It’s a big day! For the first time, we’re presenting our entire Fall collection all at once. Intense. This year we have new offerings in several of our historic categories. There’s “Fraser”…
-
-
The Great China Adventure, Or, How Jet-Lag is Evil
Hello Lovelies! Abby here – sort of… Jet lag is evil & mean. But I’m here in body, even if that means my circadian rhythms are still totally bananas and I now…
-
The Red Dress Project: Challenges
Lauren reporting > I’ve been working on-and-off on The Red Dress, the Robe de Cour pattern for Simplicity. I am making the master pattern in paper, but I am also responsible for…
-
Our Big Announcement!
Hello Lovelies! As many of you know (but maybe some of you don’t) we announced last Friday via our weekly Facebook LiveCast (2pm Pacific Time/5 pm Eastern) that American Duchess has signed…
-
1960s Emma Peel – My First Cosplay Ever
Lauren here – I’ve never considered myself a “cosplayer.” I have trouble reproducing costume and clothing, by which I mean I don’t stick to a given design very well. I wander off…
-
1830s Corset Inspiration & Research
Hello Lovelies – So I’m plugging away on my 1830s corset, and all seems to be going to plan…which is good seeing as how when I picked up my needle and thread…
-
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…
-
Dipping My Toe Into Uncharted Corsetry
Hello Lovelies! Abby here — Ok – so my title is not entirely true. I’ve made an 1800s corset before…hell I’ve even taught a workshop on how to pattern and make your…
-
Introducing Abby Cox, New Vice President of American Duchess
Hello Lovelies 🙂 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…
-
Classic 1940s Shoes by Royal Vintage (That’s Me!)
I’ve been kindof quietly working on this other thing for awhile, for about a year now – it’s a whole new line of historical reproduction shoes for the 20th century vintage decades,…
-
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…
-
Bastille Day Sale – Freebies, Clearance Styles, and Imperfects
Bastille Day Sale! It’s time for our annual mid-Summer sale. We’re clearing out the old to make room for the new! This year we have free accessories on ALL our 18th century…
-
Simplicity 18th Century Stays – Adding Boning
I’ve been MIA on the Simplicity 18th Century Pattern Hacks lately, due to moving, but I’m back! Time for more helpful hacks and hints for constructing Simplicity 8161 and 8162 in a…
-
An 1830s Day Dress for Dickens Fair 2016
Three 1830s gowns in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art You may be thinking, “Dickens Fair is in December, so long away!” and you would be right, but it never…
-
The Original 1916 – 1921 Party Dress
Well, this is a topic I can genuinely say I haven’t blogged about before. It’s amazing what send us down what rabbit holes. Metal thread embroidery with couched metal. These are all…
-
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 Red Dress Project: 18th Century Robes de Cour
The next on my list of Big News to share with all of you is that, due to the popularity of the first 18th century patterns (8161 and 8162), Simplicity has asked…
-
Oh, Hello Again…
Our temporary sign, lol Darlings, I do apologize for being MIA lately, especially right as we started the Simplicity 18th c. Pattern Hacks series… … but it’s been for good reason! ……
-
A 1940s Photo Shoot in Reno, Nevada
The beautiful Elizabeth, dressed in original 1940s vintage. Whenever we do photo shoots, I always try to come up with an interesting concept. Usually, for the American Duchess line, we’re trying to…
-
Review: Emmy Design Sweden Vintage Repro Clothing
Do you ever feel like you just can’t sew the vintage wardrobe you want, in its entirety, fast enough? I have a gazillion vintage sewing patterns, but it seems like less and…