Honey, I Shrunk your Designer Handbags

It’s not a knock-off if it’s reproduced on a 1:12 scale for tiny pocket-sized fashionistas, right?! And with the tiny bag trend showing no signs of slowing down, could these designer miniatures be the ultimate fashion statement? While the fashion police deliberate on that, and as fashion month returns, stop everything and marvel at the…

Now That’s What I Call a Wedding Look

A guide to wedding dress inspiration isn’t exactly the kind of thing you’re likely to find on Messy Nessy Chic. Then again, it’s not everyday that the founders of the MessyNessy team get hitched! As Nessy and Alex tie the knot this weekend, we’re holding down the fort at the MNC HQ and thought we’d…

Back to School Fashion circa 1939

No matter how many years have past since I graduated, when September 1st rolls around, it always feels like the first day back to school again. Today has been a struggle settling back into the office so I thought I’d ease myself back in, stick to my comfort zone and dive into the good old…

Where Does All Our ‘Vintage’ Clothing Really Come From?

Sifting through rails of retro basics; Levis 501’s, shearling jackets, leather belts, paisley prints; ever stopped and wondered, “Hang on, where does all this stuff come from?” Vintage shops are acquiring mainstream status in fashion retail. MessyNessy is asking where the clothes are coming from and is it all really vintage? Finding out the answer…

Lessons in Historical Male Peacocking, from Lord Gaga to the King of Afrofuturism

They’re performers. Dandies. Men with a streak of the mad poet. Writers, dancers, and professional party boys. Though these eccentrics span across generations, all share a brazen commitment to being themselves that’s made for some of the most memorable menswear moments in the 19th and 20th centuries. Long before fashion was giving the middle finger…

Who Was the Man That Almost Stole Frida’s Heart through his Lens?

Muses. Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em. That is, not without a fair degree of drama, and especially if you happened to fall into a romantic tornado with miss Frida Kahlo. For a lover to pull Frida out of orbit from Diego – the heartbeat of her world – he or she had…

Interview with the Vintage Guru of Namibia

This is why I love the internet. Today I got to chat with Loux the Vintage Guru based in Namibia, Africa, whose Tumblr site I recently discovered and fell instantly under its spell. The budding fashion designer and all-round exquisitely-dressed dude is making waves with a collective of twenty-something like-minded style innovators to promote the…

French Art Deco Dream Girls

Pochoir was a damn delicate practice, and it was inextricably bound to the star of Paris’ Golden Age of Illustration, André E. Marty. The Frenchman and his stencil-centric drawing or pochoir method defined the aesthetics of a generation, especially for the high fashion set. There was “an outpouring of luxury fashion publications that used pochoir” at the…

So This Is Where Johnny Depp Does His Shopping

If any of Johnny Depp’s characters went clothes shopping, whether it be the sea-faring Jack Sparrow, the cravat-wearing Mad Hatter, the 1930s bank-robbing John Dillinger, or Roux and his band of river gypsies from Chocolat, this would probably be the place you’d find them digging through the rails. And seeing as Johnny Depp’s personal style looks…

Remembering Lee, Jackie O’s Naughty Kid Sister

A few words of advice: at a dinner party, always sit next to a snob instead of a bore if given the choice. Chances are, you’ll at least have a laugh. When decorating a room, always start with a rug; never over-dress, and, most of all, to get outta dodge, hit the road with the…