Exactly what I needed. Sturdy metal, feels durable. Thanks!
They are much better with my French blue court shoes than the square buckles which I now have on my burgundy 1700's shoes.
I love my shoes but disappointedly cant wear them seeing as though one prong of the buckles snapped off immediately during installation, even though I followed the video tutorial exactly.
Hi LF,
Please email our customer service team at info@americanduchess.com, they'd love to help you!
Beautiful buckles. We had to watch the tutorial video a few times and watch two others on YouTube as we were so worried about messing up the shoes. Once on though, they were very secure.
I've done everything instructed and watched every video, but these buckles are HORRIBLE to attach to latchets. My second pair and the same trouble. Disgusted. Now have ugly holes on latchets.
18th century buckles can be a bit tricky to install! Remember that the short latchet that you've pictured here ends up being covered by the longer latchet, so those holes in your photos are not visible when the shoe is worn.
If you find this type of buckle to be difficult, you can always fake the 18th century look with a modern slide buckle and some velcro, similar to the theatrical Garrick style in this blog post - https://blog.americanduchess.com/2019/04/meet-our-new-theatrical-footwear-line.html
We're always happy to assist with buckle questions if you email info@americanduchess.com.
Exactly what I needed for my museum event. Thank you so much!
Really pretty endurable, but they are a pain to get on the shoe.
Love these buckles and they pair so well with my shoes.
I bought the pearl buckles to go with a set of secound hand set of american duchess shoes. Had some issues with International shipping on the buckles, reached out to customer service for American Duchess and they are one of the best teams I've talked to in a few years. Fast communication, Kind, friendly and caring for their customers. I think what happend with my buckles is one off, so am happy to say that the buckles are beautiful, highly detailed and overall very well made. :)
Beautiful! Exactly what I needed..,
yes, the rainbow finish makes it less than accurate, but they really are beautiful
These shoe buckles are the real deal; very well made, handsome, and a good price. I put them on my 18th century Scottish Highland brogues, now I'm properly equipped to lose the battle of Culloden all over again.
These are lovely and functional buckles for all of those events that don’t call for some serious shoe flash. I set these on my new Kensingotn’s without much effort. I was pleased that they are VERY sturdy because I tend to be hard on shoes. These finished my shoes beautifully.
These buckles are gorgeous in person!
Beautiful shoes, well made and I am very happy to find them in a wider size!
Great buckles! I think the video they provided as a tutorial needs a little update as I’d love if the camera was closer and at a different angle, but I got it!! One thing I will say is that it is a little bit more difficult to put it through the strap of a shoe with an outer lining. I put it on the Primrose Women's 18th Century Shoes that have an outer lining of Satin that was less stretchy than the leather so it made it a little more interesting to put on the buckle. But I got it eventually and well worth it!
Lovely buckles, and good instructions for putting on the shoes. I used a leather punch and it worked well.
These are very nice buckles. They are simply, but not too simple. I like the clean lines. I was able to install with the video, but I had to watch the video several times because they go a little fast. I would appreciate it if they would slow it down.
I mean, they look okay I guess. But they don’t look great. I think the buckles would look better if a professional put them on. If you’re buying these, I’d suggest taking them to a shop to get a cobbler to do it. The problem is poking a hole through the BACK of the flap—it has to go through fabric and then leather. And then the leather just looks tacky from the front afterwards. Perhaps if AD included a hole punch with the buckles….dunno
We're sorry you had trouble with your buckles! Here is a link to a photo showing what the holes should look like when the buckle is installed on the same shoes you have if you've used a sharp awl as instructed.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rHe6VrcW47gjhlGytQG1Qr-z68H4H0jb/view?usp=sharing
We don't suggest a hole punch, as this would make a far larger hole than necessary, would not hold the buckle tightly, is inaccurate, would possibly weaken the leather, and would allow the fabric lining to fray. The buckles are historically accurate closures, and the holes pictured in the link above are the same as what you'd see on period original shoes.
As always, we have both text and image instructions on how to set buckles, as well as video instructions, all included here:
https://www.americanduchess.com/pages/how-to-fit-18th-c-shoe-buckles
We're also happy to answer questions at info@americanduchess.com. If you're uncomfortable installing them yourself, we do encourage having a friend help, or taking them to a cobbler!
The buckles are beautiful and sturdy, and they arrived in a nice little drawstring bag which would be great for reusing as somethig else.
Very pretty, solid and heavy. Nicey nice
These buckles are so beautiful. I love how they accent my shoes.
Love these buckles. The only thing I would say is to be sure you make your holes big enough for the buckle spikes to slide through, otherwise you will be pushing and tugging on the latches/buckle for an hour before getting the derned things into the holes. :) VIEW THE VIDEO! use a cobbler's awl or at least an ice pick.
We recommend poking holes about as wide as the prongs on the buckles. It's sometimes best to start conservative, since holes can always be made wider, they can never be made smaller. A cobbler's awl is a good tool to use, but ice picks can vary - you'll want to go with one with a fairly fine point that isn't too wide.
There are no instructions on how to adjust straps.
Hi Karen,
The instructions on how to fit the buckles to the straps are linked in the product description above, along with a video, The instructions are also automatically emailed to every purchaser of any pair of latchet shoes. If that email ended up in your spam, no worries! The instructions are here: https://www.americanduchess.com/pages/how-to-fit-18th-c-shoe-buckles
AD replaced my older buckles with the missing/loose stones with a new set from a newer run made in a different factory. They arrived in great condition! Thank you so much!
They arrived with a stone already missing. It wasn't even loose in the bag, just missing. When i took them out to install them on my shoes, another stone fell off before I could even begin. For the price, this is super-disappointing.
Hi Kali, that certainly shouldn't have happened and we're happy to make it right!
In the rare instance that something you ordered is damaged in shipping, please always reach out to us at info@americanduchess.com with your order number so that we can resolve it for you. We can't make it right if you don't tell us something is wrong!
In this case, we don't see this item in your order history, so please email us your order info so we can assist you with this.
