Art · Observations · Pop Culture

Costume design by Jean Berain for a guitarist riding a snail, 17th century

One would like to see costumes like this at the Met Gala. In the second half of the 17th century a whole series of such characters was created for Italian comic operas. Mostly this was how lutenists might appear, sometimes in the guise of mermaids and nereids, enthroned upon fantastical

NB! · Archive · People · Pop Culture

At Home with Karl Lagerfeld, 1982

NB! · Aristocracy · Monarchies · Pop Culture · Humour

If you happen to have thirty-five to forty million roubles lying about, you might consider acquiring the tiara of Pauline Bonaparte

If you happen to have thirty-five to forty million roubles lying about, you might consider acquiring the tiara of Pauline Bonaparte. My business is merely to suggest it

Three women in pale embroidered gowns and gold jewellery, with blood on their lips, stand embracing against red drapery.

NB! · Cinema · Pop Culture

Monica Bellucci as one of Dracula's brides in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film

Monica Bellucci in one of her first film roles: one of Dracula's brides in Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula" of 1992. Beside her are Michaela Bercu and Florina Kendrick, whose names, if one is to be honest, I have never happened to hear

NB! · Observations · People · Pop Culture

Mood this evening: Lee Radziwill at home

Portrait of an older woman with a tall powdered hairstyle, wearing an order star and sash, seated at a small table with a cup.

Aristocracy · Art · Pop Culture · Humour

Words of praise for Maria Christina of Saxony

⚡️Female Version of the Laughing Mr Candy Meme Discovered. Bravo, Maria Christina of Saxony!

Black-and-white photograph of an older woman in a dark hat and coat looking at a painting of a nude in a shop window, with the street reflected in the glass.

Society · Paris · Pop Culture · Humour

Robert Doisneau's 1948 photograph “Indignant Lady” at the Galerie Romi window in Paris

Elena Mizulina Has Entered the Internet. "Indignant Lady. Shop Window, Galerie Romi, Paris", 1948, by Robert Doisneau

NB! · Aristocracy · Monarchies · Pop Culture

Pierre Casiraghi becomes ambassador for Dior menswear

Pierre Casiraghi has become an ambassador for Dior menswear. Pierre is the younger son of Caroline, Princess of Monaco and Hanover, and the Italian racing driver and businessman Stefano Casiraghi. Pierre's wife Beatrice Borromeo is one of Dior's global ambassadors, while his elder sister Charlotte Casiraghi

Cinema · Books · Pop Culture

The cover of Bauhaus's debut single Bela Lugosi's Dead: a still from the 1926 film The Sorrows of Satan, an adaptation of the incredibly popular mystical novel of the same name by the English writer Marie Corelli, naturally, about a pact with the devil…

The cover of Bauhaus's debut single Bela Lugosi's Dead: a still from the 1926 film The Sorrows of Satan, an adaptation of the incredibly popular mystical novel of the same name by the English writer Marie Corelli, naturally, about a pact with the devil. Much as

A pearl choker on a linen bust, with some beads coloured red and red glass beads falling down like drops of blood.

Pop Culture · Humour

American brand Bethroot Crystals has released the jewellery collection “Dracula’s Kiss”

A pearl necklace with spatters of blood, in the style of "Death Becomes Her" The American brand Bethroot Crystals makes very life-affirming jewellery; the collection is called Dracula's Kiss

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Pop Culture · Ethnography

It must be observed that Queen Margrethe II of Denmark wears national dress as no other European monarch can

It must be observed that Queen Margrethe II of Denmark wears national dress as no other European monarch can. Only Elizabeth II in the Balmoral tartan might rival her for the fashionable crown

NB! · Archive · Pop Culture

The idols of France Alain Delon and Édith Piaf backstage at a concert in 1959

The idols of France Alain Delon and Édith Piaf backstage at a concert in 1959. Édith was small, 147 cm tall; Delon was around 180. There were 20 years between them in age. At that moment Alain Delon had not yet played his most iconic roles, while Piaf was already