Braces question

[Slickrick214]

I have been reading up on clothing and styles of the 19th century and while reading I came across something that kind of confuses me. When it comes to braces it seems like there are so many different kinds out there being offered. So many sutlers claim to have the perfect period correct braces and yet they aren't period correct at all. So what exactly is the perfect period correct braces? There seems to be two popular styles out there with re-enactors.

The first is a set of braces (as pictured here sold on Regimental's campaigner section) has a very narrow tape width. Some have leather tabs and some are in the Po' boy fashion. These pictured are two piece with leather tabs in the front and slits in the back. They have brass buckles for adjustment.

https://www.regtqm.com/Images/campaigner_images/suspenders.gif

The second most popular kind is braces with a very fat tape width, leather tabs in front and back, and steel adjustment buckles. This is the type I see the most of when at re-enactments.

http://www.njsekela.com/OSCommerce/catalog/images/nonelastic.jpg

So which style is right? both, neither? It's giving me a headache because, like I said earlier there's so many different types of braces out there and they all claim to be right. I've tried looking for pictures but I haven't had luck there either. All the pictures I've looked at seem to have the mans coat or vest covering the braces. I can never get a clear picture of a man wearing just braces.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

In a word, both. You are right, there are many different variations that are period correct and a book could (and should) be written about the topic. There are chapters in the Columbia Rifles Research Compendium that go into some depth, but I think some of the mystery about braces are that there are just so few left surviving that have a CW provenance. One think that helps is period images, which are fewer in number due to the fact that most men dressed for the studio and are wearing a vest and/or coat, thereby covering the braces. However, if you look hard enough, there are many images of laborers and men in shirtsleeves. I would also recommend doing a search for the paintings of William Sydney Mount and other contemporary artists, as they often show in good detail common people and their braces. Mount's works are pre-CW but give an idea of some of the styles. As with most men's clothing, fashion and function dictated style, and you will find a dizzying degree of differences even amongst the knowledgable vendors. You'll find narrow and wider, some with leather tabs and some without, some with fancy embroidery and some quite plain, and they'd all be right. Some of the best out there include the ones you linked above to NJ Sekela, and I would also hardily recommend Corner Clothiers (Brian Merrick). Sekela also offers one pair made by Tim Koene documented to a soldier and on display in a museum in Mississippi made out of a blue striped material (I have a pair and they've proven to be comfortable and functional as well). My study has shown by looking images that by and large, braces had brass or jappaned buckles of 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide, with no other hardware like nickeled slides or buckles like some vendors sell today, and were made from a variety of webs or tapes such as what are sold by Needle and Thread in Gettysburg. Family Heirloom Weavers used to make some great colors and styles of tapes (and still may, you'd have to check). I've made dozens of pairs over the years, all of them varying slightly, so I'd offer to just keep looking over period images and check around - you're on the right track with the ones you posted.

[tompritchett]

Ross, could you be more specific as what would be considered correct mechanisms for adjusting the braces and which commonly seen mechanisms are actually more modern and not period correct. As you mentioned, there is not a great deal of information out there except from the those who, like yourself, have taken the effort to study surviving originals. Thank you.

[Jim Mayo]

Here are a set of bullet struck originals FYI.

http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/j_mayo/relics.html

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

I tried to download some scans of buckles, but I have exceeded the allowed file size and going to a photosharing site is a complete hassle.

[tompritchett]

Email them to me and will see what I can do to get them down to a size that will fit.

[Scooby_308]

I have seen some vendors selling “braces” with no hardware, just buttonholes. The front has three buttonholes per side for adjustments. I can’t find the pictures (give me a few and I will find the vendor(s)). I just started hand stitching a pair, am I going to have to rethink my project?

[flattop32355]

I have seen some vendors selling “braces” with no hardware, just buttonholes. The front has three buttonholes per side for adjustments. I can’t find the pictures (give me a few and I will find the vendor(s)). I just started hand stitching a pair, am I going to have to rethink my project?

