American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
Shoes for Jamestown, and Williamsburg, and Whoopi Goldberg
I have some exciting news to share with you all! While I was in Williamsburg, I had a couple meetings with the costume departments of Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, both...
Colonial Williamsburg 2014 - Highlight Reel
I've been away for *ages,* so sorry! Some things happened - some good, some bad - and of course I've been in Colonial Williamsburg for the past week and without...
1740s Riding Habit Waistcoat and Shirt
It's been a flurry of sewing madness here, getting ready for Colonial Williamsburg next week. I've ripped into a lot of garments, and made some pretty big changes to many...
Re-Fit ALL the Things!
The Met, 1774-93 - Evidence of a gown let out to accommodate wide shoulders. As you all know, in our sewing journeys, no matter the years that have passed, things...
Behind the Scenes at the Antoinette/Highbury Photoshoot
Last week Chris and I worked on a new shoot for Antoinettes and Highbury. We wanted to create a ladies' boudoir space, similar to the interiors in these paintings: Francois...
LACMA Sacque - Done! And I Love It!
Sometimes it's really does pay off to just press through the rough patches and finish a costume, even if you hate every stitch along the way. I'm glad I finished...
LACMA Sacque - The Home Stretch (Maybe?)
I have been working on this gown on-and-off for, gosh, a year? I'm ready for it to be done, but not willing to put in the effort to get it...
18th Century Riding Habit Waistcoats for Women
Lately I've been working on a waistcoat to go under my Snowshill riding habit. I really love the look of this menswear inspired style, but before jumping in, I needed...
Accessorizing for Williamsburg: The Do-It-Again-George Cape-Mantle-Thing
Of course, my cape looks nothing like this... I'm off and running on my Williamsburg accessories. Feeling good about the muff, I jumped into making a cloak...something simple, easy, quick,...
Accessorizing for Williamsburg: An 18th Century Fur Muff
On my list of things to make for our March trip to Williamsburg was a fur muff to keep the hands warm, in case of chilly weather. Mrs. Wilbraham Bootle,...
Accessorizing for Williamsburg, 2014
For once I have a decent number of gowns to wear to a big event, but what I *don't* have is a selection of accessories to help with what might...
Returning to Williamsburg in March 2014
Colonial Williamsburg, here we come! I'll spare you the "squee" (but know that it's happening) - my dear friend Maggie and I will be attending the Millinery Through Time conference...