Equestrian Chic
[ 11 September 2007 ]
I was never one of those “horsey girls”. You know, those ones who were NUTS about horses. They read The Pony Club books, had weekly riding lessons & obsessively doodled the likeness of their favourite horse, “Speckle”, in the margins of their math book. Maybe you were one of them! I wasn’t. I never really got it. I liked horses for about a week, before moving onto my obsessions with Al Capone, Boadicea & Jack the Ripper. (Truth!)
Regardless, the Melbourne Cup is approaching. It’s a huge horse race worth millions of dollars. People go along in fancy hats & bet on horses & get sloshed, it’s quite fantastic. Of course, it is not necessary to don a cocktail dress, you can always pay homage in your daily wear.
With that in mind, here are some fabulous ways to accoutre yourselves accordingly. (You may notice a bit of a theme among this collection of items. Leather, buckles, shiny finishes — it’s all a bit BDSM really. To pull off the equestrian look with panache, think more ‘kink’ & less ‘Mr. Ed’.)
Foiled horses t-shirt. Oh, cheer up, sad model! This tee is super-cute & it’s on sale, how could she possibly be upset about it?! I like the colour very much, I have a thing for pale yellow t-shirts, even though they make me look kind of sick & washed out. My loss can be your gain, ladies.
Saddle belt bag. Coolest EVER. Wear slung around your hips for a great unexpected addition to an urban outfit. Or, I guess, if you were home on the ranch, you could fill it with carrots & hay & feed Mr. Chips.
Stallion Charm necklace. If you just want to add a smidgen of equine action to your ensemble, this is the way to go. It’s cool & understated & I like the double-chain.
Frye lace-up engineer boots. These boots are really quite beautiful. They kind of make me drool on myself a little bit. I am sure they are desperately impractical (really, who can be bothered with all those laces?), but I would almost say it’s worth it. These are much classier than your standard million-hole Doc Martens & could be worn in all sorts of situations with enormous flair.
Pringle 1815 twill pleat-front shorts. I was initially turned onto Pringle by my friend Davide who was obsessed with them. (He is currently in London looking for cute boys to kiss, please email me for more information!) Anyway, all of this to say that Davide has great taste, & these shorts make my heart skip a beat. They are SO cute. They would look equally marvellous with the Frye lace-up engineer boots, above, or heels. I can picture them with a stylish vintage t-shirt or a soft flannel shirt. Or maybe just a nice pair of pasties & a riding crop. Ooh la la!
Coco de Mer horsetail corset belt. Blush! Quick, scroll down before your boss sees! Okay, yes, this is a little bit on the risqué side, but it is really a gorgeous piece. I think it could be worn in an extremely high-fashion way by someone with a LOT of confidence, super-high heels & impeccable grooming. Maybe over a crisp white shirt. What say you?
Parker wool fedora. I am mad about hats, & this one is no exception. It’s made from wool so it’s good for you bunnies in the northern hemisphere right now! A fedora looks fabulous with a simple outfit — I’m envisioning this one with a long, white, deep v-neck t-shirt, aforementioned Pringle shorts & Frye lace-up engineer boots. Rawr!
BI LA LI gabardine jodhpurs. Okay, before I begin, WHO decided on the spelling of that word? Jod-h-purs? Argh! Anyway, these are very stylish & I dig the buttons up the front. Also, jodhpurs are in this season, if you’re interested in that sort of thing! Wear with a ponytail & an all-American boyfriend on your arm.
Safari post earrings. Cute little horses to gallop around your earlobe. Neigh!
Alexander McQueen patent corset belt. Um, delicious. Much less kinky than the corset from Coco de Mer, but then, you would expect that. This would be incredible over a slinky black wiggle dress with a pillbox hat (& veil). Kind of like what you would wear to the funeral of your husband if you had murdered him with a pearl-handled pistol.
Miu Miu patent leather gloves. Totally sassy. I love the length, they’d show your wrists & I think that kind of cut is very fresh & young. Gorgeous bow detail. Definitely the kind of thing you would wear until they fell apart.
Pringle cashmere argyle sweater, found on Ebay. It’s definitely the best place for wonderful argyle sweaters! You could go equestrian with this, or you could rock it up by wearing it with skinny black jeans, a red Chanel 2.55 & Christian Louboutins. (Why, yes, I am writing for the child star demographic!)
Vintage Kentucky Derby shirt, found on Ebay. I have wanted one of these for years, mostly because of Hunter S. Thompson (see below). Ebay is always the best place to get them, so keep your eyes open!
The Great Shark Hunt by Hunter S. Thompson is a GREAT book & you should read it! It features many observations on the Kentucky Derby, including The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent & Depraved. We all know a book is the hottest accessory, anyway.
