MJBlazek wrote:[quote="Karl Helweg] Not many folks wear the collars of estate in the SCA.[/quote]
I have always wondered what constitutes being allowed to wear a collar of estate.
I mean I am a Lord, is that enough, or should it be higher?
I would love to get one and wear it, but I don't want to step on toes.
Now I know the East does not have any Sumptuary Laws against it... but, you still never know (or at least I don't) what is silently frowned upon as being above ones station.[/quote]
It appears that Sumptuary Laws in the SCA are also slipping out of favor or at least not as published as they once were.
http://sca-garb.freeservers.com/articles/sumptuary.htm
Meridies used to have a VERY thorough collection of Sumptuary Laws(?) One of these specified that gentles holding a grant-of-arms or higher were entitled to wear a collar-of-estate of "sealed
Ms" with a Meridiean badge hanging from the front. I saw a few Atlantians wearing collars of sealed
As but I am not sure who made those.
My Lady had a grant-of-arms and we moved to Meridies. Sir Shaltar(?) made a bunch of nice pewter painted badges so I was motivated to carve a mold for sealed Ms and made her a collar. She was a bit disappointed when we moved to the West and there are officially no sumptuary laws (but try wearing the wrong thing

) and she figured that she could not wear her collar. The I noticed that a sealed
M upside down is a sealed
W and all is good with the world.
I think that I left my soapstone mold for Sir Stuart's squire since he lives in Meridies and had recently received a GoA.
If the East has no sumptuary laws to the contrary (that someone can show you in current printing) then nothing should be stopping you from wearing one. Peers were instructed to go forth and customize a collar-of-estate to show their unique history which sounds like fair advice in general. Someday I might listen to it.
You might want to consult with a good herald but I have seen groups, households, guilds, and individuals register "jewelry" as badges. Individuals were allowed five heraldric actions. There is a chance that a form of collar could be registered(?)
Being German it seems wrong to try and recreate the middle ages without sumptuary laws. Apparently HRE collar-of-estates were weighed to the exact gram of silver.