My understanding is that it was pistol dueling where at least some participants stripped to the waist or fought in the nude. A stabbing weapon like a rapier would pierce cloth, not tear pieces of it and imbed it into a wound. I'm sure those flowery shirts served a dual purpose of enabling a swordsman to move at ease and obscuring his body to a degree.

Heh heh, I don't do any fight reenacting so expensing titanium plates is a bit impractical :P I'd just like a light "show" targe for ren fairs and the like and a heavy practical one just to have fun or hang on a wall. I have a little end table with a broken leg that has a surface made of some sort of pine board or particle board surface about the right size for a targe. My concern is that driving nails into it might split it, so I may have to resort to drilled holes and glue to hold the upholstery tacks. I'll do a DIY post when I get around to it. I'm almost done with my first sporran so I'll post that when I get a chance.

This forum has really cut into my xbox time