Veteran’s Leather Armor

The Veteran’s Armor: Ready for Anything

Armor and fashion don’t always mix well, but this leather cuirass manages to be the best of both worlds, and perfectly suited for costume work. The material is top quality and is available in either brown or black, so it goes with many different outfits.

The veteran’s armor is especially useful because it fits different events and circumstances. It is fantastic for any LARP event, historical faire, or even as costuming for a theatre production. When worn over a gambeson or chainmail, it can make fairly effective armor for battle. Otherwise, it’s comfortable enough to be worn as an elegant leather vest over historical or fantasy clothing.

In any case, the leather cuirass will be distinctive and stylish, as well as versatile. The shape is similar to that of a historical brigandine, which lends it a certain period flair. It has a full back plate and detailed lacing visible along all the edges of seams, which add to the aesthetic appeal of the vest.

The vest also features lacing up the sides, which make the size very adjustable for larger sizes. Smaller sizes can be accommodated by wearing padded clothing underneath the vest, as you would for armor. To fasten, there are four straps and buckles riveted to the front of the vest, so you can put it on yourself.

The Layers of Medieval Armor: How it Was Worn

When we think of how medieval warriors wore their armor, it can be easy to forget the logistics of the armor itself. There’s a lot of talk of how plate armor could be heavy and ungainly, but sometimes the facts of armor get lost in the myth.

The easiest thing to do is to imagine wearing and fighting in armor. This is especially true if you’re planning on wearing armor yourself, whether in a LARP battle or otherwise. So, armor had to have been light enough to fight in. If the armor was so heavy that a soldier couldn’t run or stand up from a prone position, then it would present its own dangers.

Also, the armor would have been worn in layers. This was a common theme in medieval times, but there is a good reason. First, metal and cuir bouilli chafe. Even ordinary clothes sometimes wouldn’t be enough to protect the skin.

But most importantly, the armor had to protect from different kinds of threats. Steel will protect you from the cutting edge of a sword or an axe, but the blunt force of the blow is still a danger. To guard against that, and to provide another layer of protection, many fighters wore padded cloth armor, known as a gambeson. This cloth armor would also protect them from chafing.

Tech Specs

The technical specifications of the Veteran’s Armor are as follows:

•         Materials: Vegetable-tanned full-grain leather, brass fittings.
•         Colour: Black or brown.
•         Minimum Chest Size: 40 inches.
•         Minimum Waist Size: 37 inches.
•         Length From Shoulder to Waist: 24 inches.
•         Sizing Notice: The sides lace up to allow larger sizes. If your measurements are smaller than the minimum, a gambeson or padded shirt worn beneath the armor will improve the fit.