For decades now fashion has taken the world by storm, but at certain times a piece of clothing or accessory was released and it’s safe to say it stood out for the wrong reasons.

1. Jumpsuits

Originally designed for small children or mechanics, only for a fashion expert to realize that these could be worn by anyone, the release of jumpsuits sent somewhat of fashion craze around the world.

To describe it in a polite way, a jumpsuit is a piece of clothing to which you put your legs in as well as your arms, asking someone to zip you up and then basically staying in the thing until the end of the night, very much like a baby in an all-in-one sleeper.

Attractive, right?

2. Shellsuits

Towards the end on the 1980s, the shellsuit was released and became an infamous piece of clothing in the world of fashion.

A tracksuit-style piece of clothing consisting of a zip-front jacket with matching pants often in garishly bright colours, not only were they unpleasant to look at, but their nylon based fabric made them unpleasant to touch, too.

3. Fanny Packs

For people who aren’t sure how to use pockets, fanny packs were released in the late 1980s and their popularity carried on through to the early 90s, resulting in a trend amongst millions.

Although simply an extra pocket or two, fanny packs were massively popular not just with the general public, celebrities, too and at one point it seemed everyone was sporting one – including children.

4. Leg warmers

Often worn during the summer by women, leg warmers first came into fashion in the early 1980s (there’s a common theme running here with fashion and this decade), particularly amongst teenage girls and originally, those people in the health and fitness industry.

Although they – fortunately – died out after a few years, they’ve started to see a resurgence in recent years, much to the horror of the children’s parents who wore them the first time around.

5. Parachute Pants

Also known as hareem or harem pants, this piece of clothing became popular to the world when they were by MC Hammer in his hit song “Can’t Touch This”.

The overall look of parachute pants is that the wearer has a pair of paints that are four sizes bigger than required, but this didn’t stop people wearing them in the late 1980s, although the novelty soon wore off.

Like leg warmers, however, they have – whether you love them or hate them – have started to see a rise in popularity once more in the last few years, along with a whole host of 1980s fashion pieces and statements.

Photo by Ro / wererabbit

Barbie

Barbie is a doll that recently celebrated her 50th anniversary. She’s a real fashionista with a lifestyle that became a trend! The first Barbie was made in 1959 and gained enormous popularity ever since. That doll is known all over the word and probably the only doll that has so many different types. The look of Barbie dolls was changed over the years starting with the color of the hair and her skin to the millimeters of her waist and breasts. Until the late 90s Barbie had a super-model-like figure, but numerous complaints about it giving an unrealistic idea to girls of healthy body proportions led to changes to her figure. Her waist got wider and breasts were reduced. But that was not the first (though the most common) and guaranteed not the last complaint. Though Mattel (the toy company that produces Barbie dolls) has also started numerous law suits, the most famous are against Nissan who used Barbie lookalike dolls in one of their commercials and a suit against the Danish pop-group Aqua who released a song called “Barbie girl” in 1997.

The Barbie wardrobe is another topic altogether. Even the world’s top designers were creating clothes for Barbie. In 2009, during Barbie’s 50th birthday celebration a runway show was held in New York for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Fifty well-known haute couturiers including Diane von Fürstenberg, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Bob Mackie, and Christian Louboutin were showcasing their styles for Barbie dolls. That doll still remains one of the most popular one with over a billion copies sold. And young ladies continue to play in a happy pink American dream via a Barbie world.

Photo by sagespot

Photo by Angelina

Photo by Charles (dollstuff.net)

Photo by Cade

Bratz

Bratz are the first dolls that were able to compete with the popularity of Barbie. Though Mattel maintained the leading brand by selling dolls and accessories, 2005 figures showed that sales of Barbie dolls had fallen by 30% in the United States, and by18% worldwide. And much of the drop was being attributed to the popularity of Bratz dolls. Of course the Bratz could not appear on the market quietly. Mattel sued MGA Entertainment for $500 million, alleging that the creator of Bratz — Carter Bryant — was working for Mattel at the time he created the look of the Bratz dolls. After several months the courts decided that MGA was to pay Mattel only US $100 million in damages, citing that only the first generation of Bratz had infringed on Mattel property and that MGA had evolved the product significantly enough to be considered a totally different product.

But about the dolls themselv, Bratz are 4 girls – Jade, Yasmin, Sasha and Cloe. According to their story they are the most typical teenagers. The 4 girls/dolls are all about fashion, music and fun at the same with respect to their duties and families. Bratz dolls have a huge collection of clothes and shoes as well. But what makes them stand out is their appearance: bright make up on the doll faces, huge almond-shaped eyes, large heads, and skinny bodies.

