Made in Holland: The Chanel of Africa

A small town factory in the Netherlands might not seem like the obvious birthplace for African haute couture. Helmond is a place most people (Dutch or African) wouldn’t be able to point out on a map and yet, this unassuming little town is where one of the most iconic fashion brands of West and Central Africa was created. As the main…

Meet the Family with the Secret Recipe for making London’s Iconic Blue Plaques

Jimi Hendrix has one. Virginia Woolf has one. So does Karl Marx. Since 1984 all the plaques have been hand made by just one family– and they’re pretty adorable… Via Huck Magazine.

Hundreds of Awesome Vintage Sea Flags hidden away in a Museum

It’s amazing what secret treasures museums don’t display. Hidden away in the back rooms of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England are 1000’s of flags used to identify navy vessels and shipping lines throughout history. The museum is constrained by conservation and space resources but they’ve done a very good job of documenting most of them in an…

The Ghost Army of WWII that Duped Hitler

This is not a photograph of a strong man contest. That tank weighs about as much as an inflatable dingy. But what were World War II U.S soldiers doing clowning around with a blow-up tank? Actually, there was nothing funny about it; these were the brave men of a unique secret mission to intimidate and deceive…

Paris Then & Now: A City on the Edge of Freedom

Being able to walk around Paris with window vision into the past is probably up there with my top three wishes. A Parisian photographer and art director, Julien Knez, made it a reality with his remarkable before & after overlays. Tracking down the exact location of vintage photographs taken in the 1940s, Knez gives us a glimpse into Paris on…

Hockey and Swastikas

Much like the toothbrush moustache, Hitler ruined it for everyone. The swastika of course, was once a very common symbol of good luck, something a women’s hockey team competing in a male-dominated sport certainly needed at a time when most Americans believed women shouldn’t work outside the home if their husband’s held jobs. Meet the…

Borrow an East London Time Capsule House

At number 4 Princelet Street in East London, there is an 18th century yellow brick Georgian time capsule behind the Old Spitalfields Market. The double fronted merchant’s house, conserved in its original condition from top to bottom, is one of the last of the original houses to be built on the street where dozens of…

That time the Paris Metro was Segregated by a Class System

Today I pulled up an old New York Times article reporting the news that Paris’ subway system had eliminated its First and Second class carriage system. But the newspaper article wasn’t from 1950-something, it was from 1991. Image (c) Flickr, Alexandre C Forgive me, but for someone living in a country whose national motto is “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité”, and…

Preserved Moments of Historical Sass (Vol. 8)

I haven’t done one of these for a while and I think it’s about time we got the series going again. Not much to it, just me having a bit of fun curating the sassiest old school pictures I can find on net or from my inbox of pictures you’ve kindly sent in of your sassy…

Riding the Hate Bus, 1961

Before it was synonymous with hippies, peace and love, one infamous VW Combi van was riding across America to brazenly spread a message of hate. Pictured at a gas station in 1961 by LIFE photographer Joe Scherschel, the iconic vintage vehicle suddenly loses its charm … The “Hate” Bus was the disturbing idea of George Lincoln…