A Brief Discussion on Men's Stays

Corsets, stays, posture improvers, health belts....these are a few of the various terms for what I am discussing in this long awaited article.  Each may be slightly different, but all have the effect of narrowing the waist (or containing it, in the case of King George IV), assisting or forcing better posture, or helping support the back much like a modern weightlifting belt does.  In this article, I will be showing a variety of styles from different periods, and discussing them a little. I am /not/ looking deep into the extreme of tight lacing, or all the caricatures of Dandyism which are focused on by other articles, although I will touch briefly on them.  These phenomena existed--there is no doubt about that, given the prevalence of mocking them--but my topic is more the common (if a bit vain) man who needed a bit of help with the fashionable shape, or wore one for back support.

The Invicorator Belt for Men,
1893 English advertisement.

A Work-a-Day Elizabethan Shirt

Well...mostly work a day.  This project was intended to be just a shirt to wear under my late period wear; one which does /not/ have silk insertion seams as the last shirt I made does.  Even though the silk sewn shirt is fairly heavy and should be durable, my brain won't let me abuse and get it dirty as I probably will with this one.   This project was completed a good six months ago, and took about nine months of procrastinating to finish--there is a certain amount of guesswork since I wasn't doing a good job of journaling my projects during that time.

Wearing the pluderhose from my Brunswick Suit for the photos.

A Pair of Transitional Braies

Alright!  This project has been finished for well over a year, but I haven't actually worn it until recently.  I also had not written any documentation on the subject--or any other projects in the last year or two, for that matter.  I'm well out of practice in writing, and working from scanty notes and memory, so please bear with me.

Introduction:

As I have been working on a 14th century outfit (slowly), and intend to venture into the early 15th century, I needed an actual set of braies instead of the wrapped loincloth style hypothosized over on the Hibernaatiopesäke blog.  While comfortable and of a period form, I didn't feel they would be appropriate for later in the 14th century, never mind the 15th.  Therefore the first part project was to figure out what shape the braies would be, then make a pair which would work for a variety of outfits.

Project Roundup: What Have I been Doing?

...not much, to be honest.  I have only completed a couple of project, and my major projects have been having...issues.  Two of the major projects from last year--the Hasting's Suit, and the Patchwork Paletot--have both been shelved until further notice.


My other major projects have been having issues getting past the drafting stage--a 1760s Redingote was on deck (I even have the fabrics for it) but I never got around to cutting out a mockup to check the fit, and now it's getting warm enough that it would be next winter before I get to wear it.  The pluderhose for a slightly secret project--I am trying to keep the details a surprise, but not that I am working on German Ren again--have been...problematic.  I found issues with my drafting system not creating a pair of the undershorts which will fit, and went through a full 6 drafts before I got close to having mobility. 

Because it's a good, generic sewing photo.

1880s Dress-Improver: HSM #4

The April Challenge for the Historical Sew Monthly was a real challenge....to figure out what to do.  See, the challenge is Gender-Bender; Make an historical clothing item which is either for the opposite sex, or has elements inspired by the opposite gender.

As a guy, the second option is almost out--you don't see historical menswear inspired by lady's fashion.  My first choice was men's stays, based on a late Regency pair which is essentially a back brace, complete with spring elastic (made of....springs); unfortunately, this had to be discarded due to issues sourcing good quality boning of the right width (I would still like to make it someday, though).  Other options that came to mind was the Skjoldehamn find, which we don't know gender of (using Schrodinger's Authenticity to slip it in, as it was remarked by one person I asked).  Other thoughts I had were possibly a pair of boots or shoes with heels (I have seen it stated that heels started as a male fashion, and as a female one), or a coat from the 1820-40s, as male and female fashions at the time sorta mirrored each other (wide shoulders, narrow waist, wide/full skirts); both those these would have required a fair amount of research, and some arguing--not against doing so, but I ran out of time.

Research Dump, No. 7

Norse Stamp Pattern Jewelry
A class on the design of "Viking" armbands, and pendant decorated with stampwork.
http://www.fitp.ca/articles/FITPXXI/viking_silver.pdf

Period Tailoring Techniques--making a doublet interior--part 1
An article more or less discussing the interlinings and canvassing of a doublet.
http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/blog/period-tailoring-techniques-making-a-doublet-interior-part-i.html 
Part II: http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/blog/period-tailoring-techniques-making-a-doublet-interior-part-ii.html
Part III: http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/blog/period-tailoring-techniques-making-a-doublet-interior-part-iii.html 

Rock of the Eye
A discussion on drafting patterns by Rock of the Eye (less poetically known as "eyeballing it").  There is some good ideas and thoughts in here, although it takes them some time to get there.
http://www.cutterandtailor.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=853 

Henrican Men's Shirt, 1530s

Henrican Shirt, 1530s

This project is creating a new men’s shirt for Etain.  She’s after something from the later Henrican period, and likes the tall, pleated collar with small ruffles.  I finally found a excellent article on the subject of how to make these shirts (first in the bibliography), allowing me to have more options than the one Elizabethan style I used previously.

Portrait of a Young Man, 1530s, Flemish.  Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, Belgium

           The style is characterized by having a standing collar with a substantial amount of fabric pleated into it, and sleeves that were not pleated into the cap (but were at the wrist—usually).  They may or may not have had the pleats sandwiched between two more pieces of fabric, and small ruffles at the top, although the ruffles are more common now than they were previously.  The sleeves are drawn up, almost to the neckline.  The neckline is open in the front, although also at this time, and earlier, a side (or no visible) opening was common.

Often there was some form of embroidery, usually blackwork (whether it was actually black or not, there are examples of red, and gold) worked embroidery at the collar.  Other types used would have been pattern darning and forms of smocking.  If the embroidery was stitched directly onto the shirt, the individual pleats would have been used instead of individual threads for the counted work.