THE LADY’S DRESS ON HORSEBACK.
I think I shall make this a chapter upon Dress. Not that the subject
ought, perhaps, rightfully to come in just here, without first
introducing some more details about the horse--but I know it to be a
popular one with ladies, and it will make a pleasing variety from drier
matter, which can be made to hold over very well until by-and-by.
In the days of Gottfried and the fair Maid of Ghent, ladies rode
upon long-tailed palfreys, attired in embroidered robes of velvet or
brocade. A century later we find them wearing cloth manufactured into
riding gear, but fashioned so extraordinarily as to set us marvelling
how on earth they ever bore the weight, or kept their skirt-tails
even moderately clean. So far down as the first half of the present
century trailing habits were worn, and about that period we find many
allusions to the absurd custom, which would seem to convey something
like admiration of it. For example, Charlotte Bronté, describing the
return of a riding-party in ‘Jane Eyre,’ says, “Her purple riding-habit
almost swept the ground;” a very questionable grace, in my opinion, and
a highly dangerous one.
Even in the present day our risible faculties are sometimes excited
by the sight of some countrified equestrian, clad in the old-fashioned
attire of our mothers’ or grandmothers’ epoch--skirt six feet long, and
quite four yards in width; bodice with long basque, neck completely
open, displaying a huge expanse of shirt, finished off below the chin
with a red bow, or a blue one, or a green, as the case may be; sleeves
of enormous dimensions, both wide and long, and braiding enough to set
up a regiment of Hussars. There was a girl in the park last season who
wore a habit such as I have described, with the addition of soiled
white kid gloves, and an extraordinarily tall hat, with a very narrow
straight leaf, and evidently much too large to fit her head, for
it went bobbing over her eyes at every step of her ungainly steed.
Thousands of laughing glances were directed towards her, but she never
minded, and only seemed pleased; possibly she thought they were signs
of admiration--and her pleasant, healthy face was aglow with delighted
satisfaction.
What a pity, I thought, that she had not the benefit of that
inestimable looking-glass, a friend’s eye. Somebody ought to have told
her what an exhibition she was, yet evidently nobody did; so ready are
we to ridicule others, without offering help.
A learner’s first costume may be as primitive as her knowledge of the
art--yet certain particulars concerning it ought not to be overlooked,
and while considering them I shall adopt my former unceremonious mode
of address, and speak as friend to friend.
To begin, then, with your head. Leave your hair floating, perfectly
loose--untrammelled by so much as a ribbon. The object of this is
that you may not have any temptation to remove your hands from the
position in which the master has placed them, or anything to divert
your mind from the subject with which it is engaged. Were you to take
your riding lessons with hair plaited neatly up in a coil, you would
probably become conscious, after a round or two of jolting, that a
tail was sticking uncomfortably out at one side, while a cold hair-pin
would perhaps make you shudder by sliding down your back. Then, if your
hand was not immediately lifted to rectify it, the tail would rapidly
increase in length and volume, and a perfect _rain_ of hair-pins
would begin to descend upon your shoulders. This is precisely what a
riding-master dreads and detests--for fingers and attention are alike
employed to rectify the damage, which cannot be done in a hurry, but
takes a long time,--and so discomfort reigns paramount until the lesson
is over.
_Always_, while a learner, ride with your hair unbound, and wear a
soft hat or cap upon your head, fastened securely with an elastic
beneath the chin. This latter does not look pretty, but that need not
matter very much; there will not be many to see it, and even were it
otherwise, the sensible among them would applaud your foresight, and
commend you for providing against the discomforts attendant on a hat
that would go rolling off with every motion of the horse you were
riding.
Your jacket should be more than easy-fitting: it should be
loose--allowing the figure full play, and giving special liberty to
the arms, which should never be hampered in any way.
The shape of it need not trouble you; beauty and fashion can be
dispensed with till by-and-by. Your skirt should be wide and short; the
make of it will not matter;--as in the case of the jacket, let “cut”
give place to comfort. Do not wear a hard stiff collar, or anything
that would irritate or distract your mind. Never wear petticoats
on horseback, even from the first. To do so is a grave mistake. I
advocate the purchase of proper riding trousers, to be worn from
the very beginning, and they, of course, obviate the necessity for
any such garment. I have heard persons speak in favour of flannel
combinations, made to fit quite loose, and must confess that, having
never tried them, I am not in a position to condemn, but my prejudices
are certainly not in favour of them. If not fitted with elastic below
the knees, they would most assuredly ruck up and make their wearer
miserable; and if so supplied, the legs of them would turn round and
round until the backs were almost twisted to the front, a state of
things terribly uncomfortable, and one that could not be remedied
without getting off. If, however, there is a decided predilection in
favour of these extremely undesirable garments, the twisting process
may in great measure be obviated by attaching a piece of good firm
elastic, long enough to pass under the sole of the foot, to each side
of the leg of the combinations. This answers the purpose of a man’s
trouser strap, but must, if adopted by a lady, be worn under the
boot. It is, I must say, surprising to me that the combination, or
knickerbocker garment, should ever have received the notice of juvenile
riders, inasmuch as it leaves the leg, from the knee down, entirely
uncovered, save by the stocking, except when long boots are worn; and
we all know that the limbs of a learner are far more tender and liable
to abrasion than are those which have become saddle-hardened and inured
to rubs.
