The Underrated Haute Couture of Jacobean Needlework

There is bling, and then there is ye olde embroidery. Seventeenth century needlework was to the rich what, say, Alexander McQueen was for contemporary fashion. An injection of fairytale whimsy into every day life; needleworking unicorns on your bustle, and roses on your collar. Threading gold into your slippers, and gems into the cuff of…

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

1. A Silver-gilt Foot, 1450 Now in the Landes museum in Zurich. This reliquary was made c. 1450 to house a relic of one of the Holy Innocents massacred on the orders of King Herod.⁣ It is rendered as a realistic silver foot wearing a gilded sandal. Although there are some pearls and a real…

If Slim Aarons Came Back as a Painter…

The only thing better than putting your feet up, is putting your feet up in the luxury of Ignasi Monreal. The Spanish-born artist has become a darling du jour of the fashion scene in recent years thanks to his work for Gucci, Vogue, the Four Seasons (which incorporated the Ritz), and others – giving us…

We’ll Call her Story a Real-Life “Handmaid’s Tale”

She escaped the Gestapo twice – a glamorous socialite, fashion columnist, pianist and mother of two before the war, she went on to become the only woman to head an underground resistance network against the Nazi Occupation in France. She recruited 3,000 members, 24% of which were women, making it the resistant organisation with the…

The Secrets of Esoteric Paris: A Spiritualist Guide

Like a moth to a très spooky flame, esoteric figures have always flocked to Paris in pursuit of deeper, mystical truths about the universe; from medieval alchemists to cult tarot card readers; mystic bent Surrealists to a long running society of Freemasons – it’s not just the way that this city protects its esoteric heritage,…

Jesus and Kitsch: The Rise of the American Megachurch

They called him Big Butter Jesus – Sweet Cream Jesus. Sometimes, Touchdown Jesus. The nicknames for the massive statue outside Monroe, Ohio’s Solid Rock Church may have varied between dairy and football allusions, but its purpose was unflinching: bring in the people. With his arms outstretched to the heavens, conveniently off Ohio’s Interstate 75, the…

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

1. A forgotten 300SL ‘Gullwing’ sitting in a garage in Jacksonville, Florida Entombed in the dark, dusty, and rat-infested garage was a spellbinding 300SL, sitting silently, caked in dust and desperately lifeless, its once-glimmering chrome trim demounted and stored inside the musty cabin. Just the 43rd ‘Gullwing’ to leave the Mercedes-Benz factory in Stuttgart and…

A Holiday Message from MessyNessyChic

I hope you’ve been behaving, because I put in a good word with Santa for you! Without further ado, sit back for the premiere of MessyNessyChic’s first ever holiday message (inspired by Christmas rom-com movies from the late 90s, naturally)… And that’s not all! We didn’t want you to be left out in the cold doing…

The Parisian Ghost Mall Next to the Louvre

Across the street from the most-visited museum in the world where 30,000 tourists pass through everyday, there’s a 10,000m2 shopping mall dedicated to antiques, where you won’t find a soul. Le Louvre des Antiquaires, as it was inaugurated in 1978, was once a thriving retail centre for 250 luxury boutiques specialising in fine arts, jewellery,…

Oh, Just a Paris Bumble Bee Turned Influencer

Is it just us, or does the air taste a bit sweeter today? We were browsing through Instagram as per usual, when a new Paris influencer brought our scrolling to a halt. She’s not even big enough to lift a peanut, but she’ll be damned if size stifles her dreams of strolling through Montmartre, or…