oh that’s true”, confirmed Gertrude Abercrombie to a Chicago radio host in 1977, the year she died. In truth, the strangest thing about Gertrude Abercrombie is that she isn’t a household name among the Surrealist greats of the 20th century. Sure, she wore pointy hats, cast spells, lived in a spooky…

Tune into the Forgotten Dial-a-DJ Jukeboxes of Yesteryear

Isn’t she a beauty? I had one of those hallelujah moments while browsing the collectible pages of Ebay today when I came across this seldom seen “Empire State Building” jukebox circa 1935. Invented by Ken Shyvers, the same guy who invented pinball machines, the Shyvers Multiphone is about 50cm tall with a 19cm square base and…

Who Was the Love Doctor of Belle Epoque Paris?

Dr. Samuel Pozzi may be a father of modern gynaecology, whose name is still tied to a pair of surgical scissors used to operate on fallopian tubes around the world today (the pozzi forceps), but his story would be much better placed in a steamy romance novel than a medical textbook. The “disgustingly handsome” celebrity…

The Lost Art and Innovation of Milk Plastic

Got milk? Pour yourself a glass and gulp down some little-known history about the household staple. In the early decades of the 20th century, milk was commonly used to make many plastic ornaments, including jewellery, gemstones, buttons, decorative buckles, fountain pens, fancy comb and brush sets and even piano keys. Milk plastic was even used to adorn Chanel’s…

Struck with Style: Lightning Rod Fashion of the 18th Century

Unfathomably whacky fashions have seen the light over the ages. Take the perilous hobble skirt of the early 1910s that deliberately impeded its wearer’s ability to walk, or the gentleman’s codpiece that drew eyes to his genital area for most of 16th century Europe. We’ve dug up yet another surprising fashion trend of yore courtesy…

NEWER POSTS 1 … 13 14 15 … 211 OLDER POSTS