When most people go on vacation, they ask their friends for the best restaurant or night life recommendations. Me? I’m googling whether or not there’s an arms and armor exhibit in town to make the trip even worth it.
My name is Elie, and I make clothes that look like armor. Being the obsessive history nerd that I am, my designs are not just historically inspired, but as accurate as I can possibly get them. People use the term “rivet counter” like it’s an insult in the geek community when you care way too much about tiny insignificant details, but I’ve crawled around museum display cases all over the world, poured over reference books, and taken an absurd number of photos to ensure the detail and beauty of the original work is captured as accurately as possible.
My project started with leggings, but as time has gone on I’ve added dresses, hoodies, and more, each with a story to tell about the artifact and culture it was inspired by. I’ve spent a long time in medieval and Renaissance Europe, but as my collection grows I’m excited to expand into every culture in the world that has ever developed armor.
Why go through the effort? I mean. You haven’t wanted to just stroll around in daily life wearing a full plate harness as long as you’ve been able to dress yourself? Oh.
More info: loricaclothing.com
The Scudamore Dress
The design of the Scudamore dress was influenced by a combination of armors. It is, of course, primarily based upon the field garniture of Sir James Scudamore, and I tried to reproduce the cuirass and filigree as faithfully as possible. However, as I was adapting the lower portion of the armor to an A-line skirt, I was finding that the space left between the tassets was feeling a bit… awkward. Instead, I turned to tonlet armor for inspiration and historical basis for a more skirt-like look. The result is a combination of both that I think stays true to the spirit of the eponymous piece while lookin’ dang spiffy on the boday. ;)
The Henry VIII Leggings
The Henry VIII leggings are based on the field armor of the notorious king of England, a piece currently on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. This intricately designed suit was crafted for the king late in his life (what I like to call his “fat Elvis” period), which he wore into battle during his last military campaign despite his infirmities at the time. At first I was so intimidated by the detailed filigree in the design I could scarcely start, but I’m so proud of how it turned out!
The Istanbul Leggings
Based on late 15th and early 16th century Turkish mamluk armor, our Istanbul Leggings emulate the maille and plate (alternatively “plated mail” or “splinted mail”) style that was primarily in use at the time in Middle Eastern heavy cavalry units. It is composed of steel plates woven together with rings to form a unified piece, then fastened with belts or laces.
The Hauberk Hoodie
The Hauberk design is based on European 4-in-1 riveted mail (colloquially, chainmail), a military staple from the Iron and Middle Ages all through the 16th century. Before it was supplanted by plate, mail was synonymous with armor. For centuries it was incredibly valuable, expensive and time-consuming to produce—oftentimes the easiest way to acquire it was to pry it off someone else.
The Sackville Leggings
The Sackville leggings are based on the field garniture of Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset. A beautiful armor currently part of The Wallace Collection, it bears significant resemblance to the armor of Sir James Scudamore but for its blued steel: both armors were crafted in the Greenwich Royal Armories under the supervision of master armorer Jacob Halder.
Thomas Sackville himself was a man of somewhat questionable politics: he was a great advocate of “sumptuary laws,” which is to say laws that only permitted fancy people to wear fancy things (for example, he dictated that only soldiers holding the rank of colonel or above should be permitted to wear silk and velvet). I get a special kick out of adapting his armor for all of us plebeians. ;)
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