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

1. Human nature, or, Men and Women Exposed, 1901 A forgotten book, found and digitised on Archive.org. 2. A Life Magazine illustration predicting the fashion of the future, 1914 Found on Reddit. 3. Airline reservations before computers, 1945 (And apparently before we changed the spelling of “flights.”) Found on Twitter. 4. Reaching the Midpoint while…

But Did You See the Holiday Windows at the Macy’s of Moscow?

As much as we moan about holiday decorations going up too early every year, there’s something about perusing those eye-catching window displays that somehow manages to yank us back to childhood as we stand before them in our wooly hats, like moths to a flame. So maybe you thought Bloomingdale’s, Saks or Macy’s were the…

Before the Pencil Skirt, there was the Hobble Skirt

Fashion has always had the uncanny ability to mimic the drama of life, there’s no doubt social norms, political shifts and cultural changes are reflected in what we wear. Die-hard fashionistas, sociologists and anthropologists alike tell us clothes are our social armour, they mirror how we choose to interact with the world. Having said that,…

Human Computer: The Forgotten Women’s Profession

For hundreds of years, the term “computer” was a job title for a human before machines took over the job, and in the late 19th century, computers weren’t just human, they were mostly women. An English Countess and Victorian mathematician, Ada Lovelace, is regarded as the first computer programmer and by World War II, American…

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

1. The world’s first publicly accessible art museum storage facility Offering an entirely new type of experience for museum-goers and art lovers in the Netherlands, the art storage facility in Rotterdam’s Museumpark, which will open to the public in autumn 2021, has been built to house the art collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in one place…

A Brief Compendium of Historical Karens

2020 was called “the year of Karen”. The meme undoubtedly reached its height during the pandemic, but the concept itself is arguably nothing new. In the antebellum era, there was “Miss Ann”, widely used amongst the African-American community to refer to European-American women (or sometimes Black women) who were arrogant, “uppity” and condescending in their attitude,…

Artist du Jour: The Bohemian Moments of Józef Mehoffer

Today we’re escaping a gloomy fall afternoon with a visit to the colourful, extravagant world of Józef Mehoffer. Care to join us in our virtual art gallery? Born in 1869 in what was then Austro-Hungary, Mehoffer studied art in Krakow, Vienna, and Paris. He led the Young Poland movement, a group of artists formed around…

The Macaroni Club: Fashion History’s Forgotten Drag Subculture?

There’s a famous American song “Yankee Doodle” – you might’ve heard of it – the lyrics go like this: “Yankee Doodle went to town, A-riding on a pony, Stuck a feather in his cap, And called it macaroni.” The familiar patriotic tune was in fact created by the British to mock the Americans during the…

The Wicked Art Nouveau Illustrations of Mr. Wilke

“Art Nouveau – but make it spooky.” That’s Karl Alexander Wilke (1879-1954) in a nutshell. When first we found the Austrian-German illustrator, who carved out his own delightfully eerie corner of Art Nouveau artworks through clever magazines covers and adverts, we were suitably jazzed. Quite frankly, we’re pleasantly slack jawed that some of these babies…

Ode to the Asian-American Faces in the Shadows of Hollywood’s Golden Age

Silver screen icon Anna May Wong is likely the only Asian-American actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood that any of us have heard of. From the dearth of information on any other Asian-American actress, it may seem as if Wong was all alone. But contrary to what mainstream narrative would have you believe, there…