Photo by callme_crochet

Photo by callme_crochet

Photo by BratzLuv!®

Photo by callme_crochet

Photo by callme_crochet

Photo by Nina`H

Mooqla dolls

Mooqla dolls are very unusual dolls created by a Russian designer, Polina Voloshina. The dolls are made out of silicone and plastic. The clothes and accessories are also made by Polina’s team. What makes the dolls differ from the rest are their faces: they do not have typical doll faces — they look like ladies with exotic and edgy faces, but at the same time very sexy ones. Each has its unique style and attitude. That is another distinguishing aspect of Mooqlas — each doll has it own story. The only similar part from one to the next is that they are daughters of very rich people, usually politicians, and were sent to study in a very expensive private school. Each story has mystical parts. One girl prefers to stay alone and talk to herself (or not to herself?), one adores guns, another wears only cosmic clothes, and so on.

What also brings attention to Mooqla is how they are presented: for each Mooqla girl there was a professional photo session and they really do not look like dolls there.

These dolls are not made for kids. The customers of Mooqla brand are mostly women from 20 to 35. And to tell you the truth mostly not even middle class ones. The dolls are pretty expensive: $350-$500 per doll. But the price is reasonable for the idea and its fulfillment.

Photos from http://mooqla.com/

Matryoshka

Matryoshka is another Russian handcrafted doll, but with a surprising filling. It is also know as a Babushka doll or Nesting doll, though the name Matryoshka is probably one of the few Russian words that every foreigner understands. That doll is the most popular of all Russian souvenirs.

The Matryoshka is a wooden doll without any concrete parts of its body – it has no hand or legs – the head smoothly turns into the body that only gives an illusion of the body. It’s usually dressed in a brightly colored dress. The more traditional dolls were dressed in a Russian native costume with a scarf on the head. And the secret of the Matryoshka is that if you pull it apart there will be another doll inside with another inside and so on. The number of the dolls inside varies from 5 to 12, but that is not the limit. The traditional Martyoshka dolls are all totally the same inside. But nowadays they are mostly done to be different from the top one. And the design of the dolls is starting to vary. The shape is the same, but it is not only a Russian woman anymore, sometimes not even a human. You can see presidents, dictators, cartoon characters, Star Wars robots, or couture models. As for the last one, the Matryoshka is often used as a print or the idea for couture collections and due to the 10th anniversary of the Russian Vogue Martyoshka had a chance to try on unique clothes from the world’s top designers like Prada, Marc Jacobs, Kenzo, Burberry, Yves Saint Laurent, Sonya Rykiel, and others.

Photo by sublime cowgirl – tanja stark

Photo by hownowdesign

Photo by frangipani photograph

Ugly Dolls

Ugly dolls is a collection of design plush toys. They were created by 2 designers — David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim. The history of their creation is really romantic. David and Sun-Min were dating and when she had to return to Korea for some time he was sending her short “I miss her letters” signed with his newly created character Wage. Sun-Min decided to make a present for her future husband and sewed a plush version of Wage and sent it to David. He showed it to his friends and it was a hit! So Sun-min sewed several more, and more.

The first Ugly dolls were sold out in one day at the Giant Robot store in Los Angeles. And so the mass production began.

Now there are over 20 characters and not only plush ones. The little cute “uglies” became really popular with kids and the grownups as well, and can bring a lot of true joy even by using them as a small part of your décor.

Photo by Piero Sierra

Photo by mwboeckmann

Photo by Andy Woo

Photo by mwboeckmann

Photo by Cayusa

Photo by mwboeckmann

Photo by mwboeckmann

Porcelain Dolls

Porcelain dolls are generally dolls for grown ups. No, of course they were made for children and were greatly loved by little girls originally. But nowadays the huge interest in these dolls is mostly from the side of collectors. They truly love the dolls and accept their porcelain dolls as a part of the family.

All dolls created before approximately 1930 are considered antique. There are many factors that affect the value of porcelain dolls. The condition of the porcelain dolls will most certainly determine their value. The porcelain dolls face should be bright, with even coloring on the doll body. The first thing to remember is that they were played with, dressed and redressed, bodies sometimes worn out, patched and replaced. Stained or significantly worn porcelain dolls or dolls not presented in the original costume would be less valuable and generally less desirable.Many books, guides and specialized porcelain doll magazines provide information about manufacturers, trademarks, and model numbers and include size charts to assist in identifying your collectible dolls.

