Madame de Pompadour: A Mistress to Top Them All!!

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, better known as Madame de Pompadour, was probably the most successful and influential "official mistress" in western history. She captured Louis XV's attention, along with everybody else's, with her wit, style, charm, and boundless energy. From theatre to architecture, gardening to philosophy, encyclopedias to politics, this busy lady had her fingers in just about everything at Versailles and beyond. You'll just swoon for this fascinating seductress! 

Further Reading: 

• Madame de Pompadour (biography.com)
• Madame de Pompadour (Chateau de Versailles)
• Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour (Louvre)
• Jeanne Antoinette Marquise de Pompadour - Woman of Influence (The Culture Concept)

The Secret History of Underwear!!

We're making a sexy splash with our fall premiere, because haven't you always wanted to know just what ladies have been wearing under their street clothes throughout the ages? Linen strips, breast bags, knickerbockers, and girdles, we've got you covered! (Wink.)

Further Reading:

• A History of Lingerie (Random History)
• Medieval Underwear (HistoryExtra)
• A Brief History of Underwear (Stylist)
• How to Undress a Victorian Lady in Your Next Historical Romance (Wall Street Journal)

Iris Apfel: One Chic Bird!

Iris Apfel is a 94-year-old "geriatric starlet" who has been turning heads and minds for decades. With indomitable style and grace this rare bird proves the truth of the phrase "you do you" and inspires everyone who crosses her path in the worlds of design, fashion, and culture, from presidents to students to people on the street. Business maven, style icon, teacher, designer, irrepressible old dame: Iris is one of a kind!

Further Reading:

• Style Icon Iris Apfel on Her Starring Role in a New Documentary (Vogue)
• 11 Inspiring Quotes from Fashion Icon Iris Apfel (Harper's Bazaar)
• Iris Apfel, Rare Bird (Interview Magazine)
• Iris Apfel, Fashion Darling. Aged 88. (The Guardian)
• Old World Weavers (The Peak of Chic)
• Iris, the documentary by Albert Maysles, can be found on Netflix Canada, as of this posting

The Bikini: An EXPLOSIVE History!

It turns out that the bikini has a surprisingly long and atomic history; to trace the roots of this iconic bit of swimwear Heather and Dayna head back to ancient Rome and watch women's bathing costumes shrink through the 19th and 20th centuries. Just in time for beach season!

Further Reading:

• The History of the Bikini (Elle)
• A Brief History of the Bikini (Slate)
• Beautiful, But (Sometimes) Horrible - A History of Women's Swimwear (Refinery29)
• The Bikini's Inventor Guessed How Much it would Horrify the Public (Smithsonian)
• The Fraught History of Princess Leia's Infamous Bikini (Washington Post)
• Jessica Rey: The Evolution of the Swimsuit (Q Ideas - video)