Italian gown – The Met – 1785-87 C.I.66.39a-b Well, I just can’t stay away from the late 18th century (can you blame me?). There is just so much to be explored in…
-
-
The Robe a la Turque – Part 4 – The Kurdi Polonaise
The last major piece of my take on Guimard’s 1790 Turkish stage costume was the fabulous fur-trimmed blue robe. I pondered over this piece for a long time, trying to decide just…
-
Simplicity 8578 and 8579 – TWO new 18th Century Patterns!
Ladies, we are SO excited to finally announce two new 18th century American Duchess patterns from Simplicity! Simplicity 8578 is the Robe a la Francaise (Sacque) and petticoat and Simplicity 8579 is…
-
BOOK RELEASE: The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking
Today’s the big day! Our book, The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking: How to Handsew Georgian Gowns and Wear The with Style has officially been released! While you can buy the…
-
The Robe a la Turque – Part 3 – Shalwar Puffy Pants
Before I forget about all the trials and tribulations (and sometimes fun) I had making my Turkish costume for Costume College 2017, I better tell you about one of the most enjoyable…
-
Jane Austen Festival in Pictures
How remiss am I in sharing photos, proper photos, from the Jane Austen Festival. So remiss! In fact, when I opened up this draft post to see how far I’d gotten, this…
-
Abby’s Jane Austen Fest Dinner Dress – Done!
Hello Lovelies! Abby here and I am in full “July has been full of travel and awesome but now I need a nap nap” mode over here at American Duchess headquarters. There…
-
Abby’s Jane Austen Fest Dinner Dress – a Lesson in Plan B…or…C?
Hey Lovelies — So the last time I blogged about my Jane Austen Fest Dinner Dress I was totally jiving on this idea of making a tunic and turbany/chiffonettey thing to wear…
-
Abby’s Austen Fest Dinner Dress
Hey All! Abby here! As some of you know, Lauren & I will be attending Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, KY this July (soo excited to go home for business! woo!). As…
-
Pieces of Me – Remaking an 18th Century Gown
Sacque gown, partially deconstructed, 1765-69 – National Trust NT 1350856 It’s commonly known that 18th century dress textiles were made and remade and remade again. A great many extant gowns in museum…
-
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…
-
The “State of the Book” Address – Updates and Progress
Well it’s been a couple months now since we announced the writing of our 18th century sewing book, which now has an official title: “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking:…
-
What The Heck Is This 18th Century Dress?
I keep a Pinterest Board called “Historical Costuming Weirdness,” wherein I pin all the things I find that don’t match up nicely with what we think we know about historical dress *right…
-
Finding Inspiration in the 1790s with Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun
Self Portrait by Vigee-Lebrun, 1791 Those of you who have been following for awhile will know I’m not a huge fan of, well, anything with an empire waist. I just can’t seem…
-
Spotlight: New “Fraser” Early 18th Century Leather Shoes
Lauren reporting – As you all know, this year we’ve opened all of our new Fall/Winter historic styles for pre-order at the same time. We’ve also made the pre-order period longer –…
-
My Big Fat Yellow English Gown – Finito!
Lauren here – Doesn’t it just feel *so good* to best a cranky project, wear it, and love it? I’d been working on my yellow English Gown for most of 2016 and…
-
My 1740s “Mutton Chop” Cap
The Athenaeum – Lettice Mary Banks (William Hoare – ) English 1746 It’s getting down to the wire on Costume College preparations. Most of my major projects are a few steps from…
-
And It Was All Yellow…
You’re going to think I’m all-over-the-place right now, and you would be right. Projects here, projects there, moving house, moving business, omg! It’s been stressy, for sure, but this is also the…
-
The Silver Ghost 1770s Robe a la Francaise at Costume College
It was a good hair day Posting from the future – 2020. I realize I never completed the project link for the Silver Ghost Francaise. To be honest, I have very few…
-
A Visit to l’Hermione at Yorktown
The third day in Williamsburg we actually spent in Yorktown, on account of the tall ship l’Hermione having put in there the night before, and it being an event not to be…