Once you’re properly attired, please proceed to sit on the nearest verandah & get plonkered on Mint Juleps — the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. (10 mint leaves, 1 & a half teaspoons of super-fine sugar, seltzer water, crushed ice, & 2 & a half ounces of Kentucky bourbon whiskey. Mix. Gulp. Repeat.)
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
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Cool stuff! I’m not a “horsey girl” either, but equestrian style always has something nice about it. I like the boots, too. And, hey, it says in the link that there’s an inside zipper, so no need to bother with those tedious laces! ;-)
“Quick, scroll down before your boss sees!”
I had to laugh, because I totally did that.. :)I never really got the horse thing either…I grew up with two girls that were both completely horse crazy, but I never really understood it..
...I think the engineer boots were my favorite part. I think the laces would be worth it, but not as an every day sort of thing.
Today, I am wearing my off-white Sleater Kinney horse T. Neigh!
raises hand horse girl ahoy! i was ‘special’, though, as i did almost every kind of ‘alternative’; icelandic horses especially, then western, natural horsemanship, training trotting horses, etc. as if i was going to be your run-of-the-mill horsey girl, nuh uh. i need to buy some new horse gear, seeing as all of mine smells, well, horsey. haha. i love the whole equestrian thing as a point of fashion, unless it’s preppy and boring.
You mentioned ‘kink’ and ‘horses’ and there are NO pictures of Patrick Wolf and his unicorn tattoo? [That was my inner pervert speaking.]
I’m ashamed to admit this. I’ve lived in Louisville, Kentucky my whole life (37 years), and I’ve never once been to the Kentucky Derby.
Isn’t that crazy?
The whole city goes insane with all the celebrities. It’s definitely a great two weeks of partying!
A wise man once told me, “Sarah, if you don’t know the horse girl, then you ARE the horse girl.” In fact, I knew a horse girl, so I was safe, but I certainly did experience the phase. However, the horse girl I am referring to not only rode horses, drew horses and came to school in riding pants (not for fashion reasons, but because they were all she owned) but actually spent quite some time pretending to BE a horse.
I think that these items offer healthy, horsey alternatives to the behaviors mentioned above.
Stay cool,
Sarah Decay
ooh, i totally had the horse phase! right from when i was about 9 until i was about 12, i was OBSESSED. i still have little model horses and things dotted round my room!
Sarah Decay – i think i might have been that girl. i spent many an hour pretending to be a wild stallion galloping through misty moors.
now that i am older and wiser (hopefully), i totally want that alexander mcqueen corset belt! also, oddly enough, i am currently reading the great shark hunt! spooky.
xoxo
i was a horsey girl from when i was 3 to 14! my mum ran a riding school, my dad owned/owns racehorses, & my sisters & i all did eventing, hunting & mounted games, with competitions every weekend. my room was also plaaaastered with pictures of horses, i had 10,000,000 horsey figurines, & my best friend & i would gallop around our primary school on our imaginary trusty steeds. for that reason, equestrian chic feels very strange to me. i absolutely love some of this stuff, but gah, i don’t think i’ll ever be able to get into anyone wearing jodhpurs outside the stable. too many memoriiiies!
LOL @ “cheer up, sad model”!
P.S. Don’t the Frye boots have a zipper as well? The website says, “inside zip”??
yayyyy!!!
i was such a horsey girl! my friends and i used to gallop around the playground on our imaginary steeds and i competed in barrel racing competitions every weekend. i read every single saddle club book (i was the “lisa” of my group) and i had an army of breyer horses and my little ponies.
however, whenever i see equestrian style fashion spreads (which is basically EVERY fall) they all look the same and totally unwearable!
i have a pair of english riding boots that i wear practically every day in the fall that add a little equestrian flair to any outfit:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v41/gwennabat/sandborne/?action=view¤t=12-20-2006-20-80.jpg
in this picture i’m wearing them with joghpurs (um…sp?)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v41/gwennabat/sandborne/?action=view¤t=12-20-2006-04-80.jpg
i think boots and sleek pants are the key to this look. i’m not trying to rock a helmet on the way to get coffee or walking to class!
What gorgeous clothes! :)
I definitely didn’t think I could pull off the equestrian style, but I’ve been proven wrong…I think I can do it!
rachel – Those pictures are AMAZING. I want your boots. :P
Ooh, this is a really great fall look. Probably one of my favorite typical “fall” styles, along with campus chic (Mmm… Newsboy cap and chunky scarves!).
Can’t wait to try out layering some of these things into my wardrobe, as soon as it gets colder!
I LOOOVEEE those boots!
