American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
Pompadour French Court Shoes, 12.5 Years Later
Our Pompadour 18th Century Shoes are an American Duchess classic! With their custom, curvy Louis heel, easy-to-use tabbed latchet closure, and period accurate white rand, these babies are a tried-and-true...
Fabrics for the 18th Century and Beyond
Robe a la Francaise, 1770, LACMA M.2007.211 - beautiful and expensive printed cotton One of the top questions I get from budding 18th century costumers is "what fabric should I...
Lessons of the Volante - So Far
Du....Du Hast...Du Hast Mich... There's something about pleat-to-fit garments that both attract me and drive me bonkers. I think it's a combination of no two surviving examples being the same...
Meet the New Pompadour 18th Century Shoes
This season, we're proud to finally introduce the new and improved Pompadour 18th Century Court Shoes! We've made a few changes to this classic, curvaceous style.The Pompadours have been one...
Petticoat Pitfalls for Grand Panniers
Well shoot, this didn't work.... Don't you just love when you finish up a project, perhaps the first part of an ensemble, something you've maybe done numerous times before, only...
How to Avoid Lampshade Hoops in the 18th Century
It's a thing in the Georgian period too! I've recently started on my next big (physically big), early 18th century project, a Robe Volante. One of the reasons I felt...
1720s - 1740s Robe Volante - Initial Musings
I just can't get enough of 18th century back pleats! The time has come. This one has been brewing for awhile. I have a sortof underdog love for weird garments...
How to Lengthen/Shorten 18th Century Stays
The #1 question we receive about Simplicity 8162 (and will with Simplicity 8579 as well) is how to lengthen or shorten the stays. Particularly with Simplicity 8162, the body block...
The Many Types of 18th Century Gowns
I realized today with the 18th century gowns I have made I have only scratched the surface of how many different types there were. It's easy to fall into the...