Free 1910s Cape Pattern – click here! Hi! If you’ve been following us on Instagram you may have seen the explosion of capes. We’ve released a free PDF gridded pattern for a…
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History is Cool: 1890s Belle Epoque Linen Summer Blouse
Hi all! Well, during this crazy time in human history I managed to start and actually finish one (1) project, an 1890s summer shirtwaist made in lovely white linen. I’ve been wanting…
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American Duchess on Youtube!
Hi all! Well, in light of recent and ongoing events, we’re all at home making lots and lots of Youtube videos. It’s a good way to help keep the costuming and sewing…
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Podcast Episode 28: Merging Royal Vintage & American Duchess
Yay! Welcome back to a whole new season of podcastery! It’s been awhile since we’ve done podcasts, but we get a lot of requests for them, so we thought we’d kick off…
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Review: Vecona Vintage Three-Piece Ladies’ Suits
Sporting the Vecona Vintage “Viktoria” three-piece suit in grey wool blend, in Portugal. Anyone who follows my personal Instagram page (@lauren_stowell) will know I’m a *big fan* of menswear, particularly three-piece suits.…
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The 1630 Thang – Finishing the Bodies
Dayum she looks good! 1630 Dutch formal basque bodice with ribbon points. It’s been a few weeks since I started the yellow and black bumblebee-lobster bodice/bodies/smooth-covered stays for my 1630 ensemble, and…
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The 1630s Dutch Thang – Badonk-a-donk, Petticoat, and Starting the Bodies
Just playing around with pinning things on my dress form Now into the making up! I’ve been stitching on my big 1630 project and quite enjoying the process. There’s enough weirdness here…
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The 1630 Dutch *Thang* – Beginnings
A still from “Tulip Fever” (2017) – outstanding costuming by Michael O’Connor. As so often happens, after a no-sew period of downtime and feeling phlegmatic about costuming, I was struck by a…
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18th Century Printed Cotton Do’s & Don’t’s
A beautiful printed cotton gown, 1785-95. The Met. A very condensed version of this essay, without pictures, appears in The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking. Because there is *so much…
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Holiday Shipping Deadlines, 2019
Here’s just a quick reminder to get your American Duchess and Royal Vintage orders in by the following dates so we can ship them out and get them to you on time:…
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Historic & Retro Winter Shoes & Boots
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane snow is glistening… <3 Here’s our annual guide to this year’s historic and retro winter shoes and boots from American Duchess and Royal…
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The Countess of Melbury’s Ball c. 1789 – Inspo!
The Met, 1780s Italian gown. Inspiration for my own gown for this event. Next March, 2020, I am attending the Countess of Melbury’s Ball in Walnut Grove, California. The event is set…
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Book Review: Women of the 1920s: Style Glamour, & the Avante-Garde by Thomas Bleitner
Louise Brooks On the eve of the 2020s, the spell of the exciting and revolutionary 1920s looms large. It was an unforgettable era with deep cultural shifts and powerful aesthetics. Women, in…
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Winter SALE at American Duchess & Royal Vintage
La la la la la – it’s that time of year where we put, like, everything on SALE! Here are the links: American Duchess This year we have the traditional FREEBIES –…
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The Isabella Mactavish Fraser Pattern & Documentary!
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are very proud to release to you today the Isabella Mactavish Fraser gown pattern and construction PDF along with our short documentary about this famous tartan gown and…
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The Reno Tweed Ride, 2019
Chrissy wore her bicycling pants, spatterdashes, and a corset on her Columbia 1920s reproduction bike. The same weekend we invaded Virginia City with our Spoop-Troupe, we enjoyed the local Tweed Ride. Tweed…
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The Nevada Statehood Ball – An Evening in 1864
The crew – Abby, Chrissy, me, and Caroline at the Nevada Statehood Ball, 2019 – photo by Chase Stevens. A few posts ago I shared how I refit my 1860s Aubergine evening…
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A Spoopy Day in Virginia City, Nevada
The Spoop-Crew in Virginia City, NV. No actual buckets of blood were consumed, but we thought about it…. Several weekends ago a group of friends came to visit us here in Reno.…
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Altering My 1860s Evening Gown
Currently on my sewing table is a “simple” alteration to my one-and-only 1860s evening gown. I made this gown, along with a matching day bodice, back in 2014 and over the years…
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Adventures in England – Nature, Painting, and Fashion
Hadiran’s Wall, UK Chris and I have recently returned from a vacation in Cumbria, UK, visiting the famously gorgeous Lake District. We rented an airbnb cottage for the entire length of our…
