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A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a Jacket with overlong sleeves. The ends of these can be tied to the back of the wearer, so their arms are kept close to their chest with possibility of only little movement.
Although straitjacket is the most common form, strait-jacket is also frequently used, and, in England, strait-waistcoat (archaic). The spellings straightjacket and straight-jacket are now valid alternatives, although the original term came from strait meaning narrow or confined; thus straitjacket is preferable.
Straitjackets are used to restrain people who may otherwise cause harm to themselves and others. Its effectiveness as a restraint makes it of especial interest in Escapology. The straitjacket is also a staple prop in stage magic and is sometimes used in bondage games.
The negative connotations straitjackets have as an instrument of Torture come from the earlier era of Victorian medicine. Physical restraint was then extensively used both as treatment for Mental illness and as a means of pacifying patients in understaffed asylums.
Institutional straitjackets tend to be made of Canvas or duck cloth for material strength. Jackets intended as fetish wear or fashion items often use Leather or PVC instead.
The sleeves of the jacket are typically sewn shut at the ends - a significant restraint in itself because it retards use of the hands. The arms are then folded across the front, with the ends of the sleeves wrapping around to fasten or tie behind the back. On some jackets, the sleeve-ends are not anchored to the garment to allow the fastening or knot to rotate away from the wearer's hands as they move their arms, making it more difficult to undo.
Most jackets feature a crotch-strap to prevent the jacket from simply being lifted over the head. Some (notably, Posey models) also have vertical loops at the front and sides to hold the arms in place. This prevents a common escape technique: lifting the arms over the head in order to get at the rear straps.
Friction buckles (spring-loaded buckles with serrated teeth) are commonly used to fasten institutional jackets with webbing or cloth straps because they are very difficult to open without a free pair of hands. For this reason, they are rarely used on gimmicked jackets intended for stage magic.
It is possible for one person to put a willing volunteer into a straitjacket, but it generally takes at least two people to jacket a struggling person, and yet another to keep an eye out for such tricks.
For a gimmicked jacket without a front strap, the most common way to escape is to hoist the arms over the head before undoing the crotch strap and at least the strap at the back of the neck. This allows the jacket to simply be peeled off upward over the head. Some gimmicked jackets make this easier with hidden openings at the ends of the sleeves.
The straitjacket escape was popularized by Houdini, who could dislocate both his shoulders. His magician brother, Hardeen, who also did the escape, could only dislocate one shoulder. Houdini first did it behind a curtain, forcing the audience to listen to thumps while watching a billowing curtain for many minutes. He found the trick went over better when the audience could see his struggles. In one of his later and more popular acts, he would perform the straitjacket escape while hung upside down from a skyscraper.
Some jackets intended for fetish use include additional restraining features like wrist straps, lockable fastenings or opt to cross the arms behind the back. Again, these should be used cautiously and never for long periods, as they can interfere with circulation or make the jacket difficult to release in the event of emergency.