American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
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...
Introducing "Gibson" Edwardian Shoes
Ladies, it's that time again, time for a new historical shoe style! I've been waiting ages to properly introduce you to our latest lady, "Gibson." You may have seen hints...
23Skidoo Photo Shoot with Miss Art Deco, San Francisco
Last month we did a lovely photo shoot with Monica, Miss Art Deco, and her stylish beau Sam, at the wonderful Chateau Tivoli in San Francisco. Monica wore a smashing...
How To Paint Your Own 1920s Flapper Shoes
Hi! Today I'm going to show you how to take a pair of 1920s white "paint-your-own" 23Skidoo spectator t-strap heels and transform them into the most amazing, glamorous, show-stopping flapper...
V360: New Shoe Goo to Play With (And You Can Too!)
...and by "Shoe Goo" I just mean cool stuff like leather paints, creams, and polishes. Good stuff. I've finally been able to get some Angelus products in the shoe shop,...
V356: A Few More Antique and Vintage Shoes
Well, here I am again to show you more historic shoes from my rapidly growing collection.... Wedding Slippers, 1870s. These are a perfect example of an 1870s slipper. They have...
V354: Antique and Vintage Proportion You Can Easily Achieve
I received a copy of Authentic Victorian Dressmaking Techniques recently, and found an interesting little blurb on standard pattern measurements (in this case Butterick), for 1905. It showed a 10...
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...
V347: Shoes of the 1860s-1880s
I'm still plugging away on my 2012 "Vintage 365" project, ha! I want to share my new costume-related New Years Resolution with you, but I can't until I'm done with...
V340: 1930s Christmas Dress, "Green Acres" Gown Progress, and a Flippin' Button Hook
It's Christmas Eve! Yeeeeeeee! Aside from running around buying last minute gifts and groceries, it's a great day off to get a little sewing in. I finished my 1930s Christmas...
V335: eBay Find of the Year: Antique Button Boots...That FIT!
In my recent eBay haunting, I've collected a number of interesting items - a leather punch, a cast iron fluting iron, two early Victorian slippers, and a pair of Edwardian...
V333: Precious Things: Early 19th Century Slippers
I've been spending way too much time on eBay, building the American Duchess Historical Footwear collection ... out of real historic footwear! My latest acquisitions ... This single shoe is...