American Duchess, Now Open For Business

American Duchess is now accepting costuming commissions, yay!

I am not solely an 18th century seamster - I also work in Elizabethan, Baroque, Regency, Victorian, Edwardian, and retro fashions from the 1920s-60s.

I am open to commissions from both ladies and gentlemen, and can provide a full wardrobe, from underpinnings to accessories. I am able to develop patterns through draping, drafting, or scaling historical examples (from Janet Arnold, for instance), as well as work with patterns you specify, such as Truly Victorian. I offer a full design service to help you visualize and develop your costume and character.

As a new seamster-for-hire, I seek to keep my pricing reasonable. Costs will always depend on materials used and complexity of your project. However, I always look for ways to reduce the cost of an ensemble, and make it a garment that is beautiful, wearable, and durable.

If you are interested in commissioning, please e-mail Lauren at RenReeser@gmail.com

Ladies and Gentlemen, The 1795 Barn Owl Robe

The moment at least a handful of you have been waiting for!

Last weekend I wore The Owl to Gaskells. I had been planning, crafting, stitching, and wrangling my way toward this one night for the greater part of 2009.

It started with feverishly finishing the thing. I had gotten pretty darn sick of it, but I was rescued by my fantastically crafty mother, who swooped in and went to work stitching on feathers and making necessary tucks and tacks.

My crafty mother, at about 10 pm, "fixing" things.

With the thing somehow complete, we scurried down to San Jose for a dual-purpose weekend: packing my entire apartment for The Move, and also donning this costume for Gaskells on Saturday evening.

I started the makeup somewhere around 4:30, beginning with these insane feather eyelashes I'd picked up at a Halloween store, on a whim. They took some fenagling, but I got them to stick, then started on the feather "mask". This involved painting on a dab of liquid latex, then sticking the feather into it and holding it in place. I used real barn owl feathers for this (courtesy of The Dreamstress), and layered them on up around the arch of my eyebrows, and under my cheekbones. After the latex was dry, I smeared on foundation to blend it, then some black eyeshadow on my eyelids, and that was it!

Feather face makeup, in progress - and the wig cap of awesome.

With all of it put together, it looked really quite cool! Nevermind those packing boxes in the background...

The dance was lovely. The Owl and the Fox were well-received, we had no major problems with dancing, tripping, or molting. I did lose one clump of feathers, but I count myself lucky, and there was no visible hole. I did have some trouble with the weight of the gown causing my shoulders to hurt. I found this to be true of this pattern despite the feathers, as there is no weight distribution throughout - it hangs off the shoulders, so all the weight is there.

Lovely photos by Justin Oliphant and others

At the end of the night, I had the joy of peeling latex off my face, which was akin to ripping band-aids off. Luckily, I didn't wake anyone with my squeeks of pain, and there was no irritation from the latex, yay!

Jenny of Button N' Bows, in her GORGEOUS "Mask of Zorro" gown.

The owl gown will not be worn again. It will be repaired, cleaned, and auctioned on eBay. More information on that later. Don't cry, it's o

And that's it! A year's worth of costuming done, worn, loved. Now on to other projects (all under $75 of course), and the continued pursuit of good craftsmanship, design, and beauty through clothing :-)

Costume Queen Gives "Kreativ Blogger" Nod to American Duchess

This portrait by Allan Ramsay has absolutely nothing to do with the article you're about to read.

Tonight I have reason to celebrate! American Duchess has received the "Kreativ Blogger" award from Costume Queen, of the delightful blog "Aria of an Amateur." American Duchess has also earned 60 followers tonight! Woo! Time for a party! (or something!)

Rules of The Kreativ Blogger Award:
1. Copy the Kreativ Blogger picture and post it on your page
2. Thank the person who gave it to you and link back to their blog
3. Write seven things about you that we don't know
4. Choose seven other bloggers that you would like to give the award to
5. Link to the bloggers that you choose
6. Let the winners know that they have the lovely award.

