Is your show coat TIGHT in the shoulders?

[beau159]

I am new to the hunter world and I’ve been in search of a coat to show in. I don’t need (or want) anything super expensive, because I am only going to be doing hunt events at very low level local shows.

I know that a jacket should fit you well and be flattering. I guess the part I’m curious on is that: Does “fitted” need to mean tight? I just got this one in the mail
http://www.horse.com/item/on-course-ladies-ashby-show-coat/SLT901421/
And I’m going to send it back because it isn’t a good fit for me. The sleeves are just a smidge too short, and shoulders are a little tight, yet the waist is almost a little bit too big. I know if I go up a size in order to make the sleeves longer and shoulders bigger, then the waist will certainly look like I am swimming and not be “fit”.

But for the coat to be “fitted”, I maybe need to expect a bit of shoulder tightness?? More or less thinking out loud here.

[SweetMutt]

I’ve never been able to find a wool coat that fits me without significant alterations. They’re always too big in the waist and feel restrictive in the shoulders. I’ve decided on soft shells forever as they’re the closest I can get to feeling like my arms are free without looking like I’m wearing a bag. I think there are a handful under $200 these days, or at least some with stretch even if they’re not a true soft shell.

[GallopGirl]

I’m a hard one to fit. I am 5’10 and 130 lbs. I wear a 4/6 in normal clothes but have to buy a 12 long to 16 long in hunt coats because my size just doesn’t fit in the shoulders and I can’t lift my arms because the material is too restricting. It’s a pretty common issue to have any type of clothes not fit right off the rack. Find a great tailor, fit the largest part of your body, and the tailor can take in the rest to make it look amazing. He literally takes a foot of material out of the mid-sections of my coat. They look great!

[Soaponarope]

Ariat

Ariat brand in both the wool and the new tech fabric has vents inside the shoulders with mesh so that you are not restricted. My DD loves them. She had the wool and just upgraded to the tech fabric. You could probably get a wool one for a good price.

[kdow]

[QUOTE=GallopGirl;8058961]
I’m a hard one to fit. I am 5’10 and 130 lbs. I wear a 4/6 in normal clothes but have to buy a 12 long to 16 long in hunt coats because my size just doesn’t fit in the shoulders and I can’t lift my arms because the material is too restricting. It’s a pretty common issue to have any type of clothes not fit right off the rack. Find a great tailor, fit the largest part of your body, and the tailor can take in the rest to make it look amazing. He literally takes a foot of material out of the mid-sections of my coat. They look great![/QUOTE]

Not quite the largest part of your body, but rather with a tailored coat of the type riding coat are, you REALLY if at all possible want it to fit your shoulders well. The shoulder area of a tailored coat is pretty complicated, so alterations there can be tricky, and time consuming, and occasionally downright impossible.

However, with modern garment production techniques, there is often also not a lot of spare fabric left in seam allowances to let things out - so if you have a choice between a perfect fit in the shoulders but tight in the bust, and a touch big in the shoulders but a good fit in the bust, you’re likely to be unhappy if you go for tight in the bust and assume it can be let out successfully. A good tailor may be able to make a small adjustment in the shoulders like adding a tiny bit more padding so it no longer looks too big. Depends a lot on the construction of the garment.

(Of course, your best bet if you are in a situation like that would be to get both sizes from a place where they can be returned, and then go and actually consult with a good tailor in person with both coats. That way they can see how each fits and how each is constructed and how the fabric behaves - some fabric really holds on to seam lines like where the seam allowance is folded back and pressed, so if you let it out you can tell because there are these marks where the seam used to be - and give you advice about which they feel will work out best for you. Then you have the one altered and return the other and there you go.

But yes, something like nipping in the waist a bit on a coat that fits well through the shoulders is a pretty simple alteration and is done all the time on men’s suits, so most competent tailors should be able to do it with very little trouble which means it shouldn’t be terribly costly, either. The more complicated an alteration, the more time and knowledge is required, which means the more it’s gonna cost you.

[Dewey]

OP, you’ve received some excellent advice. I did look at the link for the coat you first ordered, and though it looks OK in the picture, I’m not surprised you found that it didn’t fit. You’re probably not going to find a nice, well-tailored coat that cheaply unless you buy a good-quality used one in a consignment shop (not a bad idea, by the way).

