Comfort or attractive appearance?

Uniforms were traditionally made from cloth and the fabric was made from different kinds of yarn. Cloth is usually made from pure (100%) carded wool yarn. Fabric is made on the basis of the weft and warp from the same kind of yarn. Crude fabric intended for cloth has a slightly lower density than other fabrics because in the process of felting, shrinking of weft and warp is very big. The cloth is usually used for uniforms and outerwear. At the time of Stanisław August Poniatowski’s reign a worse type of worsted yarn called “kazimierek” or “kaźmierek” was very popular. It had been used for making uniforms till the middle of the 19th century. Cloth has very good thermal, water-resistant and wind-proof properties. However, it is also very rough and irritates the skin that is why soldiers wore linen underwear. Officers additionally wore special cotton or silk collar-inserts, protecting their necks from the rough touch of cloth. High and stiff collars, modelled on soldiers’ uniforms, had been part of elegant civilian clothing till the beginning of the 20th century. They were extremely uncomfortable and that is why in southern Poland, the former Galicia, they were called “fatermerder” from a German word “Vatermörder” meaning literally “Daddy’s Murderer”.