Boots should be well-fitting, broad-soled, and made without buttons,
bows, or anything that could possibly catch in the stirrup, or require
disentanglement when about to dismount. High heels should _never_ be
worn.
Gloves are of little consequence, provided that they are soft and
large. Of the two I like to see beginners ride without them, except
when the weather is cold. A good strong woollen or cloth pair will then
be found preferable to any kind of leather.
A whip you will not require, therefore I need not speak of it; neither
will you have any need of a spur.
* * * * *
Having thus disposed of your requirements as a learner, we come to
consider your more advanced costume, and I shall find need to speak
of every requisite for park, road, and country riding--reserving the
hunting outfit for the last.
If you are a moderate rider, three hats will be sufficient for you; a
silk one, which I prefer low-crowned; a jerry, or melon-shaped; and a
soft felt. These should be all of the finest quality; in fact, I may
here take occasion to warn you against cheap or indifferent articles of
riding apparel; they are, in all instances, by far the dearest in the
end. For my own part I really look with horror upon low-priced articles
of clothing--not from any snobbishness, far from it, but because I have
always found them wear so badly, look so unsightly after short service,
and adapt themselves so indifferently to the wearer, that a perfect
abhorrence of all so-called “bargains” has been the not unnatural
result.
You should have at least two riding-habits--one of heavy, the other
of light material. Wolmershausen and Co., of Curzon-street, Mayfair,
are constantly showing a variety of beautiful stuffs, suitable for
all places, in town and country, and for all weathers likewise. They
are the introducers of the famous “Curzon Red,” in reality a dark
claret-colour of most charming hue, fine texture, and durable quality,
being perfectly impervious to the effects of rain or sun.
I am frequently asked for advice respecting the newest fashion in the
cut of riding habits--the form or shape of the bodice, and so forth.
The very best I can give is to go to a good maker, and leave the matter
entirely in his hands, not hindering him by the setting forth of any
ideas of your own. If he be a master tailor he will know his business,
and will not relish interference. Should you, however, be called upon
to give directions to a provincial or country workman of doubtful
capacity, send for a good pattern of a skirt, and then get your tailor
to cut it out in coarse, rough calico, and to tack it lightly together.
Finally, let him adjust it to your shape _when on horseback_, making
quite certain that the fit of it shall be perfect before attempting
to cut it out in cloth. By this simple process you and he will be
spared much disappointment, and you will be saved unnecessary expense.
A well-cut habit-skirt should fit without wrinkle or fold; it should
be barely long enough to cover the left foot; there should not be a
particle of superfluous cloth about it; the end of the hem should form
a line as nearly as possible horizontal; and the circumference _inside_
the hem should certainly not exceed two and a-half yards, even for the
most matronly rider.
I adhere to the belief that no habit-skirt can be properly adjusted
unless the maker of it can have the advantage of adapting it to
the figure of the intended wearer while she sits on horseback. All
fashionable tailors have model or block horses, on which they mount
their customers, and by no other plan can a perfect fit be secured.
It must be borne in mind that the better shaped a habit-skirt is for
riding the more unsightly it looks when seen on a standing figure, or
when held in the hand; in fact, it is then a seemingly hideous and
“all wrong” thing, full of irregularities, and apparently without form
and void--whereas, when viewed in the saddle, it adapts itself to the
figure of the wearer, and falls into perfectly correct and shapely
lines.
All modern habit-bodices are made entirely without perceptible basque,
having merely the coat-tail at the back. Some are made to open at the
throat, and these look smart with a white or pale buff scarf tie.
Others, again, are slightly opened at the waist, or very much so at the
breast, displaying fancy waistcoats of various kinds and patterns,
some of them quite startling in colour and design. The fashion is, in
my opinion, not one to follow. The nicest shaped bodice for a lady is
one made closely buttoned up, almost to the throat, showing merely a
small linen collar above the braid or neck-band, with the addition of a
neat tie of no conspicuous colour. The bodice itself should be entirely
free from ornament of any sort whatever.
I think it a good plan, although some tailors reject it, to have two
large strong hooks attached to the back of the bodice, with eyes of
corresponding size affixed in proper position to the band of the skirt.
When these are fastened there can be no danger of getting “out of gear.”
