> But they sure are warm, and I found out with the SCA just how practical
>long skirts really are for doing what a bear does in the woods.
True enough, as far as it goes. But I've also seen people catch the edge of
their dress in the fire, or drag their sleeves through food at these
affairs - especially as the revelry progresses into the wee hours.
> PS - the SCA Rennies tell me that their backs ache a lot less after a
>long day in the field when they wear corsets or boned bodices or
>doublets than without. I haven't tried it yet,b ut I wonder if they have
>a point? Men used to wear tight waistcoats for doing manual labor in the
>18th century - was there a reason for that?
Think of the lower back braces worn by many people who work loading or
unloading merchandise - you know, those stylish elastic and velcro numbers
with the cute shoulder straps. They help support the lower back and
decrease flexibility to the point that it becomes hard to lift things the
wrong way.
On the other hand, they're meant to be worn all the time, and they're not
meant to be so tight that you can't breathe properly.......
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:07:20 PDT