American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
Introducing "Victoria" Carriage Boots
Today's post is all about carriage boots. I'm maybe a little TOO excited about our new "Victoria" Carriage Boots...I'm...well...wearing them right now. They went to Starbucks with me this morning,...
Preview Pages from the Bellas Hess 1917-18 Winter Catalogue
I recently received a number of vintage and antique catalogs, from my good friend Lady Carolyn. Most of them - Delineators, McCalls, Bella Hess - are in very fragile condition,...
My 5 Hour Wearing History "Smooth Sailing" Trousers
So last Thursday I made some trousers. Pants are completely terrifying to me, so I had actually bought the fabric for these trousers months ago, sat on it, and in...
The Lake Tahoe Gatsby, 2014
It's August, which means Gatsby. It's one of my favorite events, a delightfully relaxed little picnic at the Pope Mansion in South Lake Tahoe. This year my dad came. He's...
Belle Curves: Improving A Modern Cloche Hat
We all have them lurking in our closets, those cloche hats we've been collecting for years. You may have one, you may have three, or if you're like me, you...
Costume College 2014: Part The One
So as you all know, I spent the long weekend in L.A., attending Costume College, which was, is, and shall forever be *fabulous*Between the smartphone and the 10 lb Nikon,...
Dinner at The Parlor Again, Now With Added Vintage
From left: Monica, Chrissy, Curtis, Maggie, Sam, Kathy, and me. To round out my trip to visit friends in the Bay Area this weekend, we all made an effort to...
Vintage 1950s Suits
Everyone seems to have a different idea of 1950s fashion, from poodle skirts to shirtwaist frocks, giant petticoats to wiggle dresses. The lovely part is that there were *all* these...
The First Reno Tweed Ride
A couple weekends ago, a group of 15 intrepid, tweed-clad cyclists gathered in Idylwild Park in Reno, and endeavored to ride their noble mechanical steeds through downtown, to the University...
My New Old WWI Blouse
Last month, directly after our annual Titanic Tea, I went a-hunting on eBay and found this lovely blouse. I'm sure with more research I could date this to a more...
A New 1950s Dress for Me
I managed to sew something...or...*finish* something, I should say. Yippee! A simple dress with a figure-skimming, yet relaxed, fit. I needed a quick-and-easy project to get me excited about costuming...
The Reno Tweed Ride: Inspiration
Coming up in June, our local Steampunk group is hosting the first Reno Tweed Ride, wherein a lot of nutters dress up in, well, tweed, and ride bicycles through Downtown...