15th Century Braies

The voluminous braies that had served for centuries as men's undergarments had begun shrinking, once the cotte appeared in the 1340s, but the radical changes in men's fashions at the opening of the 15th century necessitated pointing the chausses directly to the cotehardie or doublet. Thus, as chausses grew first longer, and then joined into a single garment, for the first time the braies were worn within another garment. The new garment was cut shorter and tighter, and would continue to shrink over the 15th century until they resembled a cross between a loincloth and modern briefs.

We have replicated a garment from the middle of this transition.Made of a high quality linen that is lighter weight than our 14th c. men's underwear, these braies are designed to be worn with our joined hose without leaving any unflattering bulges or lines. Although closely fit, they allow complete ease of movement, without compromising your comfort. Unlike earlier braies the 15th c. design has a simple fly designed to work with codpiece on our joined hose for easy access in performing 'necessities'.

Left: Our 15th Century Braies worn under Wool Joined Hose and 15th Century Linen Shirt.
Center: Our 15th Century Braies worn with our 15th Century Linen Shirt.
Right: Our 15th Century Braies worn under Wool Joined Hose and 15th Century Linen Shirt.