The washable coats in the new tech fabrics are generally going to cost more, especially if they are well-made. Some of the cheaper ones wrinkle and bag. Unless you want to go waaaaay up in price, I strongly advise you to hunt for wool or wool blend coats in the clearance sections. You can find nice ones for $100-$200. In spite of the name, they are made of light, beautiful fabrics that drape beautifully and can often be tailored to fit. (Both of mine were.) You’ll have more choice in colors, and you can often find attractive windowpane patterns or subtle plaids. Some of them even are made with a little stretch. They are classic-looking and will last for years without going our of style. Sure, you have to get them dry cleaned, but that is a small price to pay for a gorgeous jacket you’ll be proud to wear.

I got my jackets by calling the Farm House. They hunted through their clearance racks and found three in my size. I got two Grand Prix jackets, a black windowpane for $100 and a chocolate brown stripe for $75. I took them in to my tailor to be shortened a little, and now I wear them all the time. I love them both. Call them.

[beau159]

@Dewey;8058983

You’re probably not going to find a nice, well-tailored coat that cheaply unless you buy a good-quality used one in a consignment shop (not a bad idea, by the way).

I would love to be able to go to a consignment shop and try on jackets … but there isn’t any place even remotely close to me that has any English tack or clothes. North Dakota is a western-orientated region. I am working with a trainer, and she has to get all her stuff online too. Just nothing available up here.

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions. I will check them out. I’d really prefer not to spend over $100 on a jacket that I will probably only wear 3 times a year, if that.

[billiebob]

Get one that fits in the shoulders/bust and have it taken in at the waist. I am a tricky fit for coats–big shoulders, big bust. My two hunt coats are a cheap navy Devon-aire and a brownish-olive plaid one that I found on closeout that might be a men’s coat. My mother is an excellent seamstress and she altered both, but the Devon-aire was a lot more work because it was tight in the shoulder. Taking in the waist is not a big deal and shouldn’t be too expensive. If you have even mediocre sewing skills you might be able to do it yourself.

[Dewey]

[QUOTE=beau159;8059426]
I would love to be able to go to a consignment shop and try on jackets … but there isn’t any place even remotely close to me that has any English tack or clothes. North Dakota is a western-orientated region. I am working with a trainer, and she has to get all her stuff online too. Just nothing available up here.

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions. I will check them out. I’d really prefer not to spend over $100 on a jacket that I will probably only wear 3 times a year, if that.[/QUOTE]

In that case, I would definitely call the Farm House at 864-457-3557. They will talk to you about your height, build, size in street clothes, etc. and can make recommendations based on that. They almost always have some nice things on clearance and can send you things to try in your price range and size. Then you can return what you don’t want. Good luck!

[polly]

I have to ask, do you need a hunt coat? At our lower rated local shows, you could get away with just a shirt. I also have a friend who wore a street clothes blazer (double vented) until she was ready to commit.
I second going with a used, higher quality coat. And I would be hesitant about too much altering as you might end up spending close to what a cheaper coat is worth.

[french_fry]

Here you go. You’re welcome!

You may have to fuss with sizing a bit but Smartpak makes return shipping so easy that I’d just order two sizes and return one. This is not the nicest jacket ever but is better quality than the one you linked in the OP and has more give in the shoulders while still being tailored through the body. I didn’t keep mine only because I really could have used it in a long.

If you can go up to about $150 in price, the RJ Classics Essential Washable jacket in classic navy is a bit better quality and will also probably give you some room in the shoulders without requiring alterations elsewhere.

I’m tall and slim with sort of broad shoulders and long arms so I have tried on a lot of off-the-rack jackets. The RJs tend to fit our type well.

ETA: Altering your jacket may cost more than the jacket itself - I would proceed with caution there if you’re trying to stay on a budget.

[Against_All_Odds1]

FWIW

FWIW my first show season I showed in 2 local schooling shows. I purchased a blazer from value village that was too large in the waist for $10 and had the alterations put in a double vent at the back and tailor it to fit for $30.