Bodices which open much at the throat are very apt to give colds and
coughs to the wearers of them. There is an old saying that pride feels
no pain, and certainly ladies who fancy their own appearance in this
particular style of garment are unfortunately only too apt to forget,
or overlook, its tendency to admit the chill blasts and treacherous
breezes which frequently make havoc with the most delicate portion of
the frame. Nobody could condemn the practice of muffling up the throat
more heartily than I do myself, but to leave the chest exposed to harsh
wintry winds--as I frequently see done--with only a trifle of silk or
muslin to serve as a protector, seems to me to be positively suicidal.
I therefore recommend that when open bodices are worn in chilly
weather, a fold of chamois, or warm soft flannel, should be placed
across the chest.
A habit-bodice should fit closely, without crease or wrinkle, but ought
not to be by any means tight; if it be so, all comfort in riding will
be destroyed. I am confidently of opinion that half the ladies who
canter their horses in the park and never attempt to trot them, only
adopt the fashion because they themselves are too tightly laced to
effect the rise in the saddle. This system of compression is a great
mistake. If ladies could only be induced to believe it, it certainly
adds nothing to their charms, for Nature will not allow herself to be
put out of sight, and the figure that is crushed in at the centre by
unduly tightened corsets must bulge out above or below them--sometimes
both--in a manner that is by no means pleasant to contemplate. Putting
aside, therefore, all questions connected with hygienic principles, the
fashion of squeezing the waist is not one to be recommended.
I believe that a great many ladies who are not by any means naturally
stout or clumsy, are made to appear so by wearing cheap and ill-fitting
corsets; while, on the other hand, figures that are inclined to
_embonpoint_ can, with the assistance of a judicious and capable
stay-maker, be invested with an appearance of grace and slimness
that is not by nature their own. To expect a habit-cutter to fit a
bodice over a seven-and-sixpenny corset, with two long bones, bald and
unsoftened, sticking up at the top of the back, hip-pieces too wide,
and front steels long and obtrusive, is as great a piece of injustice
as to expect an artist to paint a picture with broken brushes, or a
cook to furnish a banquet without the proper materials.
I cannot refrain from dwelling a little upon this subject, because it
seems to me that ladies are very often--without meaning it, perhaps--a
trifle unjust, not to say tyrannical, blaming their tailors, and even
speaking against them in influential quarters, for faults in fitting,
which are in reality entirely attributable to their own obstinacy
(combined, perhaps, with a little bit of parsimony), in neglecting the
advice given them: namely, to purchase well-made corsets from an artist
in that particular branch of industry. To lay a good foundation is at
all times, howsoever applied, an excellent rule, and the corset is the
foundation on which the habit-bodice must, as it were, be _built_.
Your figure may be ever so charming in all its outlines and details,
but if that which helps to mould it is in reality only calculated to
disfigure, the effect cannot be otherwise than unsatisfactory and bad.
Habit-sleeves ought not to be too long. To end within two inches of
the hand is the correct thing, the space to be filled up by a spotless
linen cuff. Ample room should be given at the elbows, and at the
setting-in of the sleeves,--otherwise there will be discomfort, and a
continual tendency to run up.
The system of shotting habits at the hem has happily entirely gone
out. According to the present rule of skirt cutting, it certainly
is not required, but for fair equestrians who are unduly nervous
about exposing even the smallest portion of understanding, a good
plan is to have a band of broad elastic affixed to the inside of the
skirt, in such a position as to enable the toe of the right foot to
be thrust through it, while a similar band does duty for the left.
These appliances cannot be properly arranged by even the most skilful
tailor, unless the wearer of the habit is ready to seat herself on
horseback, or on a block horse, for his benefit and assistance. The
necessity for this is obvious, as the precise position of the bands,
or loops, must be regulated by the rider’s length of limb, otherwise
they may be altogether wrongly placed, and, when used, have only the
unsatisfactory effect of dragging the skirt completely out of form.
Some authorities have censured me for advocating this plan at any cost,
declaring it to be highly dangerous in case of a fall. I should like
to know how it is so, seeing that it does not involve the possibility
of dragging, or place a lady in any sort of peril. The theory is about
as sensible as others of the kind, which ignorant persons--or men who
attempt to write for ladies--not unfrequently lay down. For riders who
are, nevertheless, apprehensive of danger from this source, reassurance
may be found by using Nicoll’s patent safety-band for the right foot
opening with a spring--so that, in the event of a fall, the rider is
not kept in a cramped position upon the ground, but can at once make an
effort to regain her feet, without trouble to herself or damage to her
garments.
Ladies who ride much in the country, especially in summer weather,
will derive comfort from the possession of a gingham habit, or one of
very lightest dust-coloured summer cloth. I have had one of the latter
myself, and it wore splendidly--bearing a couple of washings into the
bargain when disfigured by dust on which a shower of rain had fallen.
I would have it borne in mind, however, that cheap though the material
may be, it _must_ be tailor-made, otherwise it will not be fit to wear.