decadent Parisian fashion and literary fun (Messy Messy)

I sense a kindred outsider spirit in Messy Messy and her Parisian blog. Posting this just for fun!

October 1st, 2025   |   Read Online It Girl  When I first moved to Paris 15 years ago as a slightly hapless  twenty-something London girl, still stumbling my way into  adulthood, I became quietly obsessed with the Jane Birkin  narrative—the English ingénue who arrived as an outsider  and ultimately embodied Paris so completely. I devoured  everything I could about her through books, music, film,  old interviews, and I even procured a Birkin basket bag  of my own. I never actually wore it out of the house mind  you; it simply sat on my shelf next to my writing desk like  a good-luck talisman; a small piece of Jane’s legacy  keeping me company while I chronicled my earliest Parisian  adventures on this blog.  Fast forward to Paris Fashion week 2025, and Jane is coming  to Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, courtesy of New York Times  bestselling author, Marisa Meltzer, with her highly anticipated  new book, It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin.  I first heard whispers of a comprehensive Jane Birkin biography  at a dinner party over a year ago. By the next morning, I was  in Marisa’s inbox with a proposal that she join us for the Paris  Writers & Readers Club the moment the book was ready. And  now, with Fashion Week in full swing, the timing feels just right  to slip back into 1960s Paris after dark and revel in the untold  stories of a style icon in the making. With red wine to loosen  the conversation, we’ll wander into the deeper terrain too  — female iconography, the commodification of identity, and  how it sometimes takes an outsider to define the very essence  of a place. After all, outsiders are often the only ones who see  the codes clearly enough to break them.  It could be said that the only Paris Fashion watch party you need  an invite to is this one (tune in Thursday October 2nd, 6.30pm Paris time).  When in-person seats at the Cabinet are sold out, you’ve always go t a front row seat to join the Paris Writers & Readers Clubremotely.  Marisa will also be signing book plates, available to all to pre-order for  in-store pick up.  Now on to the Paris catwalks, but with a time machine! Rewind to discover  fashion week before the Parisian Runways, when  the peacocking spectacle was was born on the side of the racetrack.  Dive into Marie Antoinette’s closet and indulge in the  underrated influence of Erté. But if you find it hard to keep up with  the trends, how about an ode to true French fashion mavericks;  small town folk giving us some serious haute couture.  Last up, this might also be a fitting occasion to drop the first  breadcrumbs of my upcoming collaboration with Olympia Le-Tan,  the Parisian fashion house and maker of exquisitely embroidered  literary-inspired clutch bags. Five years after our  first collaboration for the Don’t be a Tourist books, this new  collection I’m calling Bibliotheque Bizarre will introduce three  clutches inspired by ‘lost literary classics’ you’ve never heard of!  And that’s all I’ll say for now. Save the date for an in-store soirée  to unveil the new collection at Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, October  21st. Stay tuned for more details.  Until then, your 13 Things await amidst your conversation starters  below, including one of my favourite interviews with Ms. Birkin at number 13.  Stay curious,  Nessy  Paris Writers & Readers Club October Salon with Marisa Meltzer, author of “IT GIRL: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin”  Author Marisa Meltzer joins us at the Paris Writers & Readers Club on the eve of the release of her highly-anticipated new book. For the occasion, she will also be signing book plates for pre-orders (in-store pick up only from Nov 6th). To join the salon remotely on October 2nd at 6.30pm, click here.  shop.messynessychic.com/products/it-girl-the-life-and-legacy-of-jane-birkin-by-marisa-meltzer-pre-order-signed-copy 13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 753)  Yves Saint Laurent in his home in Normandy, Château Gabriel, in 1980.  