For about a month I desperately wanted a horse. I still have my Saddle Club books from then (which is pretty embarassing).
My parents never got me one (“too expensive”), I cried for a week, then got over it, haha.
Those boots are gorgeous!
Funnily enough, after reading your wardrobe advice, I garnered up the courage to wear my 14 hole DM’s to work yesterday under a long pair of pants… I spent half the day lifting up the leg of my pants so that people could see them as they’re so shiny (I used to be a shoe-care fiend) and girls being girls always ask to see your shoes!
Not sure about the pony tail though… :/
P
x
i also managed to skip the horse phase .. along with the party phase, the boy phase and the passing year twelve phase. tee hee
those boots are now on my wishlist! and if my thighs were half the size they are now the kinky corset belt thing would be too. tee hee
xx
All that this post needs is a riding crop!! I’m guessing Coco da Mer can probably help out in that department…. ;)
It’s the Saddle Club you’re referring to I’m guessing? My best friend was totally obsessed with horses so I read like all the books and begged my parents for a horse despite living in suburbia. We also used to run around the school playground pretending we were horses and jumping over the benches.
Also those boots are awesome.
Eva — Haha! Thank god you read the product description, I didn’t even notice! Hmmm, problematic though, that makes the boots even more appealing…
dee — Awesome, hee hee! I hope you didn’t get in trouble. It was too fabulous not to profile though, right?
Fred Chook — Whinny! Head toss! Snort! Something something! Hay!
nana — Awww, you would have been the CUTEST horse fiend! That is pretty amazingly adorable. When I was researching this piece I found some Hermès saddles which were pretty saucy. Bling blang!
Lauren — Unicorns don’t count, SURELY?! ;D (I love Patrick too. Shame on me!)
tee tee — Pssshhhh! Next year, you have to go! Report back!
Sarah Decay — Haha! Yes. There was a girl at my school who was totally horse-mad, I just didn’t understand her. I kind of thought she was crazy, actually. Eep! Kids can be cruel. Though, pretending to be a horse is nothing, I knew a girl in high school who would pretend to be a cat…
sophie~ — I can’t picture you as a horse girl! I guess ‘cause I see you as a hot fashion-plate! Hee! The McQueen belt is totally hot, though. Faint
annaloren — I can’t picture YOU as a horse girl either! Then again, with a family like that, there is no way you could have escaped it!
WendyB — Well, she looks really upset! I don’t like it!
rachel — Those boots are lovely! I dig. I think a nice blazer would be amazing with them, actually…
Valerie — Yay! I’d love to see how you do :>
Retro.Bunny — I agree that it is a fabulous look for fall, especially if you make it a bit surprising & less conservative!
Miri — Ahh don’t worry about it, I still have all my BSC & SVHS books ;D
Pants — Oh, excellent! Did you feel good in them? & the ponytail is strictly optional, haha.
MJ — I hope you get them, I’d love to see them on a leg!
Nadia — Well, yes. But I featured that crop when I did my happy birthday Betty Dodson post, so I didn’t want to repeat it! It has a diamante handle, though… rawr!
Cara — Oh, yeah… Saddle Club, Pony Club, it’s all the same to me ;D
the horsetail reminds me very much of Alison Goldfrapp; who (i like to think, at least) started the wearing antlers/deerheads/horsetails before sass and bide’s models.
irregardless, i love the little bag, the boots and the corset belt. yum.
Great post! These are two super-cute horse-print items I found on Net-a-Porter –
http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/25627
http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/25626
After reading your post, am VERY tempted by the camisole!
haha, no I didn’t get into any trouble. It was thankfully early in the morning, so there weren’t a lot of people around. lol. You’re right about it being too awesome to leave out, though!
nico — I like Ms. Goldfrapp! She is a very stylish woman, for sure.
Ammu — Ooh! Squeal! The cami is cute! Buy it!!
dee — Well, good, I wouldn’t want you to get a smack on the wrist on my behalf! xx
I love that whole ‘eventing’ look – plaited/netted hair, jacket w/stock, super-tight light-coloured pants, high shiny boots. It’s quite masculine yet very sexy. Unfortunately I really and truly don’t have the legs for it myself :-(.
I “was” a horse girl when I was young in Japan, until I actually moved to the country of horse-riding; UK.
In UK, I was a student, too busy with homeworks and too poor to actually go and enjoy horse-riding. ;-) Since then, I have not ridden a single horse. (sob)
But now, with my 5-year old son around, I’m thinking to resume my old passion with him! ;-)
Luckily, there is a kids-friendly horse riding club near our place in Singapore. I’ll definitely refer to this article when I prepare my wardrobe for my first day at the stable! ;-))