American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
Finished Vintage Dress UFO #1 - Simplicity 8248
Simplicity 8248 1930s day dress with alterations. Reader, I must admit I am *terrible* at finishing UFOs - "unfinished objects." I have two sewing mindsets: I want something quick, easy,...
Coming Up: LIVE Youtube Q&A with Lauren - Covid-19 and Small Business
Hi everyone, I will be going live on Youtube on **Monday, April 13th at 10 am PDT** to talk about Covid-19, small business, and how we've been affected. You can...
Spring Cleaning 2020 SALE!
It's that time of year again...Spring Cleaning! In the midst of all the madness you may be sewing up a storm. Even though all the events and shows are cancelled,...
#ADCapeCult - Free 1910s Cape PDF Pattern!
Free 1910s Cape Pattern - click here! Hi! If you've been following us on Instagram you may have seen the explosion of capes. We've released a free PDF gridded pattern...
History is Cool: 1890s Belle Epoque Linen Summer Blouse
Hi all! Well, during this crazy time in human history I managed to start and actually finish one (1) project, an 1890s summer shirtwaist made in lovely white linen. I've...
American Duchess on Youtube!
Hi all! Well, in light of recent and ongoing events, we're all at home making lots and lots of Youtube videos. It's a good way to help keep the costuming...
Podcast Episode 28: Merging Royal Vintage & American Duchess
Yay! Welcome back to a whole new season of podcastery! It's been awhile since we've done podcasts, but we get a lot of requests for them, so we thought we'd...
Review: Vecona Vintage Three-Piece Ladies' Suits
Sporting the Vecona Vintage "Viktoria" three-piece suit in grey wool blend, in Portugal. Anyone who follows my personal Instagram page (@lauren_stowell) will know I'm a *big fan* of menswear, particularly...
The 1630 Thang - Finishing the Bodies
Dayum she looks good! 1630 Dutch formal basque bodice with ribbon points. It's been a few weeks since I started the yellow and black bumblebee-lobster bodice/bodies/smooth-covered stays for my 1630...
The 1630s Dutch Thang - Badonk-a-donk, Petticoat, and Starting the Bodies
Just playing around with pinning things on my dress form Now into the making up! I've been stitching on my big 1630 project and quite enjoying the process. There's enough...
The 1630 Dutch *Thang* - Beginnings
A still from "Tulip Fever" (2017) - outstanding costuming by Michael O'Connor. As so often happens, after a no-sew period of downtime and feeling phlegmatic about costuming, I was struck...
18th Century Printed Cotton Do’s & Don’t’s
A beautiful printed cotton gown, 1785-95. The Met. A very condensed version of this essay, without pictures, appears in The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking. Because there is...