American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
It's Hot: Let's Look At Some Bathing Suits
Hello lovelies- mid-August is upon us. It feels like pretty much everywhere, it's hot, hot, hot. And until the relief of fall comes, it will, presumably, continue to be hot....
Pink Popularity in the 18th Century
If you're anything like us, you have probably been really into the moment the color pink is having in fashion this summer, thanks to a certain iconic doll. It's been...
Gold, gold, gold! Gold Shoes Throughout History
As evidenced by our latest Fit for a Queen collection, team American Duchess has contracted a bit of gold fever. Our new Charlotte Mules feature a metallic gold leather heel...
Fit for a Queen Collection Pre-Order
Hear ye, hear ye, our June pre-order has started! We are thrilled to present the Fit for a Queen collection, which combines 18th century and Regency silhouettes with fantasy and...
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...
The February 2021 Collection is Here - {Pre-Order Open!}
Time for the first collection of 2021!This year, the big plan is to do a pre-order every single month through August (yowza!). Our February collection got off to a bit...
My 2020 Costuming Year in Review
This has indeed been a weird, challenging, rough year. I think I've left my house, like, 20 times max for 10 months. During this time I feel I sewed very...
Pattern Notes & Adjustments for Simplicity S8941
As promised, here is my really big post of pattern notes and adjustments for Simplicity S8941 1790s to Regency Round Gown and Open Robe pattern.This pattern was originally designed in...
Gown-in-a-Weekend: 1790s Vigee-Lebrun Round Gown from Simplicity S8941
For some reason I got a wild hair to do a "gown in a weekend" project. Dr. Carolyn Dowdell and I made a pact to fill the void of black...
Ikea Costuming 101 - Making Historical Gowns with Duvet Covers, Curtains, and Sheets
The Italian Gown from "The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking" was made with one LJUSÖGA Queen size duvet cover from Ikea. Accurate printed cottons are very difficult to...
1790 Redingote Inspiration and Percolation
Redingote, c. 1790, LACMA M2009.120 Friends, I haven't wanted to sew for awhile. Burn-out is a real thing, especially failing miserably on the last two 18th century gowns I tried...
Spring2019 - A New Pattern for Simplicity - 1790s Gown and Open Robe!
Ann Frankland Lewis - 1794. LACMA I'm excited to officially announce that we've developed another new historical dress pattern for Simplicity! Since first partnering with Simplicity several years ago I've...