1: Research your costume. Nothing looks worse than someone’s misinterpretation of what a period costume should look like, especially when street wear or party wear is confused with proper riding attire. For example, costumes which reveal the shoulders or have a very low neckline are not only gaudy looking and impractical, they are historically incorrect as well.

Lacy, full silk or cotton petticoats were not worn for riding. They were carried separately in a satchel to present soiling if they were needed at the end of a journey. Laundry duty was not as simple as it is today, so riding attire was rarely, if ever, white or light colored. Bouncy, lacy ruffles may look romantic, but bounce unbecomingly when used with riding apparel.

If you are not sure what riding clothing looked like during a particular era, research through old catalogs and magazines such as Godey’s Lady’s Book. Pay particular attention to the riding habits that are illustrated in these wonderful old resources. A very useful book for anyone wanting to research their period sidesaddle attire is Fair Lady Aside by Mary L. Thomas. Fair Lady Aside contains good illustrations and painstaking documentation on attire and saddles of various eras of riding aside. It is available from Side Saddle Source at www.sidesaddlesource.com.

2: Match your tack to your riding outfit. Very few sidesaddles still exist from the 1700’s. This means that the majority of period costumes seen in the show ring should date from the second half of the nineteen century and early part of the twentieth century.

The traditional hunt attire started some major changes after 1850. When the safety apron replaced the riding skirt and the saddles became more durable and secure, the attire worn hunting became more tailored and workmanlike. The modern western aside attire that we see today was not known during the early days of the western sidesaddle. The true western Goodnight sidesaddle was designed by Colonel Goodnight for his wife’s use in 1892. At that time and for a number of years following, ladies rode in Eastern attire that was imported from Europe or the East Coast.

3: No bloomers or pantaloons. They were never used for sidesaddle riding, are historically incorrect as riding attire and are impractical and rather silly looking when used on a horse. The terms commonly used today to refer to these items had entirely different meanings a century ago. The word “pantaloons” was defined as trousers or stirrup-type pants during the 19th century, not an item of ladies’ underwear. For a professional look, wear riding trousers, breeches, jods or western pants with your habit, but not the lacy white “pantaloons,” bloomers, or petticoats. Traditionally, ladies have worn the same type of riding clothes as men wore during a particular period under their riding habits or skirts. While doing your research be sure to check the men’s fashions for the era of interest.

4: Safety First! Keep safety uppermost in your mind when planning a riding outfit. Remember, accidents start with one careless mistake. Full skirts fell out of favor as riding attire because of the accidents which occurred when a lady fell from the saddle and her skirt became entangled around the horns. If you must ride with a long skirt in order for your habit to look authentic, then leave the right seam unsewn. It can be closed with Velcro when you are out of the saddle. Period attire’s full skirts are longer than modern aprons but if they are so long that they will entangle around the horse’s legs or if they flop excessively and scare your horse and others, you will want to shorten them.

Period Costume Patterns: Several companies now offer carefully researched costume patterns for period riding attire. Some offer trouser or corset patterns to use with the riding habit. Below are some resources. ASA makes no claim as to the authenticity of these patterns, suability for the show ring or ease in sewing. This is far from a complete list. One must determine what will work best for each particular need. Check your breed or show rules carefully before putting time and money into a new outfit.