www.messynessychic.com/2025/09/30/13-things-i-found-on-the-internet-today-vol-753 Adored by Many, but Loved by Chanel: A Forgotten Parisian It Girl  Proust, turned her into a fictional princess and Ravel turned her into music. Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec couldn't stop painting her. Picasso was a confidante, Serge Diaghilev of the Ballets Russes, a best friend, and Coco Chanel – her "soul sister"; possibly her lover too.  www.messynessychic.com/2019/07/19/adored-by-many-but-loved-by-chanel-a-forgotten-parisian-it-girl Before Cher Horowitz had her Computer Closet, Marie Antoinette had the Wardrobe Book  Ask any millennial with a heartbeat for fashion about the 90s cult-classic film, Clueless, and watch their eyes light up as they recall Cher Horowitz (played by Alicia Silverstone) and her “way normal” morning routine of mixing and matching pieces on her desktop computer to pick out an outfit for school from her revolving dream closet. But let’s step back about two-and-a-half centuries to the bedroom of another fashion heroine, where every morning, Marie Antoinette was presented with her prized fashion bible, the Gazette des Atours, a billowing compendium of fabric swatches that represents every conceivable garment in that vast arsenal of hers, a securely colour-coded and catalogued wardrobe…  www.messynessychic.com/2021/12/03/before-cher-horowitz-had-her-computer-closet-marie-antoinette-had-the-wardrobe-book Before Parisian Runways, Fashion Week was Born on the Side of the Racetrack  In the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century, spectating at the races was a glamorous event beyond comparison. Paris’ Hippodrome de Longchamp racecourse was the place to see and be seen; it was a stage where the bold and the beautiful would strut their perfectly tailored, coiffed and manicured stuff for all to marvel at from beneath their lace parasols. The sophisticated French capitol was hands down the centre of the fashion universe. Its boulevards and grand department stores, its opera house and even the morgue (yes, you read that right) were the scenes of stylish displays of incomparable proportions. But there was arguably no greater stage than the Parisian racetrack.  www.messynessychic.com/2022/07/24/before-parisian-runways-fashion-week-was-born-on-the-side-of-the-racetrack-%ef%bf%bc Fashion’s Forgotten Bébé  Fabulous, free and fashionable, France bloomed in the 1930s. The avant-garde arts flourished, Paris was at the centre of it all and her output was bountiful. The creative giants of the day, Picasso, Cocteau, Coco Chanel, May Ray, Beauvoir and Sartre, the Lost Generation and their cultural circle basked in a warm summer evening’s glow of new culture and liberalism. But there’s one name that was very much a part of this moment, who you must meet. Bébé, aka, Christian Bérard.  www.messynessychic.com/2023/06/15/fashions-forgotten-bebe Why is Jacques Griffe not as famous as Dior?  Cast your eye over the creations of Jacques Griffe, and one can’t help but wonder why a designer so acutely gifted doesn’t also boast a couture legacy similar to that of many of his contemporaries. Griffe closed his business in the late 1960s despite earning his reputation as one of the great French couturiers of the mid-20th Century. We find shockingly little written about the life of this fashion genius, however.  www.messynessychic.com/2024/03/07/why-is-jacques-griffe-not-as-famous-as-dior The Puerto Rican Playboy who Ruled Fashion in the Decades of Decadence  To be one of “Antonio’s Girls”, as they were known, meant you were going places. You had “it”. Grace Jones, Jerry Hall, Tina Chow, Pate Cleveland and Jessica Lange are names that are much better known today than Antonio Lopez, but they were all key members of his unofficial talent school whose careers he launched into the fashion stratosphere. He is a figure with a fashion legacy to rival Andy Warhol’s influence on pop culture, but the Puerto Rico-born creative mastermind seems to have gotten stuck behind the back of history’s sofa lately.  www.messynessychic.com/2023/11/16/the-puerto-rican-playboy-who-ruled-fashion-in-the-decades-of-decadence Browse the trinkets at Messy Nessy’s Cabinet  A Cabinet of Curiosities in Paris  shop.messynessychic.com/products/handmade-chanel-memory-box

