Lauren reporting – We’re back! Last week Abby and I traveled to The East Coast to attend Rufflecon and spend a few days in New York City afterwards. While we were sipping…
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Spotlight: New “Londoner” Edwardian Oxfords
Lauren here – This month we’re celebrating the new Fall/Winter styles we’ve opened for pre-order all at once. Each week we’re taking a closer look at each style, the inspiration and research…
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New York, New York!
Today we are in New York City! Squeeeeeeeee! Although Abby has been here three times, Lauren has never been, so it’s quite the experience. We’re not at loose ends, though. Our three…
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Vintage Pants Review: Vivien of Holloway Swing Trousers
Lauren reporting … As you may know, I have a bit of an obsession with vintage trousers. This comes from my love of vintage style clothing, naturally, but also my deep seething…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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My “Agent Carter” Outfit on The Mood Blog (!)
I am a bit remiss in posting lately. A whole lot of everything has been going on, but a lot of it hasn’t been about historical costuming. While I’ve been buried in…
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1940s Hair Styling Inspiration
It’s Sunday. I was meant to do a 1940s photo shoot today, but it’s raining. Yup, rain in the desert. It rains 10 days a year here, and I manage to schedule…
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Tuesday Shoes-day: 1920s Shoes Inspiration
Lately I’ve been working on the second collection for Royal Vintage Shoes. Wait, what? You haven’t even seen the first collection yet! I know, don’t worry! I’m having to adjust to fashion-industry-norms…
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How to Wear Vintage Menswear Without Looking Like a Man
Marlene Dietrich – famous for many things, one of which was rocking this look For centuries, women have been working elements of masculine dress into their wardrobes. Clear back to the 16th…
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6 Reasons to Watch and Love Canadian WWII Drama “XCompany”
We history geeks sure do love a good costume drama, but these days *good* costume dramas seems harder and harder to find. It might have good costumes but a terrible plot; it…
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The Truth About Real Women’s 1940s Pants
Joan Bennet When the present interprets the past, it always adds its own ideals on top. This is how we can identify “70s does 30s” and “80s does 40s” – it’s because…
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I’m No Pinup
The actual me: I can’t draw a cat eye; I don’t often wear dresses; my car isn’t vintage; I’m covered in dog hair. I’ve been into vintage fashion a long time now.…
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Wearing History “Smooth Sailing” Blouse Review
Wearing History “Smooth Sailing” blouse made from the excellent printed pattern, worn with the ready-to-wear “Smooth Sailing” jeans. The pattern also contains piece for these pants. Late last year I made my…
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Professional Shoe Hunting Adventures in Vegas
View from (almost) the top Last week I went to Magic in Vegas. That sounds glamorous, but Magic is the name of the USA’s largest fashion trade show, and when I say…
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Exciting Things in Store for Vintage Shoe Lovers
2016 is already off to a roaring start. The beginning of the year always comes with lots of planning for the next 12 months, and this year is more intense than ever.…
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Artifact: Paragon Home Shoe Button Kit
In my journey of studying and recreating old-fashioned footwear, I get to geek out on old technologies re-discovered. I just love the how and why of things: the effect an innovation in…