Hi,
Just wanted your thoughts on Jodhpurs? Always used to like the older style, the new ones seem to have the stretchy elastic stuff around the ankle like these, any idea why the change? -
http://www.totalhorse.co.uk/products/new-dublin-supa-shape-it-performance-full-seat-breeches
[QUOTE=clairewesterhall;8033116]
Hi,
Just wanted your thoughts on Jodhpurs? Always used to like the older style, the new ones seem to have the stretchy elastic stuff around the ankle like these, any idea why the change? -
http://www.totalhorse.co.uk/products/new-dublin-supa-shape-it-performance-full-seat-breeches
http://www.totalhorse.co.uk/collections/jodphurs[/QUOTE]
I have a similar pair and I LOVE them.
Just FYI, in the US when we refer to jodhpurs we are usually referring to the pants that kids wear with garters: http://www.doversaddlery.com/tailored-sportsman-ts-trophy-side-zip-jod/p/X1-35789/
The items that you linked to are what we call breeches.
And yes, the stretchy bottom is the trend right now.
It’s supposed to help them fit under your boots.
They changed because the profile of boots has changed. Stiffer leather that has to be pulled on is no longer en vogue. Softer leather with rear zippers has created a slimmer profile that follows the curve of the leg, the lycra bottoms on breeches create a slimmer, smoother surface to cover in leather.
If you want older style breeches, try Horse Country in Warrenton, VA.
I disagree with what PaintPony said. I don’t know who the “we” she refers to is, but in my part of the US jodhpurs are not just the riding pants kids wear. True, younger kids do wear jodhs 'til they’re old enough for breeches, but not just kids wear them.
The first sample you linked to, rustbreeches, are breeches, according to the web page. The second link was to jodhpurs.
In my horsey world, jodhs are the riding pants that come down to your ankles; breeches end about mid-calf? What I have are technically riding “tights,” they come down to the ankle (maybe because I’m 5’2"?) and have had elastic/stretchy ankles for years. Kids’ jodhs have cuffs because they are meant to be worn with paddock boots or jodhpur boots and so you want a finished leg.
Then there are Kentucky jodhs. Bell-bottom jodhs, worn by saddle-seat riders.
I used to love them but have had trouble finding them online, and my local tack shops only sold them in a non-stretchy material (as in the old days, only not so nice a material), and I have gotten spoiled with stretchy fabric.
Some horsepeople I know now lump them all into “riding pants,” which I hate to see happening, because there really is a difference.
The stretchy panels around the calf are found in athletic tights in general now, not just equestrian riding pants. I find them comfortable, but I’m not sure they do much of anything.
RPM, what is your general location in the US? I have only ever heard of jods being used in reference to the riding pants worn with paddock or jod boots, that have a cuff on the end
Well I’m going to go the old curmudgeon route…
In the beginning, in the US, there were three types of riding pants. Breeches, which were meant to be worn under tall boots, stopped just below the calf.
English jodphurs were worn by hunt seat riders, mostly by children, but also by adults, especially beginners and those who couldn’t afford a pair of tall boots for hacking and thus saved their single pair of boots for shows. They were meant to be worn with paddock boots and were pulled down over the top of the paddock boot. They had a cuff at the bottom and a strap that went under your boot to keep the jods from riding up your leg. Children also wore garters with jods, a leather strap that buckled around the leg just below the knee to help keep the legs of the jods in place.
Then you had Kentucky jodphurs, which were used by saddle seat riders. They also went over paddock boots, but the bottom of the leg was flared rather than having a cuff.
Advances in materials, especially the advent