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fresh haiku and workshop updates from Anna Yin

 Dear Chris,

I trust you are well and enjoy a great weekend.

This weekend, I read my poems and showed Poetry and Music work at the Poetry for Health and Harmony event at Stratford Literary Festival.

I did the same for my haiku workshop event in PAMA (Peel Art Gallery) in Brampton.  I will visit two high schools in Oct. I plan to show a few works there.

During my haiku workshop at PAMA, I also wrote some haiku for the arts, I think you might be interested in them:

in and out

waves behind the trees

almost reach me

*

snowy dawn

walking to the market

mother’s warm hand

*

into this jail cell

echoes of another self—

no...no

*

Train history room

on the cycling tracks

a toy train hums

*

pause in the past—

scheduled train arrival

never again

*

all aboard

one after another

discovers haiku

Take care and keep writing. 

photo: Louise Liu

Vol. 3 Sophia Pearl Book Launch Sept. 29

 

View this email in your browser   Beloved, Allow yourself the pause. The rest.    The moment where you do not worry. Where you do not grieve. Where you do not even flow.    Let the waters be still.  Let it be a moment of calm.    Feel it deeply.  Be transformed.    Breathe. Beloved, Tomorrow, on my 40th birthday, I’m releasing The Sophia Pearl Oracle Book Vol. III. This volume meets you where courage is needed most - at the honest edge between your humanity & your Divinity. It’s a grounded companion for shadow work & softening, offering living transmissions of clarity & Love. You’ll also find sacred geometric images throughout, inviting quiet moments of integration as you move through the pages. If you’ve been feeling the nudge to face forward, this book is for you. Releases tomorrow. [Pre-order / Get your copy →] With Love, Megan ✨🤍   Astrological Highlights: September 28 - October 4 None Journaling Prompts for September 28 - October 4 The Sacred Pause | Integration | Renewal Integrate Last Week’s Energies (September 21 - 27): The Solar Eclipse reset devotion. Mars in Scorpio demanded depth. The Sun in Libra shifted the focus toward balance. Journaling Prompt: What is still landing from last week’s intensity & how can I hold space for it to root more fully in me?   Prepare for the Week Ahead (September 28 - October 4): This is a pause in the heavens. No major transits. An interlude to rest, breathe & notice what remains. Journaling Prompt: Where in my life do I need to create more stillness so that the integration can unfold without rush? Master the Coming Energies:   Mastery this week is not action. It is Presence. The capacity to receive the quiet as guidance. Journaling Prompt: What does the silence reveal when I stop trying to fill it? Take time to pause, My Love.  And I Love you. ~ Sophia Copyright © 2025 The Sophia Pearl, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Banished Poets Society call for poetry/Purdy Poetry Prize call for Entries

Hello Chris,  the deadline for the next newsletter is Oct. 21st

Maybe some of your outreach readers will want to contribute,

all cultures and outlooks appreciated, we need to hear their voices.

Just an e-mail to klgordonpoet@gmail.com and their mailing address is all I need.    Much appreciation from Katherine. 

                                                      ~. ~.  ~.  ~.  ~.  ~.  ~.  ~.  ~

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for the AL  AND EURITHE PURDY POETRY PRIZE   Eurithe Purdy and the Al Purdy A-frame Association (APAFA)  invite submissions for the 2026 Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize.  The $10,000 prize will recognize the most outstanding new poetry  book published in Canada in 2025 by an established poet with five  or more published poetry collections. The recipient of the 2026  prize will be announced on April 21, 2026, coinciding with the  26th anniversary of Al Purdy's passing. The shortlist will be  announced in March 2026.   Eurithe Purdy founded the Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize  in March 2024 to recognize and reward poets of distinguished  achievement who demonstrate exceptional talent and a profound  connection to the Canadian spirit, which her husband so memorably  captured in his works. The inaugural prize was awarded to  Alberta writer Sid Marty on April 21, 2024, for his book  Oldman's River: New and Collected Poems. Toronto poet  and scholar A.F. Moritz was awarded the prize in 2025 for his  collection, Great Silent Ballad,  published by House of Anansi Press.   An endowment established by Eurithe Purdy and overseen by  the APAFA will help ensure the award continues to celebrate  excellence in poetry across Canada while preserving Al  Purdy’s legacy in Canadian literature. Al Purdy is often  regarded as the "unofficial poet laureate" of English Canada,  leaving a significant mark on Canadian literature. Over his  prolific career, he authored over thirty poetry collections,  a memoir, essays, a novel, and various anthologies. His  contributions earned him the Governor General's Literary  Award twice, and he was named an Officer of the Order of  Canada and a member of the Order of Ontario. The League  of Canadian Poets also honoured him with the Voice of the  Land Award, recognizing his substantial impact on Canadian  poetry.   The deadline for submissions is Sunday, November 30, 2025.  For eligibility guidelines and entry forms, contact the prize  coordinator at prizecoordinator@shaw.ca.   - CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR 2026 AT THE AL AND  EURITHE PURDY A-FRAME, DEADLINE OCTOBER 10, 2025 The Call for Applications for residencies in 2026 in now OPEN. You can find  details about how to apply on our website: https://www.alpurdy.ca/residency/ Deadline is October 10, 2025.   FOUNDATION PROJECT Phase II   As you know from our last newsletter, in Phase I, time and funding did  not allow for finishing of the new basement space, or for remediation  of the property. During Phase II the land will be replanted to grass,  trees and shrubs and the following improvements will be undertaken:   --finishing the new lower storey --plumbing and fixture installation of kitchenette --flooring throughout the new space --cabinetry and fixtures in archive room, for Purdy materials  gifted by Eurithe Purdy, pictured below --replanting lawn throughout property --shrubbery around new foundation --new trees to replace the diseased elms that were removed --accessibility   Work will begin in November, after the residency program for 2025.  It would be ideal to have the inside work finished by March 2026  when the residency program will resume. The sooner the work is  finished the sooner we can extend our residency season. Please help us get that basement finished. https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/al-purdy-a-frame-associatio

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