OK, 7 Things You Don't Know About Me:
1. I made a pact with my parents, when I was about 9, to never have to eat another bite of squash again. I have since broken that pact.
2. I have never been seriously injured, despite all the physical activities and stupid things I do and have done. (knock on wood)
3. I was the drum major in my high school marching band.
4. I really wish I knew another language, a beautiful language like French or Gaelic...instead, I learned (or rather spent time NOT learning) Spanish in high school, from an overly tanned hippie named Ms. Jacox.
5. Top Gear is my favorite show in the whole world. And I have a huge crush on Richard Hammond. And that makes me a statistic.
6. Fall is my favorite season; October my favorite month; and October 23rd my favorite day.
7. If I ever have children, I hope they're boys. Since I'll more likely have just dogs, I hope they're girls.

Now for the 7 Blogs of Awesome that shall receive The Kreativ Blogger Award:
1. In Pursuit of Glamour - just beautiful. I want to live in this blogger's house and sit on her furniture and be surrounded by her things. (ok, was that too creepy?)
2. A Dress A Day - it's not an easy feat to pull of such an acute blog as this one, and it's one thing to post pictures of vintage patterns and dresses, but something else entirely to write the extremely witty and entertaining commentary that Erin provides us with!
3. Wearing History - such cuteness! I can't get over vintage and retro clothing, it just makes me keel over with WANT TO WEAR syndrome. Wearing history offers insights as well as reproduction patterns of some serious cuteness.
4. Marie Antoinette's Gossip Guide - we love Marie as much as Georgiana. Both blogs are very stylishly designed, and offer a little Rococo goodness on, well, just about everything.
5. In The Long Run - this is a lovely little dress blog that single-handedly taught me the proper way to flatline. So worth the read, she makes such lovely things.
6. Serendipitous Stitchery - Maggie puts textures and colors together than I would never think to work, yet her costumes come out simply fantastically. She has also made something like 10,000 dresses this year (well, maybe I exaggerate a little, but it's a LOT)
7. Princess Lastertron - a fabulously inspiring blog! I've never seen anything like Princess' felt button-flower bouquets, and I'm truly inspired that she has made such a successful business out of her crafting love. Very cool. Very unique.

Taking Stock: Project Updates and Plans

American Duchess has undergone a change in location: I have moved from California to Nevada, and all of my things (and I mean ALL) are currently stacked haphazardly in a storage shed, save my sewing machine, laptop, and a couple bags of clothing. Understandably, many projects and things on my to-do list have been postponed until I can end my nomadic tendencies, and set up "the castle" in a functioning manner. So as not to keep you in the dark, here is a run-down of, well, all the stuff I have planned:

The KCI Jacket & Gilet Project - unfortunately postponed until further notice. This requires some fierce patterning, draping, drafting madness, for which I will need space, both my dress forms, large pads of paper, rulers and slidey rule thingies, muslin, and on and on. Thus, until I have these things at my fingertips, it must be postponed.

Medivh World of Warcraft Man-Clothes - cancelled. The man for whom these man-clothes were being made is not longer in my life.

Dickens Christmas Ensemble - revised. I hadn't posted about this before, but I had originally planned to do a black velveteen jacket to go with a pink & cream striped skirt that I made for a ballgown earlier this year. I've decided instead to do a gathered/fan-front bodice and tiered skirt in some oh-so-sweet plaid, and base it loosely on this Simplicity pattern.

Mid 18th c Court Gothique Man-Clothes - a commission for a friend, who is looking for a full ensemble and has his materials all picked out. I plan to work with a pattern, probably JP Ryan. More to come on this project!

Top-Secret Elizabethan Project - you guessed it, I can't tell you anything about it, mwahahaha!

And that's what Duchie's got goin' on for the next several months, and on into 2010. Oh yes, and each completed costume, barring the commission, for under $75, of course!

A Pogey Weekend

Two words best describe my adventures last Sunday: "Pogey" and "Bait."

If you are unfamiliar with Pogey Bait, please take a stroll over to the Dreamstress, and read about it. There are varying definitions, not all of them above-board, but I like this silly little name that has somehow come to perfectly describe what it is I was up to last Sunday.

