Detached Collars and Studs

In time period reenacting or "dress up" -- authentic details mark the distinctions between the "Halloween costume people" and the committed re-creator. After 1827, the detached collar made its appearance, partly to deal with that ever-present "dirty collar" problem. Detached collars were easier to launder and re-starch. Actually people had known about this since the Tudor/Elizabethan days of the "ruff" and later other styles of "collar" like those worn by the cavaliers. These detachables developed co-jointly with "neckties" like the jabot and detached ruffles, the military stock and so forth.

The difference in 1827 was that the detached collars became a full industry on their own. At first they were made of linen, and later cotton, finally becoming the more familiar highly-starched high collars of the Edwardian period and the early 1900s. For the re-enactor a detached collar is one of those details that make the difference between authenticity and farbishness. Collars are fairly easily made at home or can be purchased from specialized sutlers or providers. Find your particular era's or style's collar or make it yourself, then get a set of shirt studs for improved and correct presentations.

Collar studs attach the collar at front and back to the shirt's collar band. In addition, the cuffs (either detached or sewn to the sleeve) may require cufflinks or studs. In formal attire, shirt studs also take the place of sewn-on buttons down the top front of the shirt. Studs can be plain or quite ornate, even jeweled and make a special fashion statement.

The photograph shows a recently purchased wing-tip style collar, popular from the late 1820s onward. You can also see the black collar studs at the center back and center front of the collar.

Ranchero Hat and Spurs

On October 10, this year, we'll be attending an historical reenactment at the Dominguez Adobe Museum, in Carson, CA. The reenactment will include a re-staging of the Battle of the Old Woman's Gun of the Mexican-American War as well as a fandango with music, dancing, and a fiesta atmosphere.

I'm working on a historical garb outfit that will present a ranchero from the 1840s. These photos show my Spanish hat and authentic-styled spurs. While many cowboys sported silver-etched spurs, mine are more traditional in the fashion that might have been made by a blacksmith in one of the old small towns or on the rancho itself back in the day. The large Spanish rowl (the wheel) on the spur, for example, is exactly like those of the early Spanish/Mexican soldados, patterned after those worn by the even earlier conquistadores.

bievenudos a mi casa

Hola!

No, this blog won't be in Spanish, but I'm reflecting my Californio roots. Californios are those of us whose roots in The Golden State go back before the great gold rush of 1849 and before the Treaty that ceded California to the United States following the Mexican-American War. My ancestors were here since 1769 when the first missions and presidios were founded. My direct ancestor, Efigenio Ruiz, for example, escorted the pobladoros who founded both Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. Another direct ancestor, Jose Antonio Yorba, came with the Gaspar Portola and Father Junipero Serra Expedition of 1769. When I had my mitochondrial DNA tested a little while back, the analysis informed me that I was also part Native American, so you might say my roots in California go back many thousands of years.

One of the things I do is attend historical reenactment and Living History events. These span from the Renaissance to World War II, and include the American Civil War, the Victorian period, and, of course, the Spanish and later Mexican periods of California history. Whenever possible I make my own historical garb to wear to these events. This photo shows myself, my sister, Maggie, her son, Thomas, and his friend Nomy, at a recent Civil War reenactment in Huntington Beach, California.