A HUGE month: Worth dress, tulips, filming & flea markets

...plus a big storm!

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Dear wonderful readers,

September has swept in with the energy of a storm (quite literally, thanks to Storm Amy!), but we’re full steam ahead here at American Countess filming, writing, travelling, planning, and even planting tulips.

In this newsletter, I’ll discuss:
• A historic Worth dress rediscovered
• Behind the scenes at the Mapperton Plant Fair
• The Gilded Heiress Substack publication!
• V&A evening for Marie Antoinette
• A week in my life (new YouTube vlog!)
• Garden plans and a tulip takeover
• Upcoming filming at Knowsley Hall
• Five weeks post-injury and back to training

There’s a lot to cover, so we’ll get straight into it.

Alberta’s Worth dress…found!

One of the most exciting moments this month was captured on camera! (And I started crying!)

I found Alberta’s dress from the House of Worth.

We’ll be posting the video soon on the Mapperton Live! channel. (The patrons have already seen it!)

I’ve also recorded a little voice note sharing my excitement and the history behind it, and I’m currently in touch with a textile conservator to explore how best to care for it. (That voicenote was shared on the new Gilded Heiresses Substack, which I’ll tell you about in a moment!)

This feels like such a full-circle moment—especially with the House of Worth exhibition closing this month in Paris. I had almost literally just returned from the exhibition, so the timing felt incredible and strange!

Alberta absolutely wore Worth gowns, and this find adds a remarkable thread to her story.

Filming, storms, and spectacular food

This month’s Plant & Garden Fair at Mapperton happened during our first named storm of the season—Storm Amy—but somehow, we escaped the worst of it! The wind and rain held off, and the day turned out to be a huge success.

Highlights:
• Some of the best café numbers all season
• Gorgeous meals from our talented chef Christine (see photos on @MappertonCoachHouse on Instagram)
• A huge team effort to make it happen
• A very special TV crew filming our secret series on the same day!

We’ll share more about that series soon…

Substack + The 400 = pure joy

I’ve had so much fun lately sending out personal videos to The 400, designing the upcoming 400 Book (which will live in the muniment room at Mapperton), and planning a research trip to Paris to trace Alberta’s steps.

Substack, where I’m now posting everything and anything to do with Gilded Heiresses, has taken off like a rocket ship! It’s a community of the curious: history lovers, heritage supporters, and those who want a closer look into the lives of the gilded heiresses and beyond.

The 400 is the founding tier, and everyone who joins gets a personal video from me, where I give you a little behind-the-scenes view of whatever I happen to be working on the moment, and thank you personally for joining.

The revenue from Substack is going toward further research, like a 1-day trip to Paris in December for some incredible research that I can’t wait to tell you about.

You can find everything at gildedheiresses.com.

I’ll be posting some free content over there, but to see everything, you’ll have to join as a paid subscriber, which is a win/win: you’ll be supporting exciting research AND getting exclusive content!

V&A night: Marie Antoinette and fashion history

I was recently invited to an intimate evening at the V&A Museum to celebrate the new Marie Antoinette exhibition.

As always, I found myself wondering if Alberta had connections to the pieces on display. It was an extraordinary evening, and I’ll be writing more about it soon over on Substack.

New video: A Week in My Life

Many of the lovely American Countess patrons kept asking me to spill my secrets and routines, as I seem to take on so much.

Well, their wish was my command! I spent a week filming everything I did and giving tips on how I manage it, including my supplement routine and organisation tricks.

I’ve just uploaded a new vlog on my YouTube channel:

Watch “A Week in My Life” on American Countess

It includes a full mix of filming, writing, café life, fitness, and more. You’ll find the full description under the video, too.

It’s a LONG one!

My gardening course begins

I’ve just begun a new year-long course called Gardening Through the Seasons, taught under the expert guidance of Troy Scott Smith, head gardener at Sissinghurst.

And I’ve decided to do a tulip transformation for the gardens at Mapperton.

We’re replacing the traditional planting in our eight large terracotta pots in Fountain Court with a striking mix of:

• Tulip Black Parrot
• Tulip Orange Princess

And in 17 other pots around the Italianate Garden, we’ll plant:

• Tulipa Gavota
• Tulip Hakuun (a clean, crisp white)

This is the first time we’ve done this, and I cannot wait to see them in full bloom next spring.

Upcoming filming: Knowsley Hall

Next week, I’ll be filming a new historic house episode at Knowsley Hall, home of Lord and Lady Derby.

If you’re a Patron, you’ll be the first to hear more and see behind the scenes. (If not, perhaps now’s the time to join us and find out where we’re heading next!)

Become a Patron

Five weeks post-injury and back on my feet

After spraining my ankle while running in France (five weeks ago now!), I’m nearly back to running. I’ve been staying active with strength training, yoga, spinning, and plenty of acupuncture to help speed the recovery. Fingers crossed I’ll be running again this week.

Thank you, as always, for following along, and for helping us bring these stories, houses, gardens, and histories to life. Whether you’re reading here, joining us on Patreon, or watching from afar, I’m so grateful you’re part of this journey.

And…I have a secret: there’s a BIG change coming to American Countess. Stay tuned!

With love and gratitude,
Julie