Photo by Jennerally

Photo by The Starry Eyed

Photo by Dire Penguin

Photo by Irina Souiki

Photo by ForgottenGenius

Bobblehead Dolls

Bobblehead dolls – also known as nodders or wobblers – are the classic collectibles. They are thought to date back at least 150 years. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected to the body by a spring in such a way that a light tap will cause the head to bobble.

Bobble head dolls were first believed to be referenced in 1842 in the short story “The Overcoat” by writer Nikolai Gogol. The story is also known as “The Cloak” and has been adapted to film and stage. The main character’s neck was described in that story as “like the necks of plaster cats which wag their heads”.
In the 1920s, a New York Knicks basketball player bobblehead was produced, and this created a renewed interest in the collectible. However, by the 1930s, interest had again waned, and from that point until the 1950s they were only produced in very limited numbers as novelty items. The modern bobblehead appeared in the 1950s.You can find cartoon characters, sport or movie stars or just animals. A lot of drivers put a bobblehead doll in the car. And now we can also enjoy the bobbles on solar batteries. Such smiley heads raise your mood every time the sun reaches the figure.

Photo by .jowo

Photo by athena1970

Photo by alvarezperea

Photo by Scott Ableman

Photo by PLCMC training account

Photo by Carol Browne

Photo by Giancarlo D’Alessandro

American Girl Dolls

American Girl dolls are a line of dolls and accessories that represent a special place and time in American history. Each doll has a series of historically accurate books written about them. The Historical Characters were initially the main focus of Pleasant Company that produces the dolls. The dolls are to teach aspects of American history through the book series from the perspective of a nine year old girl living in that time period (the dolls are made to look like a 9-11 yeas old girl). Although the books are written for pre-teen girls, they endeavor to cover significant topics such as child labor, racism, alcoholism, war, and many more social issues. The first 3 dolls were Molly, Kirsten and Samantha. And later about 15 characters were created that differed by skin, eyes, and hair color. Though the dolls are not inexpensive ones, many families save up in order to purchase an American Girl doll and her clothing and accessories, or doting grandmothers often buy a little girl her first doll for a birthday or special holiday such as Christmas. The dolls gained vast popularity; they are collected and played with by little girls and their moms!

Photo by 2Eklectik

Photo by 2Eklectik

Photo by schnaars

Photo by yuan2003

Photo by Malingering

Photo by ohsohappytogether

Voodoo Dolls

Voodoo is a powerful mystical practice that takes its origin from Africa. Voodoo means “Spirit of God.” The use of Voodoo dolls is not done to control others, but to focus one’s energy into positive and constructive ways and for magic. It started spreading from the African continent to other parts of the world during the centuries of slavery and a growing interest in traveling.

Voodoo is not a form of the Black Arts. When a large number of people in Africa contracted an infectious disease, the healers were called upon and had to treat people without touching them. At that time, spells were chanted into the Voodoo dolls which were used to dispel the sickness. The Voodoo doll is used to represent the spirit of a specific person. You can address the doll, requesting a change in attitude, influencing the person to act in accordance with your desires.

Most practitioners of Voodoo typically do not use pins in Voodoo dolls and when pins are used, they are used as focusing tools for healing and other positive purposes. And each color of the pin means a different emotion or a feeling:

• Red | Power
• Yellow | Money
• Green | Tranquility
• Blue | Love
• Purple | Spirituality
• Black | Pain/Relief/Healing/ Repelling negativity
• White | Positive Energy/ Good Karma
• Pink = Death

And nowadays Voodoo dolls are mostly used for fun, to scare your boyfriend or just as a cute key-chain.

Photo by elasticcamel

Photo by elasticcamel

Photo by KhayaL – “Love is a decision – not an emotion”

Photo by imNickle

Photo by rhoftonphoto

Photo by Anetta – so busy right now @_@

Paper dolls

Paper dolls are dolls that are cut out of paper. The doll itself is just a figure that is dressed in underwear. The clothes are usually held onto the dolls with folding tabs. The doll, with several outfit options, is placed on one sheet of paper and can be easily cut out with scissors. Basically the paper doll has been the most inexpensive toy for over 2 hundred years. In Europe, particularly France, the first paper dolls were made during the mid 1700s. They were intended to entertain adults and spread throughout high society.

In America paper dolls were more valued for fun. Paper was an expensive resource and was rarely wasted on fun. So if a kid could get a paper doll he/she would have treasured it between book pages or in a “safe-box.” Only later when paper became less of a luxury due to the invention of the mechanical grinding machines, were dolls mass produced and available for all kids.

Vintage paper dolls were hand painted. In America, Civil War widows often earned money by embellishing the printed paper dolls.

