Equestrian-Inspired Style: You Can Wear This

Tina, here.

Things you may not know about me: I buy clothes on eBay. I wear yoga pants some Saturdays. I tried to join the Boy Scouts when I was a little girl. I was a member of the Furman Equestrian Club in college. English and Western, if you were wondering.

If I could wear western glam cowgirl outfits every day, or heck, even full dressage, I just might.  (Why are you laughing?) So when I was invited to ride this past Saturday with my friend Cherrie, I got to indulge my love of horses and being a cowgirl. True confession, I fell off a galloping Belgian weighing roughly 2,000 pounds.  Oh, I'm fine.  Goliath was an angel.

Tina riding Goliath

Pre-fall, or could have been after, cause I did get back up on Goliath, the gentle giant.

There's a definite high/low dressing spectrum in the equestrian world.  Jodhpurs are "high" and jeans are "low."  Dressage boots are "high" and cowboy boots are "low."  I love both.  And even better, you actually can wear both in the real world.  I mean, everybody's doing it.  Ask yourself, Do I own any riding boots?  When was the last time you rode a horse in them?  And all your skinny jeans?  They're just jodhpur wannabes. See?  It doesn't even matter!  Here's how to wear equestrian-inspired style. 

This would be the high end of the spectrum: jodhpurs, shiny riding boots, leather gloves and a real riding jacket and a bow. My childhood friend Tara posted this beautiful photo on her shop's blog at lou lou boutiques.

Tina & Horse Chip

Meet Chip, my other ride. We're casz. I wore jeans and cowboy boots, duh. And a ruffle t-shirt by RL Ralph Lauren and a tooled leather belt. And a windbreaker because it was windy - not very western glam, but boy was I glad I had it.

What I like about equestrian fashion is that a riding blazer and jodhpurs (a substantial pant, not really a skinny jean) can be worn for a lunch with the girls as easily as they can be worn in a jumping competition.

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Here's well-known equestrienne Charlotte Casiraghi on her show horse. She's a serious competitor and quite accomplished in the equestrian world. She's also Grace Kelly's granddaughter. Notice her sharp black blazer and shiny black riding boots. And you have to wear your hair up for dressage. It's like a thing. So, the ponytail - get it, pony tail? Flickr Image by Fervente Adepte de la Mode.

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And here's Charlotte taking the riding blazer into the real world.  She is often seen wearing a blazer and jeans or a blazer with something fancy for an event, as seen here. And not long ago, Gucci made her their brand ambassador and model. Very fitting don't you think? Image Wikipedia Commons by Juan Alvarez Gomez.

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This is serious western glam, y'all. Do you think she rode this longhorn into town? I am loving her hat and that touch of fringe. Now, I see women of all ages doing the shorts and cowboy boots thing. It's not for everyone. Hard to say exactly why but it definitely has to do with age. I'll let you decide if you're at an age that you can pull it off, but if your daughter is doing it, it's probably not a look for you.  Image Flickr by Drriss and Marrionn.

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Isn't she a doll? This is how you do the cowboy boot thing over jeans. And you can even switch to white jeans in a month or so. I'm already wearing my white jeans, but for you die-hard traditionalists, feel free to wait. And you can substitute the plaid shirt for a chambray one. This would make a cute senior picture, too. Image by MFer Photography

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Charlotte, again, this time in all white. White jeans or jodhpurs (who cares? they're white) and a great black belt for contrast. A perfect early spring outfit, with or sans horse, with or sans riding boots. Image Fervente Adepte de la Mode

These are a few of my cowboy boots. When I'm not wearing cough yoga pants cough on the weekend, I'm usually in these, horse or no horse.  In faded bootcut blue jeans or white jeans.

Look above, far left, bottom shelf and you'll see my white cowboy boots, because you know I'm addicted to white clothes.  But I just want to make sure we're clear on one point, dolls.  My white cowboy boots should not be confused with these white cowboy boots:

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Not the cowgirl look I'm after.  This might be why I don't like shorts with cowboy boots.  Image Nick Schmidt

Get your western glam on with some jeans and cowboy boots.  Or go fancy with your blazer and riding boots.  Either way, it's a great look at any age.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out our newest shopping service, the Style Vault.  Shop entire outfits right from the Vault, all curated by me.  February holds exclusive discounts for Vault Members, plus a special bonus section…all the Shapewear you need, for every shape and size. 

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And, if you’re lucky enough to live in Nashville, you get to have us in your very own closet and shopping right along side you.  We’d love to serve you.

Best,

Tina

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