Be More Specific

In writing historical or speculative fiction (or something that is essentially both!), you are tasked with bringing the reader into your world. It's up to you to show them the sights, scents, tastes, sounds, and textures of your setting. This can be a daunting task, especially when you're trying to move the plot along without major descriptive interludes.

What Michael and I have learned via trial and error (and a lot of getting on each other's case about descriptive info-dumps) is that specific details go a long way. A character who laces up riding boots or slides on beaded slippers presents a more evocative image than someone simply 'putting on shoes'. Simply taking care to use specific nouns, verbs and a few well-chosen adjectives can allow you to build your world with minimal breaks for pure description.
You can also sneak in extra information by using a combination of descriptive tidbits and character reactions. For example, a quick sentence in which your barefoot main character sees someone in stylish shoes and briefly covets them tells us about fashions, social class, status symbols, and your character's place in this world, all in a handful of words. 
What characters don't comment on or react to is also just as powerful as what they do notice as unusual. If your character presents their magic wand for inspection at airport checkpoint with nothing more than a sigh about the security queues, that immediately tells us your character lives in a world where magic is a part of everyday life (and also that the TSA is not impressed).