Do you drool over “Downton Abbey” and its gorgeous costumes? Now you can buy a pair of Edwardian-era reproduction heels to satisfy your historical fashion cravings.

Earlier this year, Newport Historical Society in Newport, R.I., partnered with the historical shoe manufacturer American Duchess to recreate the “Seabury” heel based on an early 20th century pump in the historical society’s collection. Available in dove gray and black, the Seabury shoes are made in silk brocade and feature a Louis-style heel and clip-on bows, just like the original Seabury shoe.

Priced at $170 a pair, the exquisite reproductions are available for purchase online at American-Duchess.com and sample sizes are available to try on prior to ordering at the Brick Market Museum & Shop in Newport, R.I.

“There is a great public interest in vintage and historic clothing fueled in part by period movies and television series,” said Newport Historical Society Executive Director Ruth Taylor. “As we get more involved in costumed interpretation of Newport’s history, we are also interested in serving the community of re-enactors who need appropriate clothing, accessories and footwear. We look for opportunities to recreate something that will appeal to both audiences, and we see this as an extension of our educational outreach in a very tangible form.” 

The owner of the original Seabury shoes is unknown, but the pair was purchased at O’Neill’s Department Store in Baltimore and was donated to Newport Historical Society as part of the Seabury Shoe Store collection. The T. Mumford Seabury & Co.

store was located on Thames Street in Newport, R.I., from 1842 to 1942.

Although the Edwardian era spans 1900 to roughly 1910-1914, the Seabury shoe pairs well with fashions dated through 1925 and are perfect for “Downton Abbey,” “Titanic” and “Great Gatsby” soirees.

Within the year, Newport Historical Society is looking to partner with a local historically based handbag designer to debut a matching reproduction handbag.

Lauren Stowell, the creative director and owner of American Duchess—a historical reproduction footwear company based in Reno, N.V., that also sells reproduction shoes from the 18^th century, Victorian era, Edwardian era and the 1920s and reproduction shoe buckles and silk stockings— selected the Seabury shoe based on the company’s clientele.

Stowell explained why she chose the style and described its Louis-style heel.

Why was this shoe selected?
We liked the Seabury shoe because it was particularly charming and special in its design—elegant, wearable and interesting. The Edwardian shoes are our bestselling category and we wanted to be sure that the Newport shoes were popular with our existing customers. We polled our fans about a couple different original shoes the Newport Historical Society had and the Seabury was the most loved.

Tell me about the Louis-style heel . . .
The Louis heel was the heel of choice for ladies footwear in the early 20th century. It was not only incredibly elegant, but very balanced and stable, allowing ladies to wear their high-heeled shoes for long periods of time without pain and walk in a variety of conditions without problems like sinking into grass and mud because of the flare of the heel base.

Louis heels were named after King Louis XIV of France who popularized the wear of quite high heels for men in the 17th century. But women also picked up the trend and have kept it going since with the exception of a 50-year period in the 19th century where women's shoes had no heels—which were as much to do with industrialization as politics and fashion.

Reappearing in the 1860s, Louis heels remained the most fashionable heel shape for women's shoes until about 1925 or 1926 when straight and very high heels took over as a result of machine and molding processes that made French heels difficult and expensive to manufacture.

The heels on the Seabury were molded from an original early 20th century three-inch French heel I found on eBay. Back then, heels were wooden and would break, so shoe repair shops had a stock of replacement heels in a variety of colors and heights that could be easily applied to a customer's shoes. Our modern recreation is a plastic-injected, molded heel, but done in two molds instead of one to create the curvaceous shape.

Shop for Seabury shoes at American Duchess or visit Brick Market: Museum & Shop at 127 Thames Street in Newport, R.I.

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