Double oops....

[flick]

On Saturday, on the way up to Cambridge, we took a small detour. I'd read a blog post about a place called the Sandon Saddlery, something of a cross between a tack shop and a junk shop, that bemoaned the fact that all of the second had side saddle clothes were either incredibly tatty or had a 28" waist, so I rather had to go and have a look.

And, oopsie, I came away from it with a side saddle jacket and apron, for about half what I'd pay on eBay.

And then on Sunday we went down to the yard, and I tried them out.

And, double oopsie, the apron is too short. Sigh. On the plus side, they weren't on sale as a matched set, the saddlery has a seven-day return policy, and Mike's back up in that neck of the woods this Saturday. I'll keep the jacket, though, as it strikes me as being a lot easier to make an apron than a jacket. Plus, I know know what measurements I actually need from an apron for it to fit me.

And, even given that it was too short, it did look pretty! At least, it did if you skip over the pictures that Mike took of me mounting astride, getting my leg tangled up in the apron as I moved it over, fishing the apron out from between my legs and under my bum, and so on....





(The hem of the apron should be a hand's width or so above the lower-down ankle, so it is much too short. And, yes, my right shoulder is too far forwards. Sigh. I seem to be only able to get the position Just Right for short bursts of time, and even then only when my instructor is constantly correcting me. On the plus side, I do have a very easy way of telling if I'm right, because GB drops down into an outline for me. I think I managed that once, for about three strides, on Sunday.... No, I'm not going to start riding in a bowler hat. And it was much too early in the day for a topper.)

Also on Sunday, I saw a gorgeous outfit on eBay:

It was only £75, too. But Mike pointed out that I really wouldn't have many opportunities to wear it....

Comments

[bibliofile]

Seems like that second outfit would work well for your second wedding, y'know, the one where you & Mike renew your vows on horseback. Traditional celebration for the 17th anniversary, I think?

[flick]

17th? Bah! That's ages away!

[bibliofile]

I suppose so, if you insist on counting in base ten and Earth years.

[flick]

I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter!

[eleyan.livejournal.com]

You do look amazingly elegant on a horse. Which is not to say you aren't elegant at other times, but adding the horse, the clothes and the posture puts it all onto a higher level. Bit like the difference between lounging aboutin jeans and wearing a nice crisp uniform, I suppose. Shame about the long skirt, but it might be more practical to get one in a colour less likely to show mud, maybe. Nice dark green or burgundy would look good against GB's colour.

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

Black or navy is traditional, sadly. Well, or something tweedy, but that would be wearable in fewer situations, I fear.

My riding instructor's forever telling me off for slouching, so I think I was just having a good moment when Mike took the picture!

[inamac.livejournal.com]

The right clothes really do make a difference to any sort of riding. The jacket looks very good. Any chance of finding a matching fabric to make up your own apron? (If I recall correctly they're not a difficult pattern.)

These days even the best hunts allow jockey caps instead of bowlers or toppers.

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

That's my vague plan, sort of: there's a company that sells an apron pattern, so I'm thinking of getting a dress maker to have a go at making me one.

[kayxh.livejournal.com]

How does a side saddle jacket differ from a normal jacket? Is it longer on one side than the other, or cut differently in some way?

I'm also intrigued by the idea of an apron. I'd always assumed that side saddle riders wore a skirt. Do people nowadays wear trousers with a pretend skirt?

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

The jacket is slightly longer all around (but level) than a normal riding jacket, because it doesn't need to be out of the way of your hips so much, and generally has a cut-away part at the front so that your leg doesn't make the flaps gape (which is the main difference).

People do wear trousers with an apron over them, but it's not *that* recent. Special riding skirts, which were longer on one side than the other (and the extra length wrapped around and hooked / buttoned up out of the way for walking) have been around ever since the 'modern' side saddle, and then in the late 1800s safety skirts came in, which were the same as the previous riding skirts but had a deliberately weak seam, usually buttoned, down the short side so that it would rip, rather than catching on the saddle and dragging you along if you fell off. Fashions changed so that the safety shirts got less and less full, and eventually (20s or 30s? By the time it was just about ok for women to wear trousers as long as they were wearing a skirt on top!) they turned into the aprons, which are still worn with the extra fabric buttoned up at the back when walking around, so they look quite like a proper skirt.

Here's some pictures of a jacket and apron (http://millesimeequestrienne.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/navy-side-saddle-habit-for-sale.html).

[kayxh.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

Huh: I tell a lie. They were apparently very racy, but there were Victorian aprons.

Video here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV_oYU5f-8o&feature=related), which also shows how they hook up at the back for walking.