Paper dolls have regained popularity with young children featuring popular characters and celebrities.

Photo by *Megumi*

Photo by bradjreynolds

Photo by bradjreynolds

Photo by golauglau

Photo by perpetualplum

Photo by crackedmoon

Photo by Vagamundos

There has been a lot of discussion in the comments for Women in Art – Illustrations, Part 1. As a rule, both male and female artists tend to depict women and girls as sexually attractive. I was curious to see how men tended to be portrayed in similar artwork. Frankly speaking I expected to see muscled hot bodies, heroes, bantams, and characters that depict man’s strength, will, bravery, etc. But that wasn’t the case! First, there seemed to be 20 times fewer illustrations of men versus women. Second, no one seems to illustrate men simply as men. The collection below shows different approaches to how men are featured in artistic illustrations, but you’ll see what I mean. Enjoy and share your thoughts with us!

Illustration by Cristiano Siqueira

Illustration by Gavin Ho

Illustration by Further

Illustration by Kdu Gama

Illustration by Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi

Illustration by Stefanos Totis

Illustration by Antonis Theodorakis

Illustration by The Little Rose

Illustration by Paulo Brabo

Illustration by TinyPilot

Illustration by kato0

Illustration by livingrope

Illustration by sandara

Illustration by acidkoolaid

Illustration by Josic

Illustration by Kazuse

Illustration by this-is

Illustration by Dand01

Illustration by Goblin

When I was small I saw some paintings in my grandma’s house. They were pretty typical — reproductions of paintings of some famous artists. It’s not that I didn’t like them, but only now do I truly understand how many talented artists are really out there. I can find something that’s dear to my heart and I don’t have to buy a painting just because the original artist is famous. There are more options available to us. The surreal and strange paintings here in this collection help us visualize something beyond what we consider “normal” — they allow us to imagine alternate realities, dreams, and even nightmares. The artists use different techniques and mediums, and some of the works rather remind me of illustrations or 3D graphic design work. Still, I love the diversity and I hope you will enjoy them as well.

Ian Francis

Website: www.ifrancis.co.uk

Casey Weldon

Website: www.caseyweldon.com

Jason Graham

Website: www.jasongraham.wearelowercase.com

Dennis Brown

Website: www.behance.net/Bags43

Dilka Bear

Website: www.flickr.com/photos/dilkathebear/

Jacob Livengood

Website: www.jacoblivengood.blogspot.com

Helen Mirosedina

Website: www.mirosedina.com

David MacDowell

Website: www.macdowellstudio.com

Felix Girard

Website: www.felixgirard.com

Eli Tiunine

Website: www.elitiunine.com

Tuomas Ikonen

Website: www.tuomasikonen.com

Wei Yan

Website: www.kokomoo.blogbus.com

Sergey Ryzhov

Website: www.sneak-behind-me.livejournal.com

Alex Andreyev

Website: www.alexandreev.com

After seeing the wonderful discussions and comments related to our first “Women in Art” illustrations, I wanted to publish a second post featuring works created solely by female illustrators. You’ll get to see a completely different vision and absolutely different approach. As opposed to male illustrators, I couldn’t find a whole set devoted to the beauty of women, but rather just an occasional illustration here and there in portfolios of artists. For future posts I’ve decided to explore a “Men in Art” theme, so come back for that — hopefully I’ll be able to find at least a few works to share with you again soon!

Samira Yanushkova

Website: www.samira.com.ua

Narani Kannan

Website: www.naranikannan.com

Chelsea Greene

Website: www.mysite.pratt.edu/~clewyta/

Natalie Ratkovski

Website: www.floaty.de

Camilla d’Errico

Website: www.camilladerrico.com

Anya Sokolova

Website: www.free-lance.ru/users/bat/

Hanna Viktorsson

Website: www.hannaviktorsson.com

Gloria Pizzilli

Website: www.gloriapizzilli.blogspot.com

Yuta Onoda

Website: www.yutaonoda.com

Elena Dolgova

Website: www.albicocca.ru

Antonella Spagnoli

Website: www.behance.net/antonellaspagnoli

Victoria Celujko

Website: www.free-lance.ru/users/mutabor/

Ana Gomez

Website: www.anenocena.com

Sophie Varela

Website: www.sophievarela.com

Nevena Nikolcheva

Website: www.neni-nen-nen.blogspot.com

Natalie Illarionova

Website: www.free-lance.ru/users/natsa

Avita Flit

Website: www.behance.net/avita

Iana Clochkova

Website: www.free-lance.ru/users/CUBALIBRE/

Every artist sees the world differently and depicts his special and unique vision in all of the artwork he creates. This collection of contemporary artists’ illustrations demonstrate this through the photography, photomanipulation, and illustration of women. Here we present the illustrations of 13 artists and designers. You won’t see the same approach twice. Be unique and enjoy the world you help create!

