Jasmine wearing her Therese hood, a very simple early 1780s accessory It is my belief that one can never have too many 18th century accessories. Hats and caps are essential to getting…
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1780 – 1781 Glasgow Polonaise Sacque Jacket Progress
1780 – 1781 Polonaise sacque jacket almost done! I love the back, even if it has double the fabric in it that it really needs. Alllmmmooosssttt doooonnnneeeee! This project has been one…
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#ADBeauty – 8 Authentic 18th Century Hairstyles!
Big Hair? Yes you can! Possibly the post you’ve been truly waiting for, today I’m going to give you some previews of the hairstyles in our next book “The American Duchess Guide…
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#ADBeauty – 18th Century Cosmetics and Hair Care Products
Cynthia applied 18th century rouge in The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty. “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty” is a how-to book broken into what could be considered…
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Introducing “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty”
We’re official one month away from the release of our second book, “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty” ! This time last year we were sewing, styling, and photographing with…
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Introducing: The Isabella MacTavish Fraser Wedding Gown Project
The famous Isabella MacTavish Fraser wedding gown c. 1785. Photo by Ewen Weatherspoon. Reproduced with permission of Inverness Museum & Art Gallery Big news! We’ve been hinting at it for awhile now, but…
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Ikea Costuming 101 – Making Historical Gowns with Duvet Covers, Curtains, and Sheets
The Italian Gown from “The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking” was made with one LJUSÖGA Queen size duvet cover from Ikea. Accurate printed cottons are very difficult to find. Usually…
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1780-81 Glasgow Polo-Sacque Fiddling
Progress! This past weekend I made a lot of good progress on my version of the 1780 – 1781 Polonaise-Sacque Jacket. I am always so very chuffed by how quickly sacque-back things…
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Making A Start: The 1780-81 Glasgow Polo-Sacque Jacket Progress
A quick mockup – feeling excited! At last, and for the first time in 2019, I am sitting down to sew something! The first four months of this year have been taken…
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A Little History of … Hamilton / Schuyler 18th Century Shoes
New American Duchess “Hamilton” / “Schuyler” 18th Century Shoes for men and women. Next in our line up of new men’s (+ women’s) styles are the beautiful “Hamilton” (mens) / “Schuyler” (womens)…
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Meet our New Theatrical Footwear Line!
American Duchess Spring/Summer 2019 Theatrical Line We are trying lots of new things this year in shoe-company-land. For years we have (rather unexpectedly) supplied historical footwear to the opera, ballet, and theater,…
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A Little History of…Albert / Bertie Regency Pumps
Zack Pinsent for American Duchess This season we’re very excited to launch our new men’s styles….which are also women’s styles! One of our most basic and versatile styles is the Albert /…
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Pre-Order is Open at American Duchess
Pre-Order is OPEN at AmericanDuchess.com April 18 – May 10 Wow, where do we even start! There is so much new stuff this season! You won’t want to miss these! Men’s and…
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The Curious Polonaise-Sacque Jacket
1780-81 jacket – Glasgow Museums Collection – 1932.51.o January is Costume A-D-D time. A whole new year lies ahead and we are all brimming with project ideas. Some I’ve even started and…
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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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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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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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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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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…