Last weekend, my Lady Mother and I went down to Folsom (near Sacramento, CA), to visit the Folsom Renaissance Fair, our favorite fair of the season. We spent the day frolicking about, catching up with friends old and new.

While at fair, my dear friend Jenny (of Buttons & Bows) gifted to me this wonderful little stag pendant. It ended working really nicely with my fair clothes, so I wore it all day, and will wear it to future dances and with various other costumes. Thanks Jenny!

My Lady Mother and I decided not to do a second day at fair, and instead went to explore Old Folsom, a lovely little Foothills town "stuck in time," and ripe with cafes, boutiques, and antique shops.

I have decided to start a collection of porcelain figurines depicting pastoral 18th c ladies (and gentlemen I suppose). These little figurines were popular from at least the 19th century (if not earlier) up through the 1940s, the best examples being made in Germany, and later in Japan. They run the gamut in price, some being ridiculously expensive and others being quite moderate. I found this delightful porcelain pair for under $30. With no research into the marks, I do know that the figurine came from US occupied Germany (primarily Southern), which dates it to 1945-49.


I also got an early birthday present from My Lady Mother. This little figurine is from US Occupied Japan, which puts it at the same date as the German figurine, although I wonder, since it depicts a 1920s/30s styled lady, if it was not manufactured before the Occupation. Possible.

My last little trinkey was an impulse buy. It is a Pierrot bookend, and was on sale for $4. We think nobody wanted him because he did not have his Columbine. No marks or information on him, just love him for being so interesting and reminding me of a certain wooing contest earlier this year between a Yeoman, a farmer, and Pierrot the Clown (who won!).

I think I shall also like to begin compiling a mismatched tea service. Cute little teacups and matching saucers were everywhere, for around $10. For the future, when it's time for tea parties :-)

Congratulations Avi, Cutest Crafting Pet!

Congratulations to Avi, Taiwan Dog Extraordinaire, who won The Dreamstress' "Cutest Crafting Pet Competition!"

Avi won a box full of all kinds of goodies - a bag of pineapple lumps (have since been eaten), the biggest chocolate bar I have ever seen (has since been eaten), some lovely postcards, and the most wonderful reticule on the face of the earth.

Hand made by the Dreamstress herself, this little reticule is a lovely silk rendition of a pineapple, which became all the rage around the turn of the 19th century. I cannot WAIT to carry this with me to various late 18th century, Regency, and Victorian events! I think this reticule is quite possibly the most lovely thing I've ever had!

Avi, well, she tolerated me tying it about her neck and snapping her photo, even after she was utterly shocked at Kanye West popping up in our living room... (thanks Madame Berg!)

18th c Barn Owl Costume Madness : Progress at Last

Despite my unexpected interstate move from California to Nevada, I have managed to get a little work done on the barn owl costume that I am to wear in, oh, a week or so, to Halloween Gaskells in Oakland.

This is the "fun" part, which really means the most challenging and creative part: blending the golden goose feathers up into the pleats of the robe, and making it all somehow work.

I am happy to report the the back pleats, where the rooster feathers emerge, look fantastic, just as I had hoped. Now I am meticulously stitching in the goose feathers, which involves punching holes along the quill with a hammer and small nail, since they are so thick and tough that the needle doesn't want to go through.

The goose feathers blending into the pleats. This is unfinished, but you get the idea.

The goose feathers curve one way or the other depending on which wing they came from. Luckily I have enough of both left-curving and right-curving to make it work on both sides of the robe. The effect will hopefully be something like wings swooping back over the hips and down the back of the gown (depending on how many feathers I have and how patient I am with sewing them on).

The effect of the gold "wings" emerging from the pleats. More will cascade down from nearer the cross piece at the bust.

While some problems have been fixed - shortening the brown taffeta hem guard to remove the train - other problems have cropped up, such as my forgetting in California the extra cream taffeta to make the cap sleeves from. The robe will have to be sleeveless. Not the end of the world, but not exactly as I'd wanted it. I must then finish the armholes with bias tape...at some point here in the next two weeks!