Armour for women - what works, what doesn't? (I know the general answer is "Whatever works for you.", but some specific advice might be handy to women warriors old and new.)

Hey, definitely, and thanks for asking! :)

You asked about “armour for women”, but I’m afraid that’s not exactly the question I’m going to answer. I’m primarily going to cover the physical issues of armour for people of all genders with typically female bodies in this post. I will also discuss a few social/cultural issues around gender and armour, particularly relevant to women of all body types, at the end.

You may also find bits of this post useful if you have a body with some but not all typically female characteristics, like wide hips or breast tissue or low testosterone.

N.B. Throughout this post I am going to say “chainmail” when I refer to armour made out of lots of little rings joined together, because I gain sustenance from the tears of angry pedants.

Photo by Tom Garnett, from Empire LARP.

1. Two Out Of Three

If you have a typically female body, and are buying off-the-shelf LARP armour, I reckon you can expect to get two out of three of this tripod:

Comfort



Practicality/durability

Appearance

If you have a less typical body in size or shape, you may only get one of these in any given set of armour, particularly around the torso. While it’s better now than it was five years ago (and will be better again in five more!), in the meantime you should think carefully about your priorities.

Going to be wearing the armour for 6 hour sweaty battles through the mud? It wants to be comfortable.

Trying to impress your fellow Knights at tourney? It’s all about the look.

Taking it on and off a lot, playing a system where “realistic” armour is important for survival, and want to keep it for years? Practicality/durability is where it’s at.

This lady’s gorgeous custom scale armour is very likely close to achieving all three - but it’s heavy on the time and money investment. Photo by Tom Garnett, from Empire LARP.

2. These Hips Don’t Lie

Most typical female bodies have hips which are substantially wider than their waists. Most historical armour was designed for people with typically male bodies, which tend to have hips and waists which are closer to the same width.

As a result, you’ll often find that armour - particularly plate armour - bangs on your hips, leaving bruises on your hip-bones. Worse, if you have wide hips and a short torso, you can find breastplates and backplates forced upwards, jarring against your chin or neck.

There are three ways I’ve fixed this in the past:

Short breastplates / plackarts - plackarts, like the one pictured below, can really be a female body’s best friend. They are short and light enough to sit comfortably above your hips, often very adjustable (the short height means they’re easy to bend into shape) and leave your breast area free for however you want to armour that. Alternatively, getting your armourer to make you a shorter breastplate, or cutting a few inches off an existing one (much cheaper than a custom build! I got my £60 breastplate cut down for £5 and a packet of crisps), can ensure that your hips are left free. Chainmail or flexible armour - Scale, chainmail, brigandine, lorica segmentata and other forms of flexible or semi-flexible armour (including many leather armours) tend to avoid this problem by flexing around your hips instead of trying to ride roughshod over them. You’ll still get some tightness, particularly from brigs and lorica, but I find it more bearable. Metal lamellar doesn’t tend to have the same effect, because it goes straight up and down and doesn’t bend outwards very happily.

Custom armour - if you’re going to an armourer to get something made, make sure they’ve made kit for clients with hips before and if you can, speak to a client with your body shape. Many male armourers don’t appreciate the “hips” issue and while they’ll leave plenty of room for your breasts, they’ll cut the breastplate straight or (worse) tucked in low at the waist - recipe for disaster.

Photographer unknown, from White City LARP.

3. Go Generic

As with any piece of LARP kit, if you’re buying your first piece of LARP armour, I recommend going as generic as possible. Get something you can reuse in multiple systems and won’t regret owning if your current character dies tomorrow.

For my money, the best “generic buy” for someone with tits and hips is a short-sleeved butted chainmail shirt or vest, which should set you back about £60-£100; I’ve used mine in everything from sci-fi to medieval fantasy to Renaissance city-states. You can ornament armour with paint, ribbons, flowers, furs, a Sharpie… but the more generic your base, the happier future-you will be.

If you are struggling to find chainmail that fits you, another good option is a leather cuirass or jerkin. Softer leathers will be more permissive to your shape, and there are more armourers who make leather kit specifically designed for people with breasts and bigger hips.