[beau159]

@polly;8059632

I have to ask, do you need a hunt coat? At our lower rated local shows, you could get away with just a shirt.

The shows I will be going to, everyone else has hunt coats on. I guess I would feel out of place if I also didn’t have one on. They are just for fun and they are small, but I guess I still try to “fit in”!

[kdow]

[QUOTE=french fry;8059662]

ETA: Altering your jacket may cost more than the jacket itself - I would proceed with caution there if you’re trying to stay on a budget.[/QUOTE]

Yes, you do have to be wary. That’s why I pointed out it’s best to try to fit the complicated areas and have alterations be in simple areas (shoulders = complicated, waist = simple) - if you just buy something and assume that somehow it can be altered, well, yes, potentially it can, but it might cost you an arm and a leg.

If you’re looking for just taking in at the waist, I’d be surprised if you couldn’t call local places for a ballpark price. I doubt anyone would commit to a quote without seeing the garment (unless they do particularly high volume and so make up for jobs that need more work on jobs that are much simpler than expected?) but they should be able to tell you if you’re looking at closer to $20 or $50 or $100 if you have basic info for them about the coat - I wouldn’t bother describing it as a riding coat, just a single breasted suit jacket made out of X fabric, and if it is fully lined or not. Riding coat might confuse them, and it really is exactly the same job to take in the waist on a riding coat as on any other tailored jacket.

The other thing you can do for lower cost alterations if you live in an area where people are big into county fairs and 4-H stuff is see if there is anyone around who might take the job on even though they don’t really work professionally. It sounds odd, but the other night on some random cable channel they were showing the fashion part of some local county fair type competition, and some of that stuff was seriously well made. So ask around and see if anyone you know might be happy to do the job and if you can come to an agreement that you both feel is fair on price.

(I will say that one of the stupidest things in general in the fashion world is that if you’re a guy and you buy a suit, of course you get basic tailoring included as part of the price. Women’s suit? Hah, take it or leave it, from the SAME STORES. I mean, I do agree that women have boobs and that can make jacket alterations more fiddly than with men, so okay, but not even free hemming? Are all women of a size supposed to have the same inseam length but men can be all over the map? What?)

[SonnysMom]

[QUOTE=kdow;8060474]

(I will say that one of the stupidest things in general in the fashion world is that if you’re a guy and you buy a suit, of course you get basic tailoring included as part of the price. Women’s suit? Hah, take it or leave it, from the SAME STORES. I mean, I do agree that women have boobs and that can make jacket alterations more fiddly than with men, so okay, but not even free hemming? Are all women of a size supposed to have the same inseam length but men can be all over the map? What?)[/QUOTE]

I think that is because it is expected the woman could custom fit her own but men can’t.
There used to be a local chain that would do free alterations on both men and women’s suits. Too bad it went out of business.

[Laurierace]

Always get into your “release” position when trying on hunt coats. You want to make sure you will be able to release over fences comfortably.

[kdow]

[QUOTE=SonnysMom;8060574]
I think that is because it is expected the woman could custom fit her own but men can’t.
There used to be a local chain that would do free alterations on both men and women’s suits. Too bad it went out of business.[/QUOTE]

As sexist as that is, at least it makes some kind of logical sense. “The poor men can’t be expected to know how to sew!”

I think some of the higher end stores now at least advertise alterations for both, but I have no need for a suit from said higher end stores, so I dunno if it’s an additional charge for both or how it works.

(This is a huge pet peeve of mine because I have Stumpy Legs but am not otherwise petite, so pretty much everything requires alterations. Particularly peeves me when I’ve been helping my dad shop - I got my build from him, he also has the Stumpy Legs - and he has an entire range of inseam sizes to choose from on off the shelf stuff, PLUS usually free hemming as necessary on suits and nicer pants. If I had a little bit less hip I swear I’d just buy men’s pants. Finding breeches and boots and half chaps that fit properly isn’t much fun either, also due to the Stumpy Legs issue. They are stumpy but muscular.)

[equisusan]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;8060623]
Always get into your “release” position when trying on hunt coats. You want to make sure you will be able to release over fences comfortably.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. Has to fit shoulders, back and chest and the rest can be altered.