American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
Mme Demorest's Illustrated Portfolio of the Fashions for 1880
Last weekend a dear friend, Jenny, gave me an incredible gift - a complete pattern catalog from 1880. I've been studying it with great interest and costume lust, careful to...
Bastille Day Picnic Inspiration
Portrait of Madame Emilie Seriziat and her Son, 1795 I've been MIA lately due to moving, yay! But also nay! because all of my sewing stuff is in complete disarray....
White/Ivory 18th Century Gown Inspiraton
I just received 10 yards of delicious ivory silk taffeta, and I'm just *itching* to make something (or a lot of somethings) out of it. Of course I'm thinking along...
How Wide Should Your 18th Century Panniers Be?
I've set out on the adventure of making a Grand Pannier to wear under voluminous 18th century apparel, and the first question that came to mind is - how wide...
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...
Problem Solving with Regency Stays
Boobs are such an issue in the Regency. Seriously, they're just in such *weird* places! Naturally, or rather unnaturally, we as costumers want to try to achieve these, um, heights,...
What is Osnaburg?
I was pretty stoked recently when I found osnaburg fabric at Walmart, of all places. I bought what was left on the bolt, dreaming of all the awesome interlinings and...
Bright Yellow Regency Gowns
...because there's never enough yellow in my life! I have to admit that Regency isn't my period, so when it came time to look for inspiration for something to wear...
Men's Regency Inspiration
I've been a bag blogger, I know! It's just that, well you know how it goes - brain fried with all kinds of in-progress projects, future projects, crazy stuff happening....
Beautiful Historical Fans - Please Vote!
Hello Lovelies! Today I'd like to share with you a number of gorgeous historical fans, and ask your opinion on which you like the most... Fan #1 - The Met,...
18th Century Pattens for Shoes
Bata Shoe Museum - Shoes with clog English, 1710-1730 Pattens. What are pattens, besides really really cool? Pattens were ladies' shoe accessories worn to protect one's fancy shoes, to raise...
V352: New Vintage Shoe Acquisitions
Well, I've been on eBay entirely too much...again...acquiring vintage and antique footwear for our quickly growing collection. All the shoes I nabbed aren't even here yet, but I wanted to...