Happy Holidays! Welcome to our big mega huge list of holiday gifts for the historical costumers in your life (or yourself!). This year we have lots and lots of goodies to recommend…
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Historical Reproduction Winter Boots For You
It’s that time of year when the weather goes cold and you’re wanting a nice pair of boots to slog around in…historically, of course. Ladies of the past had a broad assortment…
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American Duchess Weekend SALE!
It’s that wonderful time of year when things go on sale, like, everywhere. EVERYWHERE! This year we have these goodies for you…. Dunmore 18th Century Shoes in Black Wool with Fleur Buckles…
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Vlog: The 1830s Bustle!
Howdy! We’re deep, deep down the #1830s rabbit hole, working diligently on our gowns with much haste in preparation for our trip to Dickens Fair in San Francisco on December 15th. Abby…
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Book Review: The Workwoman’s Guide by A Lady, 1838
Hey there you lovely costuming creatures, you! As many of you know, Lauren and I are currently up to our eyeballs in all things 1830s. Yep, we’re both busy ladies trying to…
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Podcast Episode 24: Abby & Lauren’s Top 5 Costuming Books
Hey Everyone! We’re back with a new quick little episode of the podcast, where Lauren and I chat about our top 5 costuming books. While it’s difficult to pick favorites, we did…
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1790 Redingote Inspiration and Percolation
Redingote, c. 1790, LACMA M2009.120 Friends, I haven’t wanted to sew for awhile. Burn-out is a real thing, especially failing miserably on the last two 18th century gowns I tried to make…
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Podcast Episode 23: Cheyney McKnight on African Hair and Headwraps
Hi Everyone! Abby here with another episode of Fashion History with American Duchess. This episode has been long overdue, and we’re so incredibly excited to share it with you! Last spring, we…
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Spring2019 – A New Pattern for Simplicity – 1790s Gown and Open Robe!
Ann Frankland Lewis – 1794. LACMA I’m excited to officially announce that we’ve developed another new historical dress pattern for Simplicity! Since first partnering with Simplicity several years ago I’ve learned so…
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Episode 22: Part 2 with Jenny Tiramani from the School of Historical Dress
Hi Again! Abby here, fulfilling my promise from last week that we were going to release the second part of our conversation with the incredible Jenny Tiramani. This week’s episode is just…
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The “En Fourreau” Myth
NOPE In our modern world there is much of the past that has been obscured. Looking through the lens of time, especially when you have to peer through the film of the…
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Podcast Episode 21: Jenny Tiramani & Patterns of Fashion 5 Book Release, Part 1
Hi Everyone! Hooray! A new podcast episode! This week’s episode has Lauren and I sitting down with the incredible Jenny Tiramani from the School of Historical Dress, to discuss their newest publication Patterns…
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Simplicity Patterns Now Available on AmericanDuchess.com
Hi! This is just a quick announcement to let you know that we now have all of our American Duchess Simplicity costume patterns available at AmericanDuchess.com, woo! You’ll find Simplicity 8161 and…
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The State of the Book (2) Address
Abby works on Cynthia’s (Redthreaded) hair while I photographs each step for “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty,” coming July 2019. Hi! I’ve been a pretty terrible blogger again this…
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A Little History of “Vienna” Victorian Congress Boots
With the release of our shiny new “Vienna” Congress Boots this season, we thought we’d give a little history of this interesting, rather special kind of footwear. In the US the elastic-sided…
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Fall Pre-Order is OPEN!
American Duchess F/W2018 Pre-Order is open Aug 30 – Sept 20 at AmericanDuchess.com Ladies! It’s time for NEW historic shoes and boots! It’s “go big or go home” this Fall and we’ve…
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The Eternal Sunshine of the 18th Century Gown
This year at Costume College it really was all very, very yellow This year I kindof copped out at the Costume College Gala…but in a very Georgian way. I can’t really say…
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Where to Find Great War Era Sweaters
Original advertisement for 1919 sweaters – image from Wearing History (click through to visit her blog post on these sweaters) I don’t know about you, but when I see September on the…
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The Green Goblin – 1790s Dress – For Real This Time
Nicole, me, and Samantha in our Regency gowns at Costume College 2018 I promised finished-dress-worn photos of this little devil of a 1790s project, so here goes… I was quite pleased and…
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Jane Austen Festival, 2018
Maggie, Abby, and Nicole looking gorgeous at Jane Austen Festival, 2018 Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, marks the center point of the year. This event always takes place in mid-July at…