Greetings, friends! We are back today with another foray into how art history and fashion history converge. Recently, on our Instagram account, we shared a cheeky little post featuring the painting Hearing: The Five Senses by Henri Guillaume Schlesinger. This example of genre painting is so lively and fun, that we just had to share it with everyone. While lots of you could relate to what was going on in this painting vis-á-vis blowing an instrument in a friend or sister’s ear, we also got questions about the attire worn by the two ladies in the painting. Of course, we must go down this irresis ..read more

Did you know that American Duchess has been designing 18th-century shoes since 2011? In fact, our very first design ever was the “Georgiana,” a satin 18th-century latchet shoe. (Oh, and here’s a bit of company lore — the very first shipment actually caught on fire.) Between 2011 and 2024, we have designed over two dozen unique 18th-century footwear styles and currently carry ten. As you might imagine, designing 18th-century shoes is super fun — though it can also be challenging to adapt these historical styles of yesteryear into something familiar to the twenty-first-century customer and comfo ..read more

Dear friends, we come to you with a most exciting announcement. The pre-order for our Promenade Collection is now open! We are delighted to introduce three new styles: the Esme 1930s Wedges, Marta Vintage Sandals, and Bronte Slippers! Promenade is our first pre-order collection of 2024, and with the new year, we are changing up the way we do pre-orders ever so slightly. Happily, these changes mean more savings for you! Starting with Promenade, you will save 15% on all pre-order collection styles purchased within the pre-order sale period. Rather than 14 days, our pre-order periods are now 10 ..read more

We love a good oxblood leather shoe here at American Duchess Historical Footwear! After all, there’s something a bit magical about red shoes, isn’t there? Possibly the boldest color out there, red is symbolic of so many things — from emotions like bravery and love to danger and power. Throughout history, people of generations past have also loved red leather shoes (King Louis XIV’s red heels, anyone??), including the rich color oxblood. So what exactly is oxblood red, and why is it called that?  Generally, the term oxblood is applied to a deep maroon-red color, like the color of red wine ..read more

Hello lovelies, and Happy New Year from American Duchess! In our last blog post of 2023, we explored ladies’ Victorian/Edwardian lace-up boots and spring heels. As we are going into our twelfth (!!!) year of producing functioning button boots, we thought it most appropriate to make our 2024 blog debut with a topic near and dear to our hearts: button boots, and the variety of shapes and styles they could be found in. Button boots were preceded by buttoning gaiters, which were worn over one’s shoes, in the early 19th century- think c. 1805-1810. By the late 18-teens, gaiters and shoes had evolv ..read more

We are so excited to share our Beloved Boots collection, featuring three splendid lace-up styles based on the boots of days past. (We would say “It’s that time of year again” — but who are we kidding? Boot season is all year round!) Two of the styles in this collection are directly inspired by the Victorian and Edwardian eras. That would be our new cotton twill and leather Anne boot as well as our signature Paris Boots in four gorgeous new shades. Both of these styles are accurate to the period beginning about 1880 well into the twentieth century. And here at American Duchess, instead of just ..read more

Have you checked out our Beloved Boots collection yet? It features a brand-new style, the Sierra Vintage Boots. Named for the wondrous and mighty mountain range that stretches from Nevada down into California, Sierra is a rubber-soled leather beauty based on outdoors boots from the 1930s and 1940s. Let’s take a look at some of the original references, shall we? If you are a regular blog reader, you likely saw our recent post about the types of carriage boots, overshoes, galoshes, and bootie styles that were the inspiration behind our Alpen Booties. These sorts of overshoes were a popular opti ..read more

Good news, friends- our new silk stockings are finally here, and we couldn’t be more excited! We have been working on developing our new line of stockings for a while now. Our goal was to design a historically inspired, silk stocking that was versatile for all manner of historical garb, as well as versatile in size. We think these exclusive stockings have turned out beautifully, and we can’t wait to see you style them! Our new stockings are 70% silk, blended with nylon and a bit of spandex to ensure stretchiness and good recovery. The 1.5″/ 3.81 cm welt at the top of the stocking doesn’t pinc ..read more

Now available for pre-order, our new Waltz slipper is based on a plethora of late-Victorian and Edwardian examples! In this blog post, we share some history about evening slippers from the 1870s through the 1920s, including what materials and trimmings were the most fashionable, and why you should consider investing in your own pair of historical reproduction slip-on pumps courtesy of American Duchess. Throughout the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the shoes that women wore to formal evening occasions and balls were known as “slippers.” Not to be confused with comfy house slippers, th ..read more

Our Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot pre-order sale is in full-swing! We have been working on developing and perfecting these styles for months, and we’re so pleased to see such a positive reception to these lovely Edwardian shoes. Hand-colored postcard featuring tango/foxtrot shoes Tango and Foxtrot are especially romantic styles, complete with scalloping, lace-up tabs, and splendid ribbon laces. They are true showstoppers! The wonderful @virtuouscourtesan modelling our Tango Boots and Foxtrot Pumps…in case you are in need of inspiration! How did Tango boots and shoes come into fashion? Well, around 19 ..read more