Unboxing a Victorian Lady's Riding Habit 🤩 || Antique Clothing Haul...but make it Equestrian

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It has been *a minute* since I've done an unboxing video on this channel (this is what happens when you start aggressively acquiring pieces and you don't have enough time to unbox them all on camera...), but I felt that this piece deserved a proper unboxing. Not only is this a complete riding habit, but it has amazing provenance both for the wearer (Josephine Pomeroy-Herrick) as well as the maker (Burgess Ladies Tailor and Habit Maker). I don't have anything else close to this in my collection. The tailoring is outstanding. The condition is incredible - some of the thread is dry rotted, but the fabric is sound.

Riding habits are a fascinating example of fuzzy gender barriers in historic dress. Sporting clothes have always had a masculine appearance to them, giving an "acceptable" way for women to break out of socially expected feminine styles and dress during their time. The masculinity of the habit carries over to the maker, with riding habits being made by tailors - which was (and is) a male-dominated trade.

This more masculine English aesthetic in sporting clothes began in the last quarter of the 18th century, where there was an Anglo-mania in France for English sporting clothing. Known for wools and tailoring, the English have always been the leader in the well-made, well-tailored sporting dress. It is clear that this trend has continued for almost three hundred years, through Victorian and Edwardian riding habits - with their soutache, braid, and padding, up through the mid-20th century to today. The sartorial traditions in the modern horse-back riding have a clear trail to their origins (pun intended.)

This habit would have been worn for side-saddle, which was the most common way for women to ride in the 19th century (or maybe the most socially acceptable..case you know they also rode astride too...). The patterning of the skirt is a clear indicator of the use of this garment and shows how complicated these garments could actually be. I know a little bit about riding side-saddle, and I am excited to see that it is starting to come back in popularity in the US (a few years ago, it was all but impossible to find someone with a saddle, a horse, and in driving distance from my mother and I.)

A couple of other notes on the construction - the fabric that is lining the seat of the riding pants is a fabric chamois- and it did have a fiber backing to it to create a cushioned seat in the pants, to help protect the legs and keep the rider comfortable. At the end of the 1880s and into the early 1900s we see a switch over towards riding breeches underneath the skirts for women, so the patterning books I have cited down below include both options.

I hope you all enjoy this unboxing. :)

References:
1889 Map of New Burlington Street: http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/firemaps/england/london/vitox/largeimage150537.html

The Cutter’s Practical Guide to the cutting of ladies’ garments, William D.F. Vincent, 1892, archive.org https://archive.org/details/cutterspractical00vinc/page/n97/mode/2up?q=riding+habit

Handbook on dress and cloak cutting, Charles Hecklinger, 1884, archive.org https://archive.org/details/handbookondressc00heck/page/50/mode/2up

New Superlative system of cutting ladies’ garments, based upon a scientific sure and simple method giving the correct proportions for each type of form of every size with variations [...], Charles Stone, 1901, archive.org https://archive.org/details/newsuperlativesy00ston/page/90/mode/2up

Portrait of Theodore Pomeroy, c. 1850, George L. Clough, US House of Representatives, https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2005/2005-016-026/

No. 1 New Burlington Street: http://patrickbaty.co.uk/2013/09/23/1-2-new-burlington-street/front-blog/

Historic England, 1 and 2 New Burlington Street: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1266743#contributions-banner
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