shoes, stays, and other stuff.

so, my robe a la anglasie for the ball is basically finished, except for another sleeve ruffle which i am too lazy to finish at the moment. i also finished my pockets this morning while studying for an exam i have Monday--- multitasking win! basically, the only things i have left to do are hem and finish my petticoat, make my shift (which will be easy enough), and the nasty task of binding my stays, which i also started today. oh, i went to the fabric store last night in search of white linen to use for my shift. and you know what? they didn't have ANY. NONE! they only had pink, blue, an odd green, and this lovely deep red, which was tempting for a more practical future petticoat. but back to my rant. NONE! what the heck?!?!!? so for the sake of time and money, i might have to just use muslin. grr. while browsing about the fabrics last night, i kept in mind that in the 18th century your material choices were pretty limited. you had wools, linen, and silk, basically, all of which are pretty pricey and, unless you buy online, difficult to come by sometimes, because most things are a blend with polyester in them. Not to mention the price per yard... so I've decided that for my practical 18th c clothes, i'm definitely using cotton some of the time. i have no moral opposition against it!
i have also run into a shoe dilemma. i have found several tutorials on how to get yourself some 18th c shoes using thrift store finds and what not. here----http://bauhausfrau.livejournal.com/60973.html --- is a good one, and i'm guessing you could skip alot of those steps and just add straps and buckles for more sturdy, durable, practical shoes. at the suggestion of an expert, i'm going to check antique stores for a pair of 1940s-era shoes to modify. the problem is, i usually stay away from high heels due to my injury, so i'm a bit uneasy about it. i have seen some 18th c shoes with either very low or no heels, but they're usually from the 1780s-1790s and not civilian class shoes. but we'll see what happens.
so, questions for yall-- where do you buy your material? what kind of shoes do you use? comment below!