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Believe it or not, until the age of 19, my mom always bought my clothes. I can already hear you saying, “That’s too old for her mother to be doing her styling!” But there was a good reason; I hadn’t a clue about fashion, many times choosing items that were not quite right to just plain “bad” to downright “horrible.” Thankfully, I had guidance and my mother knew: 1) what I liked; 2) what would suit me; and 3) how to make me always look good, even stylish. Of course, there were those moments when I’d rebel and leave the house wearing my favorite sneakers and baggy T-shirts.

But there comes a time in everyone’s life when they must take responsibility for their style and embrace, even cultivate, their sense of fashion! It would seem easy enough for riders to fnd the right apparel. A conservative well ftting jacket, show shirt, and boots polished to a high glass for both the hunters and jumpers and you would be safe to side step any fashion faux pas. But it’s not quite as simple as it sounds, and if you have glanced through any of the equestrian catalogues or stopped by your favorite tack shop, you will know the dilemma many riders face! What Not To Wear! So before making any purchases as an “adult” I had to pull it together, develop an eye not just for a distance but for what suits me, all while attempting to keep up with the latest in show ring fashion.

There are so many brands, one can easily be confused. Do you choose traditional pair of Tailored Sportsman or would Ariat be more to your liking? While I have been a fan of Pikeurs for the last few years, lately I’ve started sporting the super comfortable and affordable britches by Grand Prix. I like them in all colors, but I am aware where I can where what! Tan for the show ring of course, but my favorite colors are navy, black, and brown, and as we all know, dark colors are terribly slimming! While competing at the Devon Horse Show I discovered the brand Animo, which are really comfortable, look great and have great grip in the place of the knee patches. I was in love! Then we have the all important show shirt…Here is when you fnd yourself truly torn between the choice of cuts, colors, collars, patterns, materials, long sleeve or short! So many choices, so little time! I love the Essex Coolmax wrap collared shirts, myself. A truly genius idea really, as you don’t have to worry about misplacing or losing the collar, something I think that every female rider has done at least once.

Like the shirts, your choice of jackets can be almost as taxing. Not only do you have to take into consideration the cut and color, but their stretch and give over the fences, and another big factor - the weather! As we all know, there is no controlling mother nature and your show jacket will be your only source of protection against the elements, from hot and humid to cold and wet.

or Field, and one color (black) for the show ring, the choices can boggle your mind. Personally I like Der Dau; they ft like a glove, crazy comfortable, and I could ride in them the frst day without any pain or rubs. But the question of pull-on versus back zippers, tabs or no tabs, type of leather, the cut of the foot and the height… Choices, choices, choices!

Finding a helmet to ft your head and still look good, well, this too takes time and patience and a lot of putting your hair up and standing in front of the mirror! Think safety, comfort, cool, and then what doesn’t make your head look to weird.

It would seem that after generations of basically a similar look in the show ring (black helmet, tall boots, and britches) that you couldn’t go wrong. Although show attire still follows these basic guidelines, it still may be diffcult fnding your own winning style. Now that I think I’ve got my show style under control, now I have to tackle my fashion presentation off of a horse! I hate to admit it, but I can still be found in oversized V-neck and a pair of jeans and Toms, the slide-ons that I can’t live without, and help others too through their charity! Everyone needs a pair! Old habits die hard but I’m working on it…

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