How does one hide a brace?

[gem]

Hey, did anyone mention a kilt?  It won't cover them fully, but it will be cool, and fireproof, and won't have a risk of tangling with the braces (is that a risk?).  Is there any way the braces could fit over a snug-fitting pair of tall boots?

[Bonny Pearl]

Breandan, do what is necessary safety wise.

If that means they don't get covered up in a garb fashion, you can create a story: you can say that Merlin has come up with these magical contraptions for ya to wear for helpin' in healin' your wounds from a fierce battle, etc.  The kids would probably love a story like that.

[Breandan]

kilt?  nuh uh! Mark wears one while smithing, and I have seen what can happen when slag ricochets upwards off of the anvil stump
>.<

Got some great ideas here, so I have a lot of options to work with :-)

[Dragonlord]

It would be cool if you could somehow cover your lower leg so that it looked like metal.  Then come up with a story of how you lost a leg (fighting off a dragon or such) so you had to forge yourself a new leg and the brace is holding it on.

[RumbaRue]

Seeing a number of people at events with various braces and such, many if on the legs are using baggy pants, much like sailors type. If female skirts are the best cover.
I've also seen casts and such above the mid-section covered with strips of muslin or similar.

P.S. If anyone uses a scooter like I have and would like ideas to decorate your ride give me a PM. You won't be 'period' but then you can go the other route as I did and go as 'hysterically correct'.

[HollyAtFairyEffects]

Hey Breandan,

Sorry to hear about your knees.  Hope you don't need the braces for too much longer.  Have you tried wrap pants?  My husband wears them.  Because they wrap, they are completely adjustable for sizing, and fit.  They can be as tight or as loose as you want them.  And they would either tie at your ankles or tuck into boots.

[Breandan]

you secretly plot to see me run by your shop engulfed in flames so you can chase me with marshmallows on a stick, don't ya? 

Considering wrap pants, but I'd need to get a pure cotton to minimize the chances of spontaneously engaging in my best imitation of a tiki torch  I also like the idea- inspired by Bonnie Pearl- of claiming it to be a Da Vinci apparatus 

[HollyAtFairyEffects]

you secretly plot to see me run by your shop engulfed in flames so you can chase me with marshmallows on a stick, don't ya? 

Welllll...If by some chance you do happen to catch on fire, can you do it early on a Sunday morning, so it won't be as crowded?  That way when you run by the booth, we will have a much better view of your flaming pants?  It would be much more entertaining that way  .  Don't worry, we'll keep a bucket of water at the door for you. 

[WindChime]

 I am a vendor at a faire and  I wear a brace on my ankle and I don't cover it up. I wear long or short skirts with my brace showing. I know it isn't historically correct but I have a medical problem and I do not care if it bothers anyone. I also have a sever spinal condition and use a walking staff to walk around with. Patrons need to understand that yes we are reenacting a certain time period but we still have modern medical issue to deal with. That's just my opinion

[Adriana Rose]

or you could just wear what you usualy wear and say screw it to every thing..

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

I don't think the average person going to a Renaissance faire, whether patron or mundane, really thinks that everything there will be historically accurate.  I can't imagine anyone remarking on your brace, because they obviously know that they didn't have them during that time period, and that you wear it for a reason.

If I saw you wearing a brace while working at your blacksmith shop, my most likely reaction would be to glance at it, and then pay attention to what you were doing and not think another thing about it.  So my suggestion is to wear what's comfortable for you, forget about the brace, and concentrate on your work.  That's what visitors will remember most - what you demonstrate to them, what they learn from you, not what's on your leg.