Meet "Louis," the new velveteen, leather, and silver embroidered shoes now available for pre-order at AmericanDuchess.com.
Way back we did a vote on our Facebook page, pitting a selection of drool-worthy historic shoes from all periods against one another in an epic battle to find a winner. That winner was this pair of incredible women's pumps from c. 1660, attributed to Lady Mary Stanhope, held in the Northampton Museum:
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| Velvet and silver embroidered shoes with leather heels, attributed to Lady Mary Stanhope, c. 1660. Northamption Museum. |
Next we asked you all to vote on your favorite potential colors for our version of these shoes. The results were the original dark blue as well as a rich deep red wine, another excellent color choice for the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
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| Museum of London, c. 1651 (orphaned work) |
Our version of these swanky shoes is made on the Pompadour last and heel. We've used a lovely short-pile velveteen paired with matching leather on the curvy French heels. The vamp and quarters are heavily embroidered in silver threads, matched with a silver ribbon tie, and picked out with the white leather rand, a hallmark of shoes of this time.
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| American Duchess Exclusive - "Louis" Court Shoes in Blue |
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| American Duchess Exclusive - "Louis" Court Shoes in Wine |
For those new to the Exclusives, these are short-run, made-to order shoes that are available by pre-order only. As they are not part of our regular line due to the posh materials and fanciful designs, each pair is made by hand by the master shoemaker at our workshop. They are truly special, extremely limited, and achingly gorgeous.
Exclusives do qualify for EasyPay, coupons codes, Free USA shipping, and any credits and discounts you may have.
Pre-Order May 5 - 19, 2017
