I had meant to write this up into an official lesson, but to tell the truth, I think I can do better on the next pair! I learned an incredible amount on these shoes, and although I do plan to make another pair at some point soon, I think that these are of sufficient quality to present here. In truth, they knock the socks off of my Lesson 5, and I’m far more pleased with them. The upper leather is black waxed calf from Dickens Brothers, one of the oldest leather merchants in the UK. Further, it is precisely what the shoemakers in Colonial Williamsburg use. The insole, rand, and outsole leather is from Joh. Rendenbach. Both leathers were an absolute pleasure to work with.
The buckles themselves are actual antique 18th century silver buckles. These buckles are neat in that they are “clasp” buckles, where a small button is pressed and the actual strap attachment hinges out of the buckle proper. Then, once the shoe is buckled, the silver portion is clicked back in to place. Quite neat!
I’ve been hard at work on a pair of 1780s shoes – I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you, but I thought that you deserved a teaser pic, at least! I’m modeling these on an old sample shoe that I was incredibly fortunate to get from one of the shoemakers at Colonial Williamsburg. These teaser pictures show the inside and outside strap closing stitches, at a modest 10 stitches per inch, just about what the sample shoe was measured at. This has been, by far, the most challenging piece for me to date, and I’ve learned an incredible amount over the past couple of weeks. As always, you also find our exactly how far you have yet to go, but if one never starts the process, one never improves. I look forward to writing up the actual lessons!
I have two blog posts just ready to write up, but shoemaking has taken priority! So, until I get pictures of new work or a new tutorial post up for you, I’d like to share a couple of photos from our recent trip to France, even though they are only marginally related to shoemaking (though there are some buckle pictures and a reliquary of St. Crispin). All of the pictures are courtesy and copyright to Trystan Bass.
To start – a fun photo of the excellent Sarah Goodman and I getting our “Hadouken” on! If you don’t know what a hadouken is, check out this site.
As a treat for being attentive little readers and staying loyal even though I’ve missed a couple of weeks, I reward you with a blog post from France! A group of several of us 18th century costuming enthusiasts got together and let an 18th century chateau for two weeks, located in Pys, in the south of France, about 40 minutes from Toulouse. This is a magnificent place, and although the pictures speak loudly for themselves, a few additional words would not be untoward.
This is the second brainchild of Kendra Van Cleave and Trystan Bass – the first was a costuming event held at Blo Norton Hall in Norfolk, England back in 2010 (read Kendra or Trystan’s posts on the topic). We had such a delightful time dressing up in a 16th century manor house, cooking period food, singing songs, dancing, and the like that we had to reprise our visit, but this time, in an 18th century chateau in France! And, just so you know that I’m not making this all up, here is a picture of my shoes in front of the chateau itself (look very closely for the two small black bumps in the center next to the glass of champagne).