Tony Ariwan

Website: www.area105.com

Geliografic

Website: www.geliografic.com

Aeiko

Website: www.supercombo.co.uk

Cristiano Siquiera

Website: www.crisvector.com

Adrian Knopik

Website: www.behance.net/RARRFC

Lock Sin

Website: www.behance.net/iamLOCKSIN

Alberto Seveso

Website: www.burdu976.com

Adam Spizak

Website: www.spizak.com

ISE Ratinan Thaijareorn

Website: dieeis.wordpress.com

Raphael Vicenzi

Website: www.mydeadpony.com

Yu Cheng Hong

Website: www.yuchenghong.com

Radim Malinic

Website: www.brandnu.co.uk

Alena Lavdovskaya

Website: www.lavdovskaya.com

The Interlace Project by Oma

Website: http://www.oma.eu
The Interlace house design in Singapore is a mind-blowing project by Oma (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), and they just unveiled the latest plans about a month ago. This giant six-story complex will consist of 31 stacked apartment blocks with 170,000sqm of gross floor area for 1,040 apartments.

LoftCube Project

Website: http://www.loftcube.net
LoftCube is a small, nice, and very comfortable mobile house with a customized design of the four window spaces and the gross living area of 39 sqm / 420 ft. You can build it right on the roof of a house quite quickly and enjoy the scenery (of course if you can get permission to build it there). You can find a pretty interesting video on how the LoftCube prototype was built at http://www.loftcube.net

Makao Homes For Slums Of Nairobi By Jennifer Margell

Website: http://www.jennifermargell.com
Makao by Jennifer Margell is a prototype of modular homes for the slums of Nairobi. Made of recycled materials, the houses are quite affordable and the modular system allows for custom configurations. The roof collects and filters water and can also be opened to release heat. The hollow plastic walls are filled with mud for insulation and some parts of the homes are made from recycled frosted panels.

House On The Water by Formodesign

Website: http://www.formodesign.pl
The House on the Water by Formodesign is a real piece of art. Designed as a rental house for people who don’t want to be disturbed, it has all the comfort of an on-shore building. It is located by Navagio Beach, NW coast of the Greek island Zante.

Upside-Down House in Germany

This unique and quirky upside-down house in Germany was created by two talented Polish designers as a part of the “The World Upside Down” project. Every piece of furniture is upside-down and, though the house is big enough to be lived in (it even has a bathroom), you can’t obviously live there. The house is situated in the town of Trassenheide on Germany’s Baltic Sea island of Usedom and is open as a tourist attraction.

Haines Shoe House

The Shoe House was built in 1948 by a Mahlon N. Haines for advertising purposes. Haines walked up to an architect, handed him an old work boot, and said “build me a house like this.” Thank God he didn’t own an adult toys company!

Cocoon by Bellemo & Cat

Website: http://www.bellemocat.com
Not very attractive from the outside, the Cocoon by Bellemo & Cat is actually pretty cozy. It’s situated in a bushy coastal hamlet on the Great Ocean Road and opens on one side to a magnificent landscape. Though the project is interesting and unique, any other construction could probably easily replace it.

Nunnmps by Cheungvogl

Website: http://www.cheungvogl.com
Nunnmps, by Hong Kong architects Cheungvogl, is one of those tremendous projects meant to save nature. What you see in the picture is the design of a research studio on stilts for Chicago, Illinois. The studio construction will be elevated both to preserve the surrounding natural habitat and protect the secrecy of the research while a reception area and administration office will be below on ground level overlooking the lake.

The Shard in London

Website: http://www.shardlondonbridge.com

The Shard is a super tall glass skyscraper in London. Not much to say — the building looks terrific and at the same time very sophisticated. When completed in 2012 it will be the tallest building in the United Kingdom and one of the tallest buildings in Europe!

Solar Shanghai Pavilion Made From Used CD Cases

The Shanghai World Expo 2010 will feature a building made from recycled CD cases, built by Atelier Feichang Jianzhu. That’s a great example of how otherwise useless things can be reused! The CD cases have been transformed into transparent polycarbonate tubes arranged in a grid-like matrix, and they will be used in the construction. The Shanghai Corporate Pavilion also features a solar energy system and multi-colored LED lights so, when complete, the building will resemble a big shining cube.

