Many of you in Virginia know about Burnley and Trowbridge but I thought I'd give a shout out for the rest of you.  I've been ordering fabric from them for a long time and make a point of hitting their stall at Fort Frederick Market Fair every year.  They have excellent quality yard goods,  books, patterns and notions and a lot of stuff that is hard to find, like Manchester Velvets - perfect for dapper 18th C menswear, hand-dyed silk ribbon and the famous (infamous?)  RED shoes!



They are also responsible for an impressive line up of 18th Century workshops which they host each year in Williamsburg.  They've recently finished up their spring series which included the Hair and Make-up workshop that I've been raving about, a hands-on outerwear workshop and a Ladies' Riding Habit Workshop I would have given my eye-teeth to go to.  The workshops are taught by big names in a convivial atmosphere and I think they're a bargain given they last all weekend and include a breakfast and lunch buffet both days. 

Basically we've got our own 18th C oriented mini-costume college in the form of the classes they put on.  Some of you 18th C buffs a bit farther afield may want to think about making the trip to Williamsburg and going sometime.  I know I'm on the alert for the next Riding Habit class...anyone want to go with me?

I've been planning more shoe recovering.  I haven't gotten to that yet but I do have some amazing inspiration for those of you who, like me, are in love with the shoes of this period.  The Bata Shoe Museum in Ontario, Canada has an exhibit called The Charm of Rococo: Femininity and Footwear in the 18th Century, up only until April 3rd (sorry, I didn't read about it until today!)

Check out these amazing shoes!

These lovely shoes of mine which I haven't had a chance to wear until now, aren't they just perfect?

I got more done tonight - the sleeve caps are in, the lining is in, the boning channels are in, the skirt is pinned to the bodice.  I need to finish the edge of the sleeves, attach the skirt, hem, put boning in, put on the ribbon trim and do the back fastening then I'm done. 

You thought I was never going to get to it didn't you?  Well, I had my doubts as well, but I couldn't let this sword of Damocles hang over my head any longer so I finally took some pictures and rather lamely added text, which was what hold up was.  And now without further ado...



And for those who missed it  part 1 and part 2

Enjoy your shoes!

More shoe how-to stuff

On to part 3 here

Okay, not really.  I still have threads to cut and a bit of the ribbon to sew down and I really should put more shoe glue on the soles to make sure they're really on tight but they're basically done.  Here's the before and after. 

Some of you expressed interest in a how-to on the shoe covering I've been doing and I'm more than happy to oblige right

Warning - lots and lot of photos and very long!

On to part 2 here

Just a few FYI pics of some 18th C buckles from the V & A website -  they weren't all boring old rectangles.  Interesting how the first two are almost but not quite identical.  And how they sorta look like 1950s costume jewelry brooches. 

So are you sick of my shoe posts yet?  Do you think I might be obsessed?  Well if you're up for more I've got some

That's what Ive decided to call these, although perhaps they are more Lady Castlemaine-esque.  As I've been reading an awful lot about Charles II and his circle (a few historical fiction and bios of Nell, Lady C and Charles and Pepys Diary) I'm really feeling the urge to make something from this time period. I talked to jehanni  about the idea of a "mistresses of King Charles" costume group. Lord knows he had so many there is a lovely Lady for any and all who'd like to portray one...being as I'm blond I should probably be the drip Louise de Keroualle.  Here are the shoes in any event:

So here's the new shoe.  It's an embroidered silk taffeta.  I've only barely started on it's mate so it will be a while before I have a pair.  I've yet to make some eyelets in the flaps to attach the ribbons to so for now you'll just have to imagine a huge floppy bow tying the flaps together.

So I've almost finished the blue shoes, I've got to run out and buy more trim and attach it then I'm done.  I started working on another pair and have been trolling ebay for more buckles.  (I know, NO ONE reading this knows anything about obsessing, cough!)   I made a pattern of the tongue and buckle straps from the Townsend shoes and went to town on the dyables.  I've got one of those shoes nearly done too.  I had a lovely peach embroidered silk taffeta remnant that was really too small to make much out of besides a reticule, now I'll have shoes!  I have to bind the edges and re-glue some areas..  I'll have pics and more in depth construction info later.   I'm thinking may actually cut the buckle straps down a bit and make them a slightly earlier period.  Most of the earlier shoes seem to have tied, not buckled.  And looking at pics on the web the buckle straps seem to disappear in the early 1790s.  The heels hang around a bit longer but the straps disappear, must have been the revolutionary fervor - off with their straps!

That's the shoe report for tonight.  I'm going to bed a bit early.  I don't know if it's nerves over it being H's first day of 1st grade (he did okay) or if I'm getting sick but my stomach has been rather mean to me tonight.  Here's hoping tomorrow doesn't knock me out with the stomach flu...

Okay, I guess I'm on a shoe kick...I found some really cool 1860s looking booties on urban outiftters website for only $48 vs $79 for the fugawee version. And it comes in black AND wine!

Urban outfitters:




Fugawee: