Weekend Conversation Starters

[Messy Nessy Chic]   How are those leftovers treating ya? Over here in France, Thanksgiving is not a national holiday, but I’ll be attending an expat feast this weekend. And while I prepare my contribution platter, I’ve been imagining an ideal Thanksgiving guest list of Americans in Paris, from past & present. Here’s who I have in mind…   - Sure, we could have Hemingway, Fitz and the ol’ gang, but this year, I’d seat myself next to Loïs Mailou Jones and her social cohort of creatives known as “The Little Paris Group”, aka, [the other Lost Generation of Black American artists in Paris](. - [David Sedaris](, a kindred spirit of the “Don’t be a Tourist” ethos. - At the head of the table, I’d probably seat none other than Josephine Baker, where she could tell us all the stories [you probably didn’t know about the icon of Les Années Folles](.  - To her right would be Madame Rachou, not technically an American, but the widowed Parisian Mami who became an unwitting mother figure to the Beat movement abroad – one that influenced post-war American culture and politics – all from her rundown little boarding house in a back alley behind the Seine that they called, [The Beat Hotel](. - Let’s not forget Natalie Clifford Barney, [the forgotten LGBT Queen of Paris]( who entertained the literati at her secret masonic temple. - And to come over early and help me decorate the dining room, I’d certainly invite the fabulous Elsie de Wolfe, [the American Marie Antoinette of pre-war Paris]( and Mr. Walter Gay, [an American Impressionist in Paris](. And as for what we’d talk about at the table, I might borrow a few cues from this weekend’s conversation starters…  Stay curious, [Nessy]  PS. Of course I’m not gonna leave you out in the cold on BLACK FRIDAY –– [everything in our store is 25% off](until the clock strikes December! Get your Christmas gifts under the tree in time and use the code “EARLYBIRDSANTA” at checkout.  [Secret Tourism: Travelling with Europe’s Nomadic Shepherds](  [13184624943_e423d54e5e_k]( It will probably sound out of character if we told you that to discover Europe’s most secret corners, you should follow the herd and keep to the beaten path, quite literally. But hear us out and grab your hiking boots because today we’re taking notes from a very small group of folks who actually plan…  [Continue Reading](   [A Brief History of Skinny Eyebrows](  [tumblr_ndr5mm9BEs1s7xduro1_1280]( Our eyebrows are arguably our most expressive, and some would even go as far as to say, dominant, facial features: they frame our faces, their expressions speak louder than words and what these non-identical twins say about the windows to our soul can be, well, rather telling, without us having to utter a word. How…  [Continue Reading](   [History’s Quietest Icon: The Many Faces Pierrot](  [tumblr_7327e1fca9ba7b764e6f3a1913eccffd_a1717845_500]( “I’m Pierrot,” once said the late, great David Bowie: “I’m Everyman”. We all know his face: white like the moon, his only friend, with sad black lines drawn around the eyes, smudged by a teardrop or two.  [Continue Reading](   [Atlanta’s Phantom of the Fox and His Secret Theatre Apartment](  [000-e-034-C]( Theatres are inherently haunted places. By night, actors tread the boards, conjuring the spirits of those who lived and those who never were. We can hardly expect all those shades to simply evaporate into the ether after the final curtain. Instead they seep into dark and secluded backstage corners – an underground lake, perhaps –…  [Continue Reading](   [13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DCXXV)](  [ezgif.com-gif-maker-24]( 1. Crow Native Americans watching the rodeo at Crow fair in Montana, 1941  [Continue Reading](  Interested in Becoming a MessyNessy Keyholder? [Apply now to unlock the Vault!](    [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [Blog]( [To read more from MessyNessyChic visit the Blog]( and make sure you keep getting these email by adding contact@messynessychic.com to your address book or whitelist us. Our postal address: In a Café, Paris 75001 Want out of the loop? [Unsubscribe](.