So I've got a coat of arms, what shall I do with it?

[Martin Goldstraw]

My view is that they are your arms so you can do what you want with them.

[Mike_Oettle]

Certainly a herald would wear a tabard — with the employer’s arms fore and aft, as well as on either sleeve.
But the proper garb for an armiger would be a garment with his shield contents displayed over the full width of the front and back.
A retainer would certainly wear a badge, but in many instances the badge used is a smaller version of the shield, placed on the front of the garment.
In fact, Moncrieffe and Pottinger (in Simple Heraldry) use an image of a schoolboy with his school arms displayed on his chest pocket to illustrate this.
And printing the full achievement in black-and-white on a T-shirt does not reflect the arms very well, unless they happen to be only argent and sable.

[J Duncan of Sketraw]

Hi mike how are you? It is a misconception that only heralds wore tabards, in fact in medieval times knights were those that wore them the most rather than the long surcoat.

Medieval knights tournament tabard displaying his arms.



Sketch of knights in tabards

[Kathy McClurg]

To throw in a couple cents..

I'm of the opinion there is not a "proper" way to wear ones arms with exception of some formal event where such is proscribed by earlier custom/convention. Of course, being in the US, I attend no such event I can avoid and happily have my arms on T-Shirts, Polo Shirts, and a hoodie. In addition, for events with the Becker side of the family, I have a few shirts with the Becker badge.

I also have mugs, luggage tags, any number of paintings (well, a few, anyway) and some digital art.. oh, and a seal.. There's a magnet on my door and refrigerator... I've also been known to use them as letterhead in personal correspondence.. and as avatars on any number of forums and social media... perhaps next a statue or some needlepoint?

OH, yeah.. on my Kindle Oragami Cover for the Kindle HDX...

Really, your imagination is all that limits you (and, perhaps, your budget..

[Mike_Oettle]

Well, for my money I would like to be able to wear a jersey or similar garment bearing my arms covering the whole of the front, and reversed on the back, to a party sometime — not to a formal event, since there are no formal events in this country that require the wearing of arms.
And it might be a nice idea to have a blazer badge made of my crest, that my son and I could wear.
I also plan to have a crest-badge made in metal to wear on a Scottish bonnet. A kiltmaker I know in Cape Town has contacts with a silversmith who does this sort of thing, and he showed me a standard circular backing to which the crest device could be added. There is also a strap and buckle version, which my son could wear until such time as he inherits my arms.

My brother had a wood-carver make a copy of the carving our grandfather had made when he was a schoolboy. The old man’s carving showed the full Oettel achievement on a shield (unpainted), and a cousin of my dad’s had had a copy carved. My brother asked my advice, and since he was adopted by my parents (he was actually a blood relative, but his natural father had a different surname) I suggested that he incorporate a pair of interlinked annulets in the design. This he did.
After my brother’s death his children photographed his shield and (in at least one instance) printed it onto a garment in black and white, which his daughter wore one evening when she was with us.

For those who have not been bored to death with the story, the Oettles of Baden-Württemberg display the arms of Oettel of Franconia. Because I could not prove a blood relationship to that family, I had to adapt the design, and made a number of changes to be able to register my own arms in Pretoria.
Regards,
Mike

[Arthur Radburn]

"So, I've got a coat of arms, what shall I do with it?"

If you should happen to be one of the 4000 or so residents of the town of Steytlerville in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa, you might well display it on a banner in the main street :



This "Steytlerville Family Crests" [sic] project was launched around 2001, as a means of promoting community spirit and racial harmony in the town. Unfortunately, the heraldic quality does not appear to be particularly high. Pseudo-arms, bogus arms, and incorrectly attributed arms taken from a reference book are evident in this photo.

[Chris Green]

Well at least they tried. Imagine the City of London or the City of Edinburgh taking up the idea. That would be quite a sight.

[Martin Goldstraw]

Well at least they tried. Imagine the City of London or the City of Edinburgh taking up the idea. That would be quite a sight.

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh is quite often festooned with the flags of the Chiefs.

[Chris Green]

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh is quite often festooned with the flags of the Chiefs.

Indeed. I have seen them and wondered who was responsible; the City Council or a local group of shop-owners perhaps?

[Martin Goldstraw]

Indeed. I have seen them and wondered who was responsible; the City Council or a local group of shop-owners perhaps?

The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.