4. Huge Tracts of Land

The first thing most people think of when they consider female bodies in armour, particularly plate armour, is to panic about the breasts. But where will the BREASTS go?!

The truth is that I have never worn a rigid breastplate (or… any other torso armour, actually, except maybe my lorica, which is pretty snug) where I noticed any interference with my breasts. I’m a C cup. I expect that most people with C and smaller cup sizes would experience the same. As an example, look at this picture of Jean Seberg playing Joan of Arc:

She’s clearly wearing a flat breastplate, and the way it’s sitting quite naturally and tucking well to her waist (note the high waist and flare to flexible lames, which will be very comfy for her hips!) suggests she must have some pretty small tits under that, no? Actually, no:

OK, there’s clearly some Wonderbra assistance in this photo, but my point is that she’s by no means flat-chested.

Bodies with larger breasts, especially at E cup and above, may find rigid breastplates which fit their shoulders are uncomfortably tight on their chests. A sports bra can help with this effect, or at the extreme end, a binder. There are some rigid breastplates, like those in the Gothic style, which leave a lot of room in the chest between metal and flesh; that room is ripe to be filled with breast tissue.

By contrast, if you have larger breasts (E+) and don’t like them squashed, avoid off-the-shelf versions of armours like muscle plate, lamellar and Wisby plate. Also avoid tight brigandines - while the “tail” may flex around your hips, it is heavy and the chest won’t flex so well around breast tissue. They’re not good armours to pick unless they’ve been specifically tailored to you - they sit flat and close to the chest, and will crush you mercilessly.

If you’re a trans* bloke, you’re crossplaying or you otherwise want to appear flat chested, plate armour, lorica, muscle plate and similar can be a great way to integrate the visual equivalent of a binder into your costume.

YES YES FINALLY I HAVE AN EXCUSE TO POST THIS PHOTO YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW UNCONTROLLABLY EXCITED IT MAKES ME. HOW FUCKING AMAZING DOES SHE LOOK WITH THIS BEARD. I JUST. BRING ME THAT BEARD I WISH TO WEAR IT AND/OR SEDUCE IT. UNF. Female LARPer with breasts, playing male character, in beard and muscle plate. Photo by Oliver Facey, from Empire LARP.

This trans male LARPer is taking advantage of the excellent flattening effect provided by lorica - in this case, leather lorica - and DAMN he’s looking badass while doing it. Photo by Charlotte Moss, from Odyssey LARP.

Those with very large breasts may sometimes find chainmail uncomfortable to wear. Although chainmail sized for breastless chests (which is all off-the-shelf stuff that hasn’t had darts specially added!) will naturally flatten your breasts a bit, some people at F cup and above report that the mail “hangs” downwards after the widest point of the chest, which can be uncomfortable.

You should always try to belt your chainmail if you can (see “weight bearing”, below), and if you suffer from this, try a wider/hero belt worn as high up the waist as possible. It will help alleviate the “hanging” effect and reduce weight on delicate tissues.

5. Weight Bearing

You should check out this post if your armour’s going to weigh more than you usually walk around wearing, and particularly pay attention to the point about where weight is best distributed. In brief, if you have narrow shoulders and broad hips, try loading downwards towards the hips and keep as much weight off your shoulders as you can.

That aside, it is worth mentioning that the average female body can carry less weight than the average male body. Most female-bodied LARPers I know can jaunt about in armour for a few hours with no ill effect. However, if you have narrower shoulders, lower lung capacity and less muscle mass than your male-bodied friends, don’t expect to be carrying the same weight as them for the same duration right out the door and feel as comfortable afterwards. And for Gods’ sakes don’t hurt yourself by loading on heavy plate in the name of “keeping up with the guys”.

Typical female bodies are more vulnerable to stress fractures than typical male bodies, particularly under weight. I’ve not come across this as a problem much in the LARPing community, but it’s a huge issue in military training. If you’re going to be carrying heavy weight (20%+ of your bodyweight) for upwards of 4 hours a week, regularly, follow these guidelines to avoid injury:

Eat and hydrate well.



and well. Avoid painkillers. If you’re in enough pain that you need to take a painkiller before you carry weight, don’t carry the weight .



