My American Duchess Shoes

I finally painted my American Duchess Devonshire shoes this week! I based them off of this pair from the Bata Shoe Museum. I used the Angelus leather preparer, paints, and matte finisher from Dharma Trading. They are also shown here with the American Duchess Fleur buckles. I did the painting completely freehand, though in retrospect, I probably should have used some sort of measuring/straight edge, since my pattern is not at all uniform. I also painted on the "binding," since it worked well for my Regency shoes (though I might put actual binding on eventually). I wore them for the first time today at the San Jose Fantasy Faire, and they were very comfortable! I think I might put a small pad in the ball of the foot, but they were still more comfortable than any other heels I own.






I also finished my teens-era "Princess Slip" (which wound up not being Princess seamed, but I don't know what else to call it). It's soo cute! Pictures to come, I promise. For the first time ever, I didn't base it off of a pattern, or even a picture of a pattern, I just made the whole thing up. And I did my first-ever pintucks, which turned out really nice. The slip took way longer than I expected, since I added so much lace, but I think it was worth it. :)