1780s shoes

I have always loved the pink and black high heeled shoes in The Bata Shoe Museum's collection. I didn't aim to do a reproduction pair but I wanted to keep the main features, the color, the pointed toe and the high heels. As for the most obvious differences, I wanted to make mine without embroidery and with randed construction. It's a little old fashioned technique for 1780's but I have seen surviving examples of fashionable randed late 18th century shoes. 

My husband carved me the quirky tilted heels from wood and I made the uppers with silk satin and linen, bound with silk paduasoy ribbon. Toe boxes are reinforced with leather. Soles and rands are of leather. The shoes are hand stitched with linen and silk thread.

The shoes worn with my silk stockings and garters.

Construction:

Heels ready.

Stitching the uppers.

Stitching the insoles with uppers and rand.

The rand ready to be stitched to the outsole and heel cover in place.

The heel in place.

After this stage the outsoles were stitched on through the rand and the edge of the heel cover. The stitches run in a groove cut along the edge of the outsoles.

1780s French redingote

Earlier this year Kendra and I found out that we had both planned a redingote after a sketch of Marie-Antoinette for this year. I had originally planned this project for fall but as it would be fabulous to get to wear our redingotes together, I hurried to get it done in time for Costume College. It's made of black and white silk taffeta and lined with linen. It's hand sewn with linen and silk thread. The hat is a silk taffeta covered buckram hat. It's worn over my 1780's stays, shift, two linen petticoats and an older rump with the new quilted rump on top. The shoes are the striped ones I made last year worn with my silk stockings.

I started with a vision of an over the top, loud haute couture redingote, but as it progressed, I toned the plan down as you can see.

And with a hat:

And because Georgians loved their artwork with a lady adjusting her garter:

Construction:

Because I was running so low on time I didn't take many construction notes. But I made it similarly to many of my previous 18th century gowns. Each bodice piece is lined individually and then stitched together.

The insides.

Making the trim:

The pinked trim was gathered and pinned to the base.

Then I stitched it down.

Then I twisted and pinned on a strip of black taffeta with raw edges folded inside.

I stitched it down and added fabric covered wood mold buttons on top.

I tried to like the red fuzzy trim, but changed it to black taffeta binding.