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| The shoe as it arrived, white in color. I added the rhinestone tension buckle. |
For those of you who have been following the production of the upcoming 18th c. shoes, here's an update for you! It's been quite a trial, and I've learned several times over that patience is a virtue: these things cannot be rushed.
I felt bad about pushing the pre-sale date back so many times, but the shoes had to be perfect! I would not present a product to you that was sub-standard. Through five prototypes, delays, custom-made heels, fabric testing, and all kinds of weird communication problems, I am very happy to present to you the final prototype for the new shoes.
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| Right out of the bag |
The prototype shoe arrived this morning, and I've spent all day playing with it. First things first, I put it on, walked around, and found the fit to be accurate to my usual size (7.5). The shoe is crazy comfortable too. They've added a cushioned insole, and I did not experience any hot spots, rubbing, cutting, or uncomfortable squeezing throughout the day as I wore it around, which is really quite remarkable as I have very picky feet.
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| The shoe after I dyed it pink. |
The next big test was to see if the fabric would dye. I had a swatch sent along with the shoe, so just to see if it would take dye at all, I soaked a test piece in RIT dye for about 20 minutes, followed by a successful test dye on the shoe itself.
So what now? I have approved this prototype and am now awaiting the production sample. The difference is that the prototype was a close mockup of the final, but the production sample will show the full quality and proper materials. This last shoe is what you will see when the time comes for ordering.
So bear with me just a little while longer! The pre-order will be announced on this blog, on the
American Duchess Facebook page, and on
Twitter (AmericanDuchess).
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| Though it is pink in these photos, the shoe will come as a dyable white, able to be colored any hue. |
