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  • Behind the Masque: Owl Mask Concept and References

    May 19, 2009

    What is more intriguing than and 18th c. Masquerade (and it’s masks)? American Duchess’ first monster project, which all the dress diary entries so far have been working towards, is the notorious…

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  • Butterick 18th C. Stays – In Progress “Glamour”

    May 15, 2009

    For all the corset and bodies I’ve made, the 18th c. version, called “stays,” is new to me. I picked up a Butterick (B4484) pattern some years ago and have finally gotten…

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  • The Top 5 18th c. Costume Blogs On the Web

    May 13, 2009

    The time has come for the first official “Duchess Awards” to be given out for five of the best costume blogs around, covering 18th century costuming. These sites, updated and maintained regularly…

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  • I’m NOT Crazy! – Examples of Incredible Feather Gowns

    May 8, 2009

    Holy Mackerel! Look what I found wandering the interwebs! This is an Yves Saint Laurent gown made of pheasant and vulture (vulture!?) feathers. It’s GORGEOUS!! I don’t have access to vultures, but…

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  • Hair of Great Enormity – a Practical How-To…

    May 7, 2009

    Get ready ladies. This is the post you’ve all been waiting for! A step-by-step guide to creating 18th c. monster hair from a long synthetic wig. So by now you’ve got your…

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  • 1795 Open Robe: The Sheety Toile

    May 5, 2009

    The time has come to create the pattern for the 1795 Open Robe! I printed out my scan of the Janet Arnold “Patterns of Fashion” robe and was pleased to see that…

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  • A Great Place For 18th c. Hats…

    May 5, 2009

    While recently perusing the love Duchess of Devonshire blog, I ran across a link for a site selling period straw hats, both men’s and women’s, called “Just Two Tailors.” I was very…

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  • The Amazing CraftHat Pt.1 – shaping

    May 4, 2009

    Ever wander through the fun-filled aisles of the craft store and notice the straw hats? They come in many sizes, from large sun hats to miniature doll’s hats. The kicker, though, is…

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  • 18th Century Wig-stravaganza Pt.1

    May 2, 2009

    Hooray, my wigs have finally come and are in my clutches! After ripping open the box and hastily pulling my two wigs out of their packages, I stuffed the first one on…

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  • Wig Ransom

    May 1, 2009

    My wigs arrived today! Unfortunately they are being held hostage in the apartment complex office. I will likely pick them up tomorrow evening, in exchange for the ridiculous amount of dollars that…

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  • GREAT Hats of the Late 18th c. … [what are they and where do I get them?]

    April 28, 2009

    …That’s “GREAT” as in Great Dane, Great Blue Herron, and the Great Wall of China. With mountains of hair exploding from the tops of ladies’ heads throughout the 18th century, it made…

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  • We Have A Winner!

    April 23, 2009

    As this dress has been on my mind constantly for the last week, I’ve been mulling over construction and shape, and here, at last, the *FINAL* sketch for the design of this…

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  • I Can See Your [Regency] Underwear…

    April 23, 2009

    As noted in a previous entry, undergarments are quite possibly the single most important part of your costume. They provide the foundation upon which your dress will be built, and will alter…

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  • Cross-Over Necklines – 1795

    April 23, 2009

    Here’s an awesome page choc full o’ information on Regency everything, from which all these pics today have come. People nowadays tend to think in terms of decade and/or sometimes entire centuries!…

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  • Is Regency A Good Idea?

    April 21, 2009

    I’ve been very on-the-fence about whether I want to go Regency era or scootch back towards the 1790s with this costume. My dilemma is that I don’t like Regency. Why not? Because…

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  • The Hair Up There – Enormous Wigs of the late 18th Century…

    April 21, 2009

    Much planning has already gone into The Barn Owl gown, from the undergown to the robe, to the underpinnings, and hair is not to be left out! I am mainly starting down…

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  • New Sketch

    April 18, 2009

    A quick sketch of the new ensemble – the undergown with an empire waist, but full through the skirt, and the open robe pretty much as it is in the Janet Arnold…

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  • The Waist Conundrum…

    April 17, 2009

    In exploring shapes, patterns, and periods for this gown, I’ve run into a sort of conundrum as to what exactly I want in terms of waist. The robe I love love love…

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  • Design Sketches

    March 22, 2009

    Because of the nature, and cost, of this project, there must be much planning, sketching, and thinking before anything ever gets cut, stitched, or glued.  Here are a few more design sketches…

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  • The Feather Fund

    March 20, 2009

    The feathers I want to use – the “Natural Cream & Ginger” Schlappen from LamplightFeather.com – are $8/foot, so I’ve attempted to do some preliminary math to make an educated guess at…

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