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Category / Nostalgia

The World Wasn’t Ready for Oscar Wilde’s Fearless Illustrator

Here at MessyNessyChic, we love digging up long lost illustrations of the past to inject some creativity into our day. From the forgotten artwork found in lost Art Nouveau and Art Deco magazines to the drawing boards of the Ballets Russes; Heath Robinson’s peculiar art of over-complicating things to Errol Le Cain’s fantasy illustrations or…

The Forgotten Bohemian Queen of the Paris Art World: Leonor Fini

Bohemian “It Girl” of Paris, master of surrealist disguise and generally a badass female libertine, Leonor Fini was one of the most photographed people of the 20th century. And yet barely anyone I ask knows her name, even here in Paris, where she once ruled the bohemian Parisian art world, considered one of the few women…

Inside a Real 1970s “Hotel California”

I love the picture. I am a homosexual. Maybe if I send one of the pictures you gave to me Jim, to my nephew, he will understand how hard his uncle is struggling. Ferdinand Monette “I have the great privilege of being both witness and storyteller. Intimacy, trust and intuition guide my work,” said Jim…

A Time Traveller’s Guide to Savannah, Georgia

As 2020 comes to a close, it would appear that Georgia really is ‘on our minds’ as the southern state is set to determine which party will control the American Senate on January 5th of early next year. But how about we remove politics from the conversation and turn our attention to one of the…

Miniature Paris on your Mantelpiece

You can probably guess from that crazy header at the top of my site that I have a thing for vintage photo collages, and you know I have a thing for miniatures because there’s an entire category dedicated to teeny tiny stuff. So when I stumbled across this little eShop on a French online marketplace, I went…

Hunting for Harold Lloyd’s Legendary Christmas Ornaments

Harold Lloyd probably isn’t a name that rings many bells in the 21st century, but spoiler – he’s one of the most influential film comedians of the silent era, making up the the first trio of the silver screen’s laugh-makers, alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With his signature straw boater and round horn-rimmed glasses,…

Let’s Window Shop for French Fairytale Homes

Chateaux hunting is a veritable mood right now – the idea of quitting urban life, recruiting your best friends to go all in on the adventure and living out the rest of your days fixing up your French fortress with an endless supply of wine & cheese. There is certainly no shortage of chateaux in…

The Boy Robot of 1774

It’s hard to imagine that before the United States of America even became a country, a Swiss watchmaker had already created a machine with the capabilities of a modern programmable computer– in the form of a small boy. The 70cm-tall automaton known as “The Writer”, is an extraordinary but often forgotten anomaly of its age.…

Victorians at the Gym

Her raw enthusiasm is what really sells it for me. This photo comes from the exercise bible that was Dr. G. Zander’s Medico-mechanische Gymnastik, published in 1892. While it seemed almost certain that the gym craze was born in the 1980s along with the exercise videos of Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons, alas, it looks like our enthusiasm…

The Cult British Brand of Diana’s Iconic 80s Look is Ready for a Comeback

A new wave of Diana fashion fever comes along now and again, reminding us of how iconic the late People’s Princess truly was, be it in leg warmers or the perfect little black dress. This time, that reminder comes courtesy of Netflix’s The Crown, whose fourth season is a gem for so many reasons, but…

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