Kensington Women's 18th Century Leather Shoes (Black)

$190.00

28 reviews
Select Fit
Regular Wide
US Size
Description

Kensington 18th century shoes offer all the sensibility of hard-wearing camp shoes, but are also lovely to look at and comfortable to wear. 

Featuring our custom made French heels, and hand-sewn pointed toes, Kensingtons exhibit all the trademarks of shoes historically accurate for the American Colonial period, particularly the Revolutionary War years.  

Why sacrifice style for practicality when you can have both? Dress your Kensies up with glittery paste buckles, or dress them down with a simpler buckle design (see latchet sizing information below).  Whichever class you represent, camp follower to aristocrat, your feet will be as well-dressed as the rest of you.

Kensington do not come with buckles, but you can find our 18th-century shoe buckles in the accessories section. Please read our Buckle fitting instructions or watch our shoe buckle fitting video for more information.

    Sizing

    Sizing
    Size Trends Runs true to size for most customers.
    Width Regular (B) width 
    Size Chart
    Women's Shoe Size Conversion Chart US, Euro, UK, Inches & Mondopoint

    Materials

    Materials
    Color Black
    Upper 100% leather
    Lining Leather
    Sole Sealed leather
    Heel Custom French heels, leather covered
    Heel Height 1.75 inch / 4.4 cm
    Latchets 1.3" / 3.3 cm wide, will fit all American Duchess buckles
    Footbed Lightly padded
    Closure Latchets
    Origins
    Design Designed in Reno, Nevada, USA
    Materials China
    Assembly Made in China

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    Customer Reviews

    Based on 28 reviews
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    J
    J.C.
    Loved Them... For a Little While

    I really loved these shoes and they are some of the most comfortable 18th-century-style shoes I've worn. However, the soles fell off in the toes on both shoes pretty quickly. I've tried repairing them so many times to no avail, so I've had to throw them away.

    We're sorry you had this issue! It looks like you didn't reach out to us, which is a shame - on the rare occasions that a sole comes partially detached, it's a quick and easy repair for a cobbler. We can't speak for a DIY fix, but a professional cobbler fix would be permament, at least until the soles wore through and needed replacing. No shoe with this type of issue should be thrown away, as it's absolutely repairable!

    S
    Spencer R
    Versatile and comfortable!

    I needed a versatile pair of late 18th century shoes that I can dress either up or down depending on my outfit, and these fit the bill! I wear an 11-11.5 wide shoe, and bought these in a 12. The B width is not too restrictive on my wide feet, and these should fit perfectly after a few spritzes of shoe stretching spray. But even without that, they are comfortable! The point of the toe is attractive, but not so extreme that it smooshes my toes. The heel adds some elegance for dressing more formally, but isn't so high that it's uncomfortable or impractical for walking or more "middling class" wear.

    M
    Mia
    Lovely!

    This is a purchase I waffled on for literal years and I don't regret it for a moment. They're excellent quality and fit exactly as expected in my usual size. A little loose at first in the modern hose I first had on to test them, but that translated to perfect with proper stockings.

    Putting on the buckles was wild for me. For all of us struggle bus alumni, being told to poke holes in $200 shoes is uh, terrifying! But now that they're attached, they're absolutely beautiful and I love them. I can't wait to wear these further than my mail room and back.

    I did opt for rubber sole pads for additional grip (I'm prone to falling), but they feel sturdy and safe even with the small heel. I always need extra arch support, but otherwise these are quite comfy and I like them!

    M
    Margaret Gerty
    KENSINGTON Review:

    I bought a pair of Kensington a couple of years ago because traditional Bunad shoes are hard to come by if not impossible to find in the USA. Other than the heel not being the traditional block heel of Norwegian Bunad shoes, because Kensington is an 18th century remake, they fit the bill. They are comfortable and great for dancing in. Colleagues of mine were concerned that without the bulk of the block heel I would not be able to properly do some traditional steps for Springars and so on. I personally have not had a problem with the heel or see it as a problem for dancing since it is placed at the correct balance point, I have had my colleagues from Norway say they like the shoe's aesthetic and even asked where they could get a pair for themselves.

    J
    Jenny
    Comfortable straight out of the box

    Finally put the buckles on and wore them, and they were completely comfortable all day! I need to tighten the buckle on the right foot but otherwise it was perfect. The heel is the perfect height for me and there was no rubbing or anything to make my feet hurt! I’m usually a size 9.5 in American Duchess but sometimes a 10, which is the case with these. I think a 9.5 would be too tight.