Methinks you are playing with the "Po' Boy" version mentioned before.
It's what I've been wearing for the last couple of years.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

I have seen some vendors selling “braces” with no hardware, just buttonholes. The front has three buttonholes per side for adjustments. I can’t find the pictures (give me a few and I will find the vendor(s)). I just started hand stitching a pair, am I going to have to rethink my project?
Those are a perfectly acceptable form of braces, but the term "poorboy" is a modern descriptor. The originals that I've seen either in photos or paintings did not have multiple buttonholes for adjustment, though. Those type of braces were made specifically for a person so they were made to his measurements, thereby not needing the extra buttonholes, so that any extra material would not stick out under a vest or coat.

[Slickrick214]

I have seen some vendors selling “braces” with no hardware, just buttonholes. The front has three buttonholes per side for adjustments. I can’t find the pictures (give me a few and I will find the vendor(s)). I just started hand stitching a pair, am I going to have to rethink my project?

Do you mean something like this:

http://www.njsekela.com/OSCommerce/catalog/images/tkoehnsuspenders.jpg

These are the poboy ones Ross was talking about.

[Scooby_308]

Close, but the ones I have been seeing are squared ends. I know I have seen them, but can't find the vendor.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Do you mean something like this:

http://www.njsekela.com/OSCommerce/catalog/images/tkoehnsuspenders.jpg

These are the poboy ones Ross was talking about.
No, those are not "poor boys". Those are the Missisippi braces from Tim Koene and they have buttonholes on the two prongs coming from the buckle and are fully adjustable for size. "Poor boys" are merely two strips of cloth with a buttonhole on each end, with no buckles or hardware at all, that may or may not attach at the back crossing.

[TobiasJones]

I have had some luck looking at pictures of the dead after a battle. The images I am thinking of are of dead Confederates in the G.I Series: Johnny Reb: The Uniform of the Confederate Army, 1861-1865. Many of these bodies have been stripped of equipment and jackets left open and you can see bits and pieces of different braces which will at least give a decent idea on them. There are also a couple of "Ragged Confederate" images where the men are wearing braces but no coats or coats are open.

Evan O'Dell

[Slickrick214]

No, those are not "poor boys". Those are the Missisippi braces from Tim Koene and they have buttonholes on the two prongs coming from the buckle and are fully adjustable for size. "Poor boys" are merely two strips of cloth with a buttonhole on each end, with no buckles or hardware at all, that may or may not attach at the back crossing.

O in that case Scooby ignore what I said earlier it was wrong.

[Poor Private]

I am on my 2nd pair of 8 stick weave suspenders. I can pick and choose my own colors and design. I pick up the leather tabs from a Amish fabric store down Indiana way. This stick weaving was taught to me by my wife who was taught by her mom and so forth, on back. She said her great -great dad never baught a pair of sussies, when his wife could make em.

[mravery]

Hello all,

OK, so was elastic used or not? I have heard 'yes' and 'no'.

Also, what style would be more appropriate for and officer vs enlisted?

Cheers and Happy Holidays!
Mark

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Hello all,

OK, so was elastic used or not? I have heard 'yes' and 'no'.

Also, what style would be more appropriate for and officer vs enlisted?

Cheers and Happy Holidays!
Mark
Yes, the use of elastic occured, however not in the form of today's elastic webbing. With the advent of India rubber and gutta percha products (well before the start of the war), elastic tubes, similiar to surgical tubing today were sewn into cloth shells, which gave some elasticity, but not as much as todays. They were most commonly placed in the rear of the braces, above the leather tab , or sometimes sewn into the middle of the back webbing. This allowed for some give to the wearer, cutting down on the number of buttons popping off that many of us have encountered when wearing traditional braces. NJ Sekela offers a supurb copy of period elasticized braces. As for the officer or enlisted query, it is up to your own choice, as braces were never an item issued by the government; they were provided by the soldier.

[Edwin Carl Erwin]

Rich,

Cast an eye on the suspenders described & pictured at: www.trans-mississippi.com/.

Do you want to make or buy a pair of braces?

Happy Christmas,