Dressing the Woman in Gold: The Unknown Bohemian Designer behind the Paintings

You know a Gustav Klimt painting when you see one. His gold leaf Japanese-influenced portraits of women, one of the most famous of which was the subject of a major Hollywood film (Woman in Gold), dressed in vibrant, multi-colored and almost psychedelic prints, saw him become one of the most prominent painters of his era.…

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

1. Johnny Depp’s secret hideout in his French villa And the property also has it’s own make-believe café for the kids. See the full property for sale on Sotheby’s. 2. These Pool Floats Shop on Urban Outfitters or Amazon or Larkstore. 3. Watch Jaws on the Water The Alamo Drafthouse— the movie theater…

The Secret Swimming Pools of the Paris Catacombs

It felt like the pavements of Paris could have melted these past few days. The city’s swimming pools were overflowing with splashing bodies and escape from the heat seemed futile. But there is one place, beneath the baking pavements, where only few will venture and plunge into the cool waters of the underworld. So let’s follow them…

The Neighbourhood Hippie Squat that Seceded from the European Union

The story of Freetown Christiania does, in some ways, seem like a fairy tale… a druggy, twisted, modern-day fairy tale at that, but a fairy tale nonetheless. (c) Apolasos Upon entering Christiania, Denmark, situated right in the heart of Copenhagen, a carved sign reads: You Are Now Leaving the European Union. Free town Christiania is a…

This Empty Sicilian Town is Giving away Free Houses

There are records at Ellis Island in New York showing that between 1892 and 1924, the small Sicilian town of Gangi lost about 1,700 of its residents to the American dream. They abandoned their homes to board trans-Atlantic ocean liners, sold to the prospect of a better life by shipping agents pushing emigration in the region. Those…

Meet the Original “Victoria’s Secret” Beauties of the 1920s

When looking at black and white photographs of women considered glamorous in the 1920s and early 20th century, I often find it difficult to relate to their look. Their make-up is strange and melodramatic, their hairstyles usually unflattering and even macabre; almost like there was a preference for a rather un-natural beauty. But then I came across…

London’s Lost Department Store of the Swinging Sixties

If you thought that Harvey Nichols or Harrods were the epitome of a London fashion department store, it’s time to re-introduce you to Big Biba, a fallen icon of the Swinging Sixties that redefined the High Street shopping experience… It all started in 1964, when a small-time mail order business called Biba’s Postal Boutique advertised…

The Vault

Wander through the Sicilian Village in a Cave, Frozen in Time

In the province of Trapani, Sicily, there’s a portal through time about eighty meters high and seventy meters deep. Nestled inside the natural opening of two mountain peaks, lies a tiny village, consisting of quaint earth-colored houses, a chapel, stables, workshops and one cobbled main street. The village “piazza” of Grotto Mangiapane is located at the mouth of the cave where…

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

1. Collages of Detroit: Then & Now “Not very long ago, Detroit was a rich, beautiful city, full of vibrant people. I found pictures from the previous century and combined them with the photographs I took during my most recent visit to Detroit.” – Flora Borsi. “What if these people from the past could see their…

A Compendium of Vintage Postcards from the Great American Road Trip

The annual weekends of sparklers, parades and sending your neighbours smoke signals is soon upon us, and there’s no other way I wish I could be spending the 4th of July than on the great American open road, visiting the weirdest and kitschiest roadside attractions America has to offer… However, since I’m a (half) American in…