American Duchess Historic Shoes Blog
Sugarpine Living History Day, 2013 - Two-Person '20s Invasion
Yesterday our army of costume-clad amazons, all two of us, invaded a nice little local event at the Ehrman Mansion on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. We go every...
Loose and Lovely 1790s Locks
Costume College is fast approaching, and while I think I've burnt out on trying to get everything done, I *did* fully finish the 1790s Chintz gown. When I started this...
1790s Chintz Gown - The Home Stretch
It's that time of year - that special time just before That Big Annual Costume Event when the mad "must-get-it-all-done!" sewing commences. I wonder why I do this to myself:...
The Real Mod Cloth (Pssst! It's Polyester!)
Last night I was invited by Lady Carolyn to dress in one of my favorite decades of fashion, the 1960s, to appear with a couple other gals as a visual...
Bastille Day Picnic 2013
This past Sunday, our local costume club, the Great Basin Costume Society, held a little picnic in honor of Bastille Day. We called it the "Off With Her Head Tea."...
Small Biz Betties (and Shoe News): Things Don't Always Go According to Plan...
It's been some time since I've written a Small Biz Betties post, but I thought now would be a good time to talk about the best laid schemes o' mice...
Vintage Pants: Simplicity 5409, from 1972
A couple posts back, I shared my plan to "bring sexy back" with at-waist pants. I was intrigued by the many wonderful responses on Facebook - some of you are...
Vintage Pants - 1930s - 1970s
I think I'm done with low-waisted jeans forever. I hate the way they squeeze the fleshy bits of my hips up and create a belly where I didn't have one...
Little 1920s Jersey Dress - In Progress
Last week I thought I'd put together a simple little 1920s frock, made from a bold floral jersey fabric given to me by Vintage Dancer. I devised a little plan,...
Edwardian Elegance - "Gibson" Summer Photoshoot
A couple weekends ago, Chris and I ventured out with our gorgeous Edwardian model Liza, to shoot the new "Gibson" Edwardian shoes that have just come into stock. Liza wore...
1790s Chintz Gown - More Fiddling
I've been stitching along on this 1790s chintz gown, little by little, fiddle by fiddle. My apologies for these terrible photos - someday I will find my camera's battery charger...
June Retro Picnic, with Vintage Advance 6643
This past weekend was The Weekend of Costume Picnics. My Facebook feed has been exploding with the photographic evidence, and we here in Northern Nevada also partook. Despite the weather...