If you’re in enough pain that you need to take a painkiller before you carry weight, . Listen to your body . If you get lower limb, shoulder, back or hip pain, take the weight off, stop exercise and see a doctor if it persists.

. If you get lower limb, shoulder, back or hip pain, take the weight off, stop exercise and see a doctor if it persists. Lots of calcium . Extreme exercise can deplete calcium over time, especially in people without typical-male levels of testosterone, which increases your vulnerability to stress fractures.

. Extreme exercise can deplete calcium over time, especially in people without typical-male levels of testosterone, which increases your vulnerability to stress fractures. Lots of iron . Female bodies are more susceptible to anaemia than male bodies, and low iron won’t help your strength and fitness one bit. Steak, broccoli, Guiness and supplements.

. Female bodies are more susceptible to anaemia than male bodies, and low iron won’t help your strength and fitness one bit. Steak, broccoli, Guiness and supplements. Lots of sleep . You should aim to sleep at least 8 hours the night before strenuous weight-bearing exercise, and another 8 the night after to recover.

. You should aim to sleep at least 8 hours the night before strenuous weight-bearing exercise, and another 8 the night after to recover. Good footwear . If you have never had boots properly fitted or had gait analysis, consider it; excess heel striking or pronation can cause shin splints or hip misalignment under weight, for example. Female bodies’ joints tend to be more flexible, which can be a risk factor for some injuries.

. If you have never had boots properly fitted or had gait analysis, consider it; excess heel striking or pronation can cause shin splints or hip misalignment under weight, for example. Female bodies’ joints tend to be more flexible, which can be a risk factor for some injuries. Reduce leg weight. Weight on your legs (e.g. heavy steel greaves) is disproportionately difficult to keep moving over time compared to weight higher up the trunk. If you can swap out your greaves for lighter ones, or move the armour coverage up to your thighs or arms, you’ll increase your endurance under load.

6. Boob Plate

OK! Let’s switch fire away from female bodies, and talk about cultural attitudes to armour and gender for a minute.

This is the bit where I’m meant to say that “boob plate” and chainmail bras are the great Satan, and they’re the cancer that’s destroying women’s armour, and all the rest. And yeah, sure, I find those things pretty distasteful. I think overdone boob plate sometimes looks dumb and chainmail bras key into a legacy of exploitation and objectification of women, and I wouldn’t wear one to LARP in. But ultimately your costume choice is your choice, and first it has to be about character and setting.

Lots of people dislike armour which has curves to follow the line of the breasts because it “isn’t historically accurate” or “doesn’t make sense from a protection point of view”. The first of those is irrelevant to us - we’re LARPers. The second is kinda relevant and kinda not - if you’re playing in a setting which might include, for example, Roman or Greek style muscle plate, that stuff isn’t molded like that because it turns blades. Its purpose is aesthetic and psychological, to accentuate the desired physicality of the wearer.

If he can have his desired physicality accentuated, while getting good LARP armour coverage, why can’t a woman (or anyone else whose desired physicality includes breasts) have theirs accentuated? And damn right this applies whether or not they have tits under there.

Are chainmail bikinis exploitative? No. You wanna wear that, you go right ahead. Are fictional settings which put their men in practical plate armour and their women in skimpy breast-enhancing outfits, and pretend both have the same protection from damage, exploitative and sexist? Yes. Sure they are. Avoid.

Ultimately, is it possible to wear flat-chested armour which doesn’t emphasise your assets, and still be badass and sexy and feminine?

Fuck yeah.



And is it possible to wear armour that shows a curve in the breast line, and still be totally practical and ready to rock in a swordfight?

YES.

WE.

CAN.

(Both photos by Tom Garnett, from Odyssey LARP.)

In summary: Crack on, choose comfort or practicality or appearance - whatever suits you - and enjoy your armour!