Lego House by James May

The Lego House was built as part of the BBC series called James May’s Toy Stories in which the TV presenter took Britain’s best-loved toys and used them in new adventures. The idea for this house came spontaneously when having beer with friends — James and others were discussing what they dreamed of building from Legos when they were kids. And from there, the Lego House was built from millions of small pieces… to be demolished just weeks after completion for James May’s Toy Stories show. Legoland didn’t want it and the used LEGO blocks will be donated to charity.

Photos from www.dailymail.co.uk

Image and Audio Museum in Rio de Janeiro

Website: http://www.dillerscofidio.com
The Museum of Image and Sound, designed by Diller Scofidio+Renfro looks like a big steel and glass example of origami. Construction will be finished some time in 2011. Speaking of origami, on the website they show you how to make it from paper.

New Orleans Arcology Habitat- NOAH

Website: http://www.ahearnschopfer.com/schopfer/planning/noah/index.html
New Orleans Arcology Habitat or NOAH was designed in an effort to rebuild the city. This structure will be a safe place for its residents no matter what happens and it can resist any natural disasters. NOAH proposes to be a habitat for 40,000 residents and will include residential units, a school system, commercial and retail outlets, hotels, casinos, parking, and public works facilities.

OMA’s Design For MahaNakhon Unveiled

Website: http://www.oma.nl
The 77 story MahaNakhon (also known as the pixel tower) will be the tallest building in Thailand’s capital. That’s an interesting concept and will definitely be loved by thousands of graphic designers.

Mercury House One by Architecture and Vision

Mercury House One is a big computer mouse living room by multinational firm Architecture and Vision. It’s designed to be easily transportable — kind of useless but still an exciting approach to the design.

Life in Plastic by Moomoo Achitects

Website: http://moomoo.pl
Here’s an amazing example of Polish modern architecture by Moomoo Architects. Scheduled for completion in 2010 in Lodz, Poland, this unconventional house design takes a modern approach to traditional Polish homes.

Cottbus University Library by Herzog & DeMeuron

The castle from the distance — this is the Cottbus University Library by Herzog & DeMeuron. The seven upper and two basement levels of the library are all different in design and the brightly-colored spiral staircase makes study seem like fun.

University Duisburg-Essen Bibliosphere

Can you imagine that’s really a library that you see in the pictures below? I guess that was the only way to make students read — make them think they are going to some cool night club!

If you’ve ever wondered what prison life would be like, you’ll enjoy this photo tour of the world’s famous prison museums. Get a glimpse into the far, and not-so-distant, past lives of prisoners.

Disclaimer — All photos are from third parties and DirJournal.com makes no assertion that these photos are unedited. Some photos have been obviously Photoshopped / edited for effect, some may have been visually enhanced, and others showcase models (not real prisoners).

Robben Island Prison — Robben Island, South Africa

Robben Island Prison, located near Cape Town, was a place of imprisonment for over 400 years. It was a perfect place to lock up political troublemakers and social outcasts, and you can still feel the atmosphere of despair inside these prison walls.

Photo by mr_mayer

Photo by geoftheref

Photo by ewebber

Photo by tall bru

Abashiri Prison Museum — Abashiri City Hokkaido, Japan

The Abashiri Prison was in use until 1984. Presently you can see models of prisoners throughout the prison museum showing the prisoners’ daily lives in Abashiri. The models kind of tone down real prison life though, giving us a definite feeling that this is not real.

Photo by peta_peta

Photo by hwkbk

Photo by peta_peta

Photo by JanneM

Adelaide Gaol — Thebarton, South Australia

Adelaide Gaol was built in the mid-1800s and closed in 1988. During that time, over 300,000 prisoners were kept here. Nowadays the visitor center includes a museum with lots of interesting artifacts dating back to the Gaol’s early years.

Photo by grumpypop51

Photo by georgiegirlis

Photo by Mowling

Photo by Squirmelia

Maitland Gaol — East Maitland, NSW, Australia

Maitland Gaol is the longest continuously operating correctional institution in Australia with a 150-year history. The first prisoners arrived here in 1848, and the Gaol was closed in 1998. On my personal opinion it never should have been opened as a museum. You’ll understand what I mean when you’ll take a look at the photos. They are much too outspoken to be exhibited.

Photo by yewenyi

Photo by OZinOH

Photo by OZinOH

Photo by OZinOH

Photo by AugustusGloop

Photo by AugustusGloop

Old Melbourne Gaol — Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Old Melbourne Gaol has a long history. It was opened in 1839 and was closed in 1929. Throughout these years people lived their lives inside its walls. Though the prison still looks the way it used to be, the building itself has a certain romance. The prison was designed by British prison engineer Joshua Jebb, and the Old Melbourne Gaol closely reminds me of the Pentonville Model Prison in London.

