Bwah, it’s one of *those* days, so here’s a beautiful gown to gaze upon… The Met Robe a la Francaise 1740s British Hand-painted silk, fly fringe trimmings I’ll take a little opulence…
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V239: Cassell’s Household Guide
There is something so -udderly- wonderful about household guides of the 19th century. And what is even more wonderful is that they are all out of copyright and readily available to peruse…
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V238: What Is This Style of 18th Century Jacket?
A beautiful image popped up on my Pinterest feed this morning: 1730-60, French manufacture, held in the Digitalt Museum I find this extant ensemble really interesting because, well, it matches. Matching gowns…
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V237: Absinthe
I’m going to a Steampunk Absinthe Party tonight. I’ve never tried the stuff, and I’m not much of a drinker, but I am a little curious, at least to taste it. So…
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V236: Please Vote – What’s Your Favorite 1920s Spectator?
Spectator shoes are so cool, don’t you think? I want to add a 1920s t-strap spectator to the Historical Footwear collection next year -called “23Skidoo” – but what color style do you…
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V235: Pompadours and Kensingtons are On Their Way
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what’s now making its way across the Pacific to our warehouse… White Pompadours, and more Red Kensingtons White Kensingtons Happy days! We’ll have black and white Pomps,…
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V234: What Kind of Heel Is That? A Quick Guide to Historical Shoe Heels
Following yesterday’s post about why we no longer have proper French heels on shoes, I thought it would be good to add to and define some of the terminology, and create a…
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V233: The Death of the French Heel
VandA, 1760-70 Why don’t we have killer French heels, the likes of which were *the* heel style for hundreds of years, on shoes these days? Where did they go? Are they just…
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V232: Velvet Patches for 18th Century Dress Up, by Ruby Raven
Hi Ladies! Whilst visiting Costume College, a lovely lady, The Ruby Raven, gifted me with a delightful little box of velvet patches, or “mouches,” the kind ladies would stick to their faces…
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V231: Indienne Chintz a la Waverly Window Curtains, 1780s
Good 18th century style Indienne print chintz can be hard to find. For some reason, rambling, graphic florals, in a limited color palette, on a white or light ground aren’t so much…
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V230: Small Biz Betties: When Are You a “Professional?”
Hi again! Welcome to this week’s Small Biz Betties, where I’ll be waxing poetical on how to know when you have taken the leap and become a “professional” in your field. It’s…
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V229: Analyzing Hedgehog Hairstyles
I am always on a quest to achieve bigger, better 18th century hair styles. Some hairstyles are super complicated, like the poufs of the 1770s. Some appear to be more simple, like…
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V228: New “Valois” Shoe Buckles
Finally, after forever in development, we’ve got the Valois buckles for your Kensington shoes. Chris is doing official product photos right now, so here’s a preview of how the new buckles look…
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V227: American Duchess Silks Stockings Are Dyeable, Yay!
Great news! For those of you who were asking, I did a little test yesterday, on a sample pair of our new silk stockings, to see if they would take dye. And…
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V226: Advertisement Fans, or Fans of Advertising?
I ran across this cool advertisement fan on Bobby Pin Blog awhile back, and thought it was a nifty idea… Advertisements on fans seem to have been pretty common in the past,…
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V225: Starting the 1790s “Robe Royaliste”
Before Costume College, I was making plans for a new 1790s gown in purple taffeta, called the “Robe Royaliste.” I decided on a chemise style like the lovely green/gold gown in The…
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V223: 17th Century Infanta Inspiration
Blargh, I hate being sick. I don’t want to sew or do much of anything, really, but it’s just so easy to look at pretty pictures….so I’ll do some of that. Next…
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V222: “Miss Nevada” 1890s Vaudeville Secret Gala Costume
I’m terrible at keeping secrets, but managed to not make a peep about my “super-secret Costume College Gala costume” for the greater part of a year. All the Northern Nevada ladies who…
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V220: The Parisian Gown – Finished!
Despite all the trouble this gown gave me, I’m so happy with how it turned out! I certainly learned many a lesson about fabric choice, sleeve construction, and general patterning. I’m ready…
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V219: The Overland Passage
Ugh! I haven’t blogged today on account of traveling back from Costume College, Los Angeles to Reno, a good nine or more hours. It felt kindof like this… We’re back now, though,…
