CLASSIC!!!! early 40s mounted Cav uniform. Thanks for posting your uncle's photo. What stands out is differences from the late 30s mounted cavalry uniform of light breeches, sam brown belt and brown campaign hat. Very Nice!carouselvic said:
just_me said:1948 Olympics:
I recently watched a video made of the films from the 1936 Olympic cross-country. It was very upsetting. Very few horses made it through. I think that France didn't have a single team member that completed.Lone_Ranger said:I always thought that 1936, was the last time military officers competed in Olympic equestrian events, and the "jump #4 incident."
The 1936 Olympics produced controversial results, with the Germans winning all 6 gold medals, the only time in Olympic history where one team has made a clean sweep. There were protests from all 18 teams at the Games. One incident occurred on the cross-country course in the eventing competition, where the 4th fence, a 3 ft post-and-rail dropping into a pond, produced a great number of falls. The landing was much deeper than anticipated and the footing underneath did not hold up well. However, all of the German team members made it through without a problem, suggesting that the host team might have known the true condition of the obstacle.
Baggers, we in the Lancers have purchased breeches from WPG and their breeches are quite good and the price is reasonable. They are patterned after the khaki breeches of the 30s and 40s and WPG maintains a good stock of the larger sizes.Baggers said:Getting back to Warbaby's original question, how about these from What Price Glory? The price is definitely easier on the pocket than the others and they're ready made.
I'm thinking of getting a pair. I call dibs on size 12.
Cheers!
ArrowCollarMan,ArrowCollarMan said:How come they were poofy?
draws said:Baggers, we in the Lancers have purchased breeches from WPG and their breeches are quite good and the price is reasonable. They are patterned after the khaki breeches of the 30s and 40s and WPG maintains a good stock of the larger sizes.
Baggers said:Draws, I was wondering what your opinion of Jerry's breeches would be. I have the summer khaki cotton model that I purchased along with a pair of his first run of Patton Boots (pictured elsewhere on the forum, probably in the Adventurer's Gear Thread). I haven't worn them in a while, but I'm thinking of pulling them back out of the closet if I can find a reason. I haven't ridden in over twenty years but I simply prefer the look and feel of traditional riding apparel over the modern styles -- I can't stand polyester or spandex, I don't care how much it stretches. If I ever mounted up again I'd love to give them a try, but the expected reactions from the onlookers might give me pause. Especially since where I live hunt or saddle seat is almost non existent.
BTW, handsome critter you've got there. I had a chestnut Quarter Arab gelding back in the mid 80s. Not very tall, only about 15 hands, but he had a lot of heart.
Cheers!
just_me said:Draws do you wear the full breeches away from the other men who are also wearing them? That is, do wear them at a horse show or a non-reenactor facility? I would think that it's really comfortable to wear them around other people who are dressed in a similar fashion, but it could be more uncomfortable for someone to wear them in a situation where everyone else is wearing modern Tailored Sportsmens (or other popular breeches).
draws said:ArrowCollarMan,
The design of breeches is hundreds of years old during a time when the world was not mechanized and horse power was the norm. During the mid to late 1800s, the designs changed. The military had worn them full length (to the ankle) in Europe and non-military wore them to the knees with a belt or button fastener. A more general design change was to shorten the military variant to the ankle making the use of tall riding boots more comfortable and lengthening the non-military variant to be longer and more standard with the military version for the same reason. This change resulted in some discomfort for the rider in that it forced material in the seat and upper thigh area to stretch. Materials in those days were not very flexible which caused additional discomfort.
Additional changes were made to the seat and thigh areas to provide more room and comfort in the saddle as a result. MOre material was added to the thighs resulting in the peg or flare that you see in the early 20th century.
As new materials were developed, the need for the flare at the thighs was discontinued in favor of these new fabrics resulting in the tight fitting breeches that you see today.
I'm certain that there were other reasons for these changes but I have tried to describe the more obvious ones. I hope that this helps.
Yes, that was the point I was making. I have noticed in many napoleanic cavalry photos that the rider did sit more deeply in the saddle with a very extended (long) leg. If one thinks about it, an extended (long) leg and more upright position lessened the need for flared breeches and more material in the seat. This could have been the case since the leg was not bent as it tended to be with the advent late 1800s and of the turn of the century military saddles where the leg has a more pronounced bend at the knee. This was true of the English and McClellan saddle design which forced the bend in the knee. Also, the British adopted and improved on the jodhpur design during their occupation of India in the 1800s. The conclusion: "If it works for us, it should work for everyone else".Lone_Ranger said:You've hit on something interesting. Before stretch material allowed for today's tight fitting breeches, the flare in the hip was to allow the extra material, that was needed because it didn't stretch. The flared or pegged breeches go back to the early 1900's.
Before that, even though there was no stretch material, the breeches didn't have the same pronounced flair. Think Civil War, and Indian War cavalry, for the mid-to-late 1800's. Previous to that, say the Napoleonic era. The cavalry wore breeches for full dress, and on campaign they wore "campaign trousers," a type of overalls, that had leather reinforcing on the inside of the leg, and fastened with buttons down the outside of the leg.
How were they able to accomplish the task without the flare, and without stretch material? Good tailoring?
just_me said:Thanks Draws. I think the vintage breeches look great. The last time I wore flared riding pants was jodhpurs in the early 1960s. I wear breeches (the modern style) every time I ride and I'm not sure I'd have the nerve to show up at the barn or especially to a show in vintage breeches. (Though I do wear rust breeches to school and show, which do make me stand out, as not many people wear rust since the 70s.)
Not vintage flared breeches, but rust (vintage 1970s) and Harvey.