Photo by Leong Soong

Photo by Leong Soong

Photo by Nick Hawke

Photo by jedidiplomat

Model Prison Museum — Reparto Chacon, Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba

The Model Prison Museum is not that famous in US, but it’s a Cuban national monument. It was built in 1931, and imprisoned the likes of Fidel Castro along with other revolutionaries.

Photo by alpine diver

Photo by alpine diver

Clink Prison — South Bank, London, UK

The Clink Prison was owned by the Winchester Bishops, and thus mostly religious offenders and debtors were imprisoned here. The prison burned down in the Gordon Riots of 1780, but the Clink Museum

still paints a realistic picture of prison life in the middle ages for tourists. Interesting exhibitions and old weapons make you feel almost like you’re in a castle rather than an old prison.

Photo by jbparker

Photo by mehrnoosh kalashi

Photo by Wayne Huzzey

Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial — Dachau, Germany

Much has been said and written about the Nazi concentration camps. Such places will never be alive again. Thousands of people were killed, and thousands of people died from depletion. It was the first Nazi concentration camp, and served as a model for later camps. Though Dachau was not an extermination camp the suffering of the prisoners will always live in its walls. In one of the photos you will see the crematory. Those who couldn’t work were no longer fed. They died from hunger and were then burnt in this room.

Photo by gio.moi

Photo by Jared reyes

Photo by Jared reyes

Photo by MikasPics

Photo by AngelaC2009***

Photo by MikasPics

Alcatraz — San Francisco, CA, USA

Chances are good that you’ve heard about Alcatraz. Probably America’s most famous prison, Alcatraz operated as a federal prison from 1934 until 1963. That might not be long compared to most of the prisons on our list today, but its rich history definitely makes this prison-turned-museum worth the mention.

Photo by Dizzy Atmosphere

Photo by Albert & Debbie

Photo by CatDancing

Photo by haglundc

Photo by Donncha @ InPhotos.org

Photo by Amin Tabrizi

Eastern State Penitentiary — Philadelphia, PA, USA

Eastern State Penitentiary was opened in 1892. It’s considered to be the world’s first true penitentiary — a prison designed to inspire penitence in the hearts of convicts. It was used as a model for about 300 other prisons around the world and was closed in 1971, opening its doors now as a museum (and a popular yearly Halloween attraction).

Photo by Synaesthesia

Photo by Synaesthesia

Photo by Synaesthesia

Photo by J Blough

Photo by J Blough

Fremantle Prison — Fremantle, Western Australia

The Fremantle Prison was built by convicts in the 1850s and was closed as a place of incarceration in 1991 after 136 years of continuous use. It was opened to the public in 1992 as a tourist site. I don’t feel like visiting it on my own though — the photos are enough give me the full picture of that sorrowful place.

Photo by Madfish WA

Photo by telex

Photo by mstephens7

Photo by garry.pettet

Photo by garry.pettet

Photo by le_sloth

Huron Historic Gaol. Goderich, Ontario, Canada

The Huron County Jail was opened in 1872 and serverd as the jail till 1972. The building originally housed the County Courts and Council Chambers, as well as serving as Gaol and House of Refuge.

Photo by Jack1962

Photo by Jack1962

Photo by Jack1962

Photo by Jack1962

What comes to your mind when you hear “furniture”? Your chair and table in the office? Your bed? Sofa? Lounge? Maybe your wardrobe? While you likely imagine something pretty traditional, designers from all over the world are busy thinking outside of the box when it comes to modern furniture design. They compete to turn the concept of furniture into unique pieces of art! The shapes they create and materials they use in these modern furniture marvels are unbelievable, and the “things” they design in many cases are just as comfortable as more traditional furniture. I love all the innovations and I praise ergonomics, so let us jump into the world of modern furniture design and see what it has to offer — one part function and two parts style!

Lago

Website: www.lago.it
This young Italian company employs around 150 creative designers for their modern furniture masterpieces. They’re my favorite modern furniture company — they have everything I could dream of and it’s all in one place on their website.

Hidden Art Shop

Website: www.hiddenartshop.com
Hidden Art is a membership-based organization that supports and promotes designer-makers. In their online shop, you will find some unique and amazing work from lots of designers (and for quiet affordable pricing!). Take a few minutes to check out their modern furniture offerings if you are looking for new furniture for your house or apartment. The pieces below are some of my favorite.

