Introducing Abby Cox, New Vice President of American Duchess

Abby here…and man, does it feel good to write those two words again! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve really sat down and blogged like this….so long that I actually forgot how blogger works…oops.

Anyways, I am super excited to be posting on the American Duchess blog for the first time! So, for my first post, Lauren and I thought that it would be a good idea to (re) introduce myself to ya’ll. So here we go…

I’m not usually this serious…

Salutations. My name is Abby & I am Vice-President (I still giggle when I read/write/type that..cause it’s awesome) of American Duchess Inc. & Royal Vintage Shoes LLC.   August 15, 2016 was my first official day on the job & writing this post is one of my first responsibilities. I like cookie dough, cheese pizza, old clothes, and awesome shoes (in no particular order, unless you are asking me when I’m hungry…and I was very hungry when I wrote that line…now I have Goldfish on my desk…and Reese’s cups because I’m an adult.)

If you had told me a few years ago that I would be sitting here, writing this blog, living in Reno, NV (seriously), and working at AD & RV I probably would have looked at you like you were completely mental…but here I am, and I am beyond thrilled to be here. If you’ve ever read my blog, Stay-ing Alive (warning, it’s very GIF heavy at the top…my bad) then you know that I’ve been a scholar and maker of Historic Dress, with an overwhelming focus in the last quarter of the 18th century. I have an MLitt in Decorative Arts & Design History from the University of Glasgow, Scotland that was focused in Dress History (my dissertation was on stays), and I’ve spent the past 5 years working for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation – the last 3.5 years specifically as the Apprentice Milliner & Mantua-Maker at the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop.

I’m not gonna lie, when this whole idea of working for American Duchess/Royal Vintage came about, it was a very difficult decision to make – to leave Colonial Williamsburg & my apprenticeship unfinished….I’m not a quitter – I wasn’t raised that way, but I also knew that working with Lauren would be a life changing opportunity and something that I would regret if I passed up this “once in a lifetime” chance. The Swede (my husband) also pointed out when we were discussing whether or not this was something I should do, that I didn’t want to end up like Walter White in Breaking Bad….

no really…that’s what he said…

And seeing as how that life path wasn’t really on my list of things to do, but understanding that his joke was actually quite profound, we made the leap! My mother, her best friend, and I have spent the last week driving across the country to Reno, NV, getting settled in, and causing mischief and mayhem in Virginia City…

Until next time…

<3 <3