It's okay, since not everyone has had their smallpox vaccination scar(s) reworked.    

I still have the first set of leathers when I got into this hobby from Fall Creek. I have not had any problems or complaints form this set.  I have all my clothing made from another sutler that is not on the " Approved Vendor List."  I haven't had anyone say to me " your blank is not appropriate."

I try to keep those pesky non-period items out of site( medicines,contact wash, allergy pills) in period sacks.

P.L. Parault  

--Last edited by 1stSgt P. on 2007-10-14 12:49:15 --

Hmm, I've never established an "approved vendor list" on this forum.  Might you be referring to another forum?

Anyhow, when talking about leathers, the question is whether they are dyed or painted.  Unless FC has changed, they have painted leathers.  It tends to chip after much wear.

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Ken Cornett wrote : Hmm, I've never established an "approved vendor list" on this forum.  Might you be referring to another forum? Anyhow, when talking about leathers, the question is whether they are dyed or painted.  Unless FC has changed, they have painted leathers.  It tends to chip after much wear.

Ken, not for sure.I think that it is.  It is holding togethor quite well,nine years now.Cracking around the fold on the cartridge box is the only problem which is something I can live with.  

--Last edited by 1stSgt P. on 2007-10-14 19:07:57 --

New to the hobby I've taken much advice from Ken which has been helpful.  I bought my first trousers on ebay for $50 as I was waiting for a pair from Reginmental Quartermaster.  RQ's arrived later and were definitely better.  I've bought most of my kit (leathers, brogans, trousers, sackcoat, etc.) there; shirts & drawers from fall creek.

Other than the brogans being so dog gone uncomfortable I'm happy.

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Other than the brogans being so dog gone uncomfortable I'm happy.

Invest in a pair from Missouri Boot & Shoe.  Follow their instructions for sending in an outline of your feet and you will appreciate how well a good pair of leather shoes can fit.  Get the sewn soles and you can have them replaced when you wear them out.

Comparing them to the glued Mexican variety is like comparing a pair of Red Wings to a $20 pair of Wally World work boots.

Serio is my favorite!

Charles:

Shoddy was a component that was commercially available at the time, (and surprisingly STILL IS, albeit with synthetic fibers). For the newcomer, shoddy is scrap fabric or sometimes garments that have been chopped up to reprocess the fibers and is blended in to new raw yarn/fiber to increase the yield. Shoddy was used in civilian as well as military garments and textiles. (I personally viewed the ledger books of a contractor that produced socks for both the military and civilian market, and they bought large volumes of shoddy on a regular basis.

"Name branding" is a phenomenon that appears to have been in the hobby since the second man joined. It is something that has almost gotten to be a "rubber stamp" of sorts, once someone gets into the "circle of trust", to borrow the line from Meet the Parents. I personally have seen some dynamite pieces coming from people who were regarded as making "mainstream" items and pure crap from people who were regarded as the one and only.

I would spend my money wisely, and question the vendor as much as you can about the item he is selling. To truly produce an item, requires a substantial amount of investment, and a lot of decisions are made in the process. In today's market, viturally none of the same raw materails are commercially available. Consequently, if an item IS a TRUE reproduction, components have to be custom made, and a vendor is likely to have a long story of what it took to get an item made.

ANYBODY can visit a museum with a camera, and while it is an important step, most people are sold on the idea that if an item is "based upon an original in the Marx Brothers collection", you need to look no further. It is a VERY highly skilled endeavor to make an item, capture the aesthetic and silhouette (in the case of garments) and reproduce it in your size. There are people that are using original tailoring manuals such as Devere's book, but that limits them to ONLY making garments that were produced with Devere's system. If Devere's book was the only one used, then EVERY original garment would look the same.

The aesthetic of a garment is something that people have been attempting for quite some time in the hobby, without applying a name to it. There have been attempts to capture a "mass produced look" of period garments. The ability to capture this aesthetic would only become possible is the maker is ALSO able to produce a finely tailored piece. When ALL of the garments or items produced by a maker look the same, then a big red flag goes up. If, for example, one is looking at a line of reproduction forage caps, one may find the sterotypical provenance of a contract cap in such and such a collection. When you took one step back, you may notice that ALL the caps had the chinstraps in the same odd manner, leaving a noticeable space between the visor. By thumbing through Echoes of Glory, it is obvious that virtually no two caps are identical, making a such a consistent placement virtually impossible.

You don't have to publish a book in order to choose wisely.  

--Last edited by Histcloth on 2007-11-25 02:04:02 --

At my first reenactment, Raymond I in 1998, our battalion had to galvanize on Sunday. So on Saturday afternoon I bought the cheapest pair of Federal trousers on sutler row. I think they were about $50.  I wore them at Banks Grand Retreat this past March, without any eyebrows raised.  Of course by the end of Day 1, all trousers looked the same - mud splattered - and throughout the event everyone was busy being a CW soldier.   Getting up the next hill on the trail, wondering if my bowels were going to turn to jello from the creek water we were drinking, and keeping ahead of the Rebs seemed a lot more important than the origin of anyone's britches.

Phil McBride
The Alamo Rifles

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Phil McBride wrote : At my first reenactment, Raymond I in 1998, our battalion had to galvanize on Sunday. So on Saturday afternoon I bought the cheapest pair of Federal trousers on sutler row. I think they were about $50.  I wore them at Banks Grand Retreat this past March, without any eyebrows raised.  Of course by the end of Day 1, all trousers looked the same - mud splattered - and throughout the event everyone was busy being a CW soldier.   Getting up the next hill on the trail, wondering if my bowels were going to turn to jello from the creek water we were drinking, and keeping ahead of the Rebs seemed a lot more important than the origin of anyone's britches. Phil McBride The Alamo Rifles

Awww now you did it Phil, you gave away the secret that most C/P/Hers are more interested in the attitude than the gear.

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I wore them at Banks Grand Retreat

Phil, I knew there was something. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Now I can rest easy.

Rob