Woman's Riding Habit (Bodice, Pants, and Skirt)1885-1890

Not on view

Museum display of a Victorian-era woman's navy-black wool jacket and floor-length skirt on a dress form, with white head covering and black bowler hat

Museum display of a late 19th-century women's ensemble on a mannequin: navy wool fitted jacket with double-breasted button front and white cuffs, full floor-length skirt with pronounced back fullness, paired with a black bowler hat over a dotted veil.

Two mannequins displaying historical riding attire: left mannequin in a red double-breasted tailcoat with gold buttons, white breeches, tall black boots with brown cuffs, and black top hat; right mannequin in a dark navy fitted jacket and full-length skirt with small buttoned closures, bowler hat, and tan gloves.

Detail photograph of a worn black leather boot with a narrow heel, secured by a ribbed textile strap, partially concealed beneath layers of dark wool and bronze-colored silk fabric.

Close-up detail of black silk textile with heavily crinkled, crêpe-like texture at center, bordered by gathered black fabric and a fragment of aged cream-colored lining fabric at upper left.

Dark navy wool trousers laid flat, high-waisted with a button fly, side seams, and stirrup straps at the cuffs; a buckled waistband tab visible at upper right.

Title: Woman's Riding Habit (Bodice, Pants, and Skirt)
Place Made: France, Paris
Date Made: 1885-1890
Medium: Wool twill, full finish Pants: Wool twill
Dimensions: Length (Pants): 41 3/4 in. (106.05 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne A. Saperstein and Michael and Ellen Michelson, with additional funding from the Costume Council, the Edgerton Foundation, Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer, Maureen H. Shapiro, Grace Tsao, and Lenore and Richard Wayne
Accession Number: M.2007.211.879a-c
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: Equestrian ensembles for women consisted of a hat, fitted bodice, sidesaddle skirt, and boots. Inspired by menswear, female riding habits were constructed using techniques similar to those employed to make finely tailored men’s suits. Women typically commissioned male tailors, rather than female dressmakers, to create their riding habits. Loops of twill tape sewn inside the asymmetrical skirt hooked under the wearer’s instep to ensure that her legs remained covered while riding.
Selected Bibliography: Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Deux Siècles de Mode Européenne, 1700-1915. Paris: Arts Décoratifs; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books-Prestel, 2013.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2010.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Europäische Moden, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Prestel, 2012.

Woman's Riding Habit (Bodice, Pants, and Skirt)1885-1890

Not on view

Title: Woman's Riding Habit (Bodice, Pants, and Skirt)
Place Made: France, Paris
Date Made: 1885-1890
Medium: Wool twill, full finish Pants: Wool twill
Dimensions: Length (Pants): 41 3/4 in. (106.05 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne A. Saperstein and Michael and Ellen Michelson, with additional funding from the Costume Council, the Edgerton Foundation, Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer, Maureen H. Shapiro, Grace Tsao, and Lenore and Richard Wayne
Accession Number: M.2007.211.879a-c
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: Equestrian ensembles for women consisted of a hat, fitted bodice, sidesaddle skirt, and boots. Inspired by menswear, female riding habits were constructed using techniques similar to those employed to make finely tailored men’s suits. Women typically commissioned male tailors, rather than female dressmakers, to create their riding habits. Loops of twill tape sewn inside the asymmetrical skirt hooked under the wearer’s instep to ensure that her legs remained covered while riding.
Selected Bibliography: Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Deux Siècles de Mode Européenne, 1700-1915. Paris: Arts Décoratifs; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books-Prestel, 2013.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2010.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Europäische Moden, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Prestel, 2012.