The famous Isabella MacTavish Fraser wedding gown c. 1785. Photo by Ewen Weatherspoon. Reproduced with permission of Inverness Museum & Art Gallery Big news! We’ve been hinting at it for awhile now, but…
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Should You Always Wear a Bum Pad for 18th Century Dress?
The split bum, perfect for 1776 – 1790s, worn with polonaise and Italian gowns. This is particularly effective for gowns with the skirts pulled up. From the American Duchess Guide. Ah, bum…
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Ikea Costuming 101 – Making Historical Gowns with Duvet Covers, Curtains, and Sheets
The Italian Gown from “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking” was made with one LJUSÖGA Queen size duvet cover from Ikea. Accurate printed cottons are very difficult to find. Usually…
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1780-81 Glasgow Polo-Sacque Fiddling
Progress! This past weekend I made a lot of good progress on my version of the 1780 – 1781 Polonaise-Sacque Jacket. I am always so very chuffed by how quickly sacque-back things…
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Where to Buy American Duchess Shoes in Europe
UPDATE – November 2021 It’s taken us a decade or so, but we FINALLY have a European website! Huzzah! If you are in the EU or non-EU member state such as the…
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Making A Start: The 1780-81 Glasgow Polo-Sacque Jacket Progress
A quick mockup – feeling excited! At last, and for the first time in 2019, I am sitting down to sew something! The first four months of this year have been taken…
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A Little History of … Hamilton / Schuyler 18th Century Shoes
New American Duchess “Hamilton” / “Schuyler” 18th Century Shoes for men and women. Next in our line up of new men’s (+ women’s) styles are the beautiful “Hamilton” (mens) / “Schuyler” (womens)…
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Meet our New Theatrical Footwear Line!
American Duchess Spring/Summer 2019 Theatrical Line We are trying lots of new things this year in shoe-company-land. For years we have (rather unexpectedly) supplied historical footwear to the opera, ballet, and theater,…
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A Little History of…Albert / Bertie Regency Pumps
Zack Pinsent for American Duchess This season we’re very excited to launch our new men’s styles….which are also women’s styles! One of our most basic and versatile styles is the Albert /…
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Pre-Order is Open at American Duchess
Pre-Order is OPEN at AmericanDuchess.com April 18 – May 10 Wow, where do we even start! There is so much new stuff this season! You won’t want to miss these! Men’s and…
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How to Scale Up Gridded Sewing Patterns with Adobe Photoshop
If you’ve been into historical costuming for any amount of time, you will be familiar with many a book featuring gridded (or scaled) sewing patterns. The Tudor Tailor, Patterns of Fashion (all…
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SALE! It’s Spring Cleaning Time!
Woo! It’s our annual Spring Cleaning Sale! We have many beautiful styles coming into bloom for you this season. Check out these deals… Amelie – $75 ($120) – These beautiful satin Edwardian…
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#SewingIsHard – 1830s Skirts!
Hi lovelies! It’s time for a new video all about the magical world of 1830s skirts. If you’re working on an 1830s gown, be it for day or evening, we’ve got some…
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The Annual 2019 Sewing Slump – My Tips for Self-Care in Sewing
The Letter, Pietro Longhi, 1746 It’s that time of year! It seems right about this time, on an annual basis, I go into a dreadful sewing slump. I’m not motivated to even…
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A 1630s Dutch Mistress
A still from “Tulip Fever,” a beautiful film with some very very historically accurate 1630s costuming. Oh boy, am I torn on Costume College Gala plans for 2019. I really want to…
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#SewingIsHard – A Corded Petticoat
via I realize I never posted this video here for you guys. Abby shares her trials and tribulations in making her 1830s corded petticoat. Enjoy! If you’d like the PDF pattern and…
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The Curious Polonaise-Sacque Jacket
1780-81 jacket – Glasgow Museums Collection – 1932.51.o January is Costume A-D-D time. A whole new year lies ahead and we are all brimming with project ideas. Some I’ve even started and…
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The 1790s “Jane Austen Goes to Ikea” Gown – The Corset
Ikea does it again – Ingmarie curtains >> This year is 1790s year. After completing all the book projects, Abby and I can finally settle into share-able projects. Both of us are…
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How to be a Boss at Research – Part 2
How to be a Boss at Research Part 2: Where to find those pesky primary sources from (mostly) the comfort of your own home! (For Review: Part 1) Hey Ya’ll! Abby here…
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Dating the Green 1820s Dress
Hey Everyone! Abby here- So last week I posted about the awesome green dress my mom found in a little antique store in my hometown, and when I shared the photos here…
