American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
V249: Georgian Beauty Myths BUSTED!, by Elisa of Isis' Wardrobe
Glenn Close in "Dangerous Liaisons" Hi all! Today I'd like to turn the floor over to the wonderful Elisa of Madame Isis' Toilette, and Isis' Wardrobe, who has been studying...
V248: 1772 Colonial Spice Tea by Litttle Bits Clothing Company
This morning, with the power out and no internet to eat my soul, I had a chance to slow down and enjoy a fine cuppa new tea I got from...
V247: Making a 1790s Gainsborough Hat
Yesterday I made a Gainsborough hat to go with the new purple 1790s "Robe Royaliste". I researched many a fine fashion plate from Dames a la Mode, and raided the...
V245: Floral Gowns of the 1770s (and a little 1780s too)
Met - 1770s-80s gown, remodeled from c. 1740s silk Happy Saturday! Chris and I have been working overtime packing up Pompadours and white Kensingtons to ship out, so I'm a...
V243: Pompadour Heels At Last
I'm really excited to finally be taking delivery of the Pompadour heels tomorrow. They've cleared customs and are truckin' their way over the Sierras this evening. To celebrate, here are...
V242: 1790s Robe Royaliste: Almost Done!
I had intended to bust out this giant purple chemise style gown quickly, but then between being mad sick and then lazy, it's taken me *this* long to get it...
V240: Robe a la Francaise, 1740
Bwah, it's one of *those* days, so here's a beautiful gown to gaze upon... The Met Robe a la Francaise 1740s British Hand-painted silk, fly fringe trimmings I'll take a...
V238: What Is This Style of 18th Century Jacket?
A beautiful image popped up on my Pinterest feed this morning: 1730-60, French manufacture, held in the Digitalt Museum I find this extant ensemble really interesting because, well, it matches....
V232: Velvet Patches for 18th Century Dress Up, by Ruby Raven
Hi Ladies! Whilst visiting Costume College, a lovely lady, The Ruby Raven, gifted me with a delightful little box of velvet patches, or "mouches," the kind ladies would stick to...
V231: Indienne Chintz a la Waverly Window Curtains, 1780s
Good 18th century style Indienne print chintz can be hard to find. For some reason, rambling, graphic florals, in a limited color palette, on a white or light ground aren't...
V229: Analyzing Hedgehog Hairstyles
I am always on a quest to achieve bigger, better 18th century hair styles. Some hairstyles are super complicated, like the poufs of the 1770s. Some appear to be more...
V227: American Duchess Silks Stockings Are Dyeable, Yay!
Great news! For those of you who were asking, I did a little test yesterday, on a sample pair of our new silk stockings, to see if they would take...