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,…
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V218: Costume College 2012: Time Traveler’s Gala
The Gala at Costume College is overwhelmingly awesome. Everybody turns out with the most dazzling, stunning, out-of-this-world costumery you can imagine. Here are a few snaps I took tonight… Yay Northern Nevada!…
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217: Costume College Day 1: Ice Cream Social, Yay!
Costume College is *awesome* ! So far I’ve met tons of wonderful people, learned all about proper sleeve drafting, altering, and fitting, and made some indestructible 1770s rolls to clip into future…
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V216: Small Biz Betties: Making Public Appearances
Hello again! Today I’m in Southern California, attending “Costume College,” an annual event chock full of classes on all kinds of costuming stuff, along with shopping, and a sweet costume tea, ice…
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V215: Interview with Alicia of “Little Bits Clothing Company”
Hi All! Today I’ve got an interview with Alicia of “Little Bits Clothing Company,” a great little business creating reproduction historical gowns of the 18th and 19th centuries, along with a whole…
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V214: 18th Century Silk Clocked Stockings Now on Pre-Order
Okay, ladies (and gents too), it’s finally time. The new clocked stockings I’ve been working on are finally available to order. Purchase yours at www.american-duchess.com . White silk stockings with black clocks,…
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V213: Extant vs. Extent – What’s the Difference?
“I’m an extant gown with a skirt of great extent” In the historical costuming world, we talk and write a lot about original garments. It’s important to get the right terminology when…
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V212: Georgian Hair Hopping
Chris and I did a photo shoot the other night, for the clocked stockings pre-sale coming up in a couple days. I wore my new “Parisian Gown,” and wanted to do a…
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V211: I Like Big Bustles and I Cannot Lie
It is rather like an insect carapace, isn’t it. Last Friday night, I took a class with the industrious Mary Crawley, leader of the local Steampunk club, High Desert Steam, to learn…