YCAMI spa

Website: www.ycami.com
Ycami was conceived in 1990 as the brand of the Caimi group — a leader in aluminum transformation which produces accessories for the furniture industry. I think their products are outstanding and can nicely fit into the design of any apartment, even with only limited space.

SIDD Fine Woodworking

Website: www.sidd.ca
SIDD is a small independent company based in Ottawa, Canada. All SIDD pieces are handcrafted, and each piece is discreetly signed and numbered by the person who built it, making your new modern furniture feel more like modern art.

Planika Fires

Website: www.planikausa.com
Planika Fires creates real fireplaces without any smoke. It’s a great addition to any modern interior, allowing fireplaces to become integral design elements even in unexpected places.

Tomita Designs

Website: www.tomitadesigns.com
Their passion is sculpture, modern furniture, and interior design. The owner of the company draws inspiration from traditional Japanese forms, which makes his designs stand apart from the crowd.

ODEChair by Jolyon Yates

Website: www.odechair.com
Jolyon Yates offers this interesting chair collection. It’s hard to judge whether they are convenient or comfortable to sit on, but I wouldn’t mind having one in my apartment — even if just to incite friends to stare.

Minus tio

Website: www.minustio.com
The “thing” you see below is created from a quadrate cut into four pieces. Each piece has an identical shape but different heights. The pieces can be arranged in a number of different ways, adapting to any room or event. Stylish and convenient — what could be better?

Delta Bed Project

Website: nicolafrombern.com
This amazingly creative bed design by Nicola From Bern is made up of fiberglass-reinforced plastic tubes that can be telescoped, allowing them to be change based on mattress size.

Baukke Knottnerus

Website: baukeknottnerus.nl
PHAT KNITS is a series of giant threads used to create knitted products for your home’s interior. It’s soft and safe for children to play around.

Meritalia

Website: www.meritalia.it
Quoting from their website, “Meritalia was born in 1987 for the production of upholstered and other furnishing elements and developed a precious know-how which today allows it to dedicate itself to a high level of work providing a personalized and complete ‘keys in hand’ with an almost exaggerated care.” And I fully agree with this statement.

Peter Obsvik

Website: www.opsvik.no

Tom Dixon

Website: www.tomdixon.net
Launched in September 2008, Tom Dixon by George Smith is a contemporary British upholstery brand that unites quality traditional manufacturing techniques and contemporary design. Good work guys!

Casimir Meubelen

Website: www.casimirmeubelen.be
Casimir is a talented designer living in Belgium. His works are elegant,warm, and cozy, with a modern, minimalist flair.

Velichko Velikov

Website: velikov-design.com
Velichko Velikov is a Bulgarian designer presently working in London. His approach is pretty interesting and modern, working with unusual shapes and textures.

Charlie Davidson

Website: www.charlie-davidson.com
Not many works are presented in the portfolio of Swedish designer, Charlie Davidson. But every piece of modern furniture he creates is a beautiful, ultra-modern masterpiece.

Fred Rieffel

Website: www.fredrieffel.com
Rieffel is a talented designer from France with tiny chairs, tables, sofas and accessories to his name.

Dima Lofinoff

Website: dimaloginoff.com
Dima is a Russian designer living in Moscow. He has lots of original works in his portfolio. Unfortunately there are no photos of completed pieces — all the works are presented as 3D designs.

Cecilia Design

Website: www.ceciliadesign.se
Cecilia Lundgren is a Swedish designer with an extensive knowledge not only in product design and furniture design, but also in graphic design and illustration.

Allan Copley

Website: www.wolkdesign.com

STUDIO thebaek

Website: www.thebaek.com
Baek Ki Kim is a young designer who has worked for Samsung Electronics. He mainly does project-based design work which includes self-organized projects and client-contracted projects.

BLC Gallery

Website: www.carbonfibre-design.com
Space furniture. If you have a minute to visit their website you’ll be surprised to find out what the furniture is made from.

Miso Soup Design Group

Website: www.misosoupdesign.com
Miso Soup is a Japanese design studio where the innovative use of technology is the key factor in their perfect designs.

Mussi

Website: www.mussi.it

Odesi: Dutch design online

Website: www.odesi.nl
Odesi is a new and thrilling modern furniture design label. They say that they work with new Dutch talent. Well, yes, I find them very talented indeed.

There are so many other interesting modern furniture designs I’ve seen, but these are just a few of the best that I wanted to share with you. There are also many great websites that I would gladly mention, but the photos they have in portfolios are unfortunately too small to show case. Consider yourself tasked with a scavenger hunt to find even more great modern furniture designs from around the world. Be sure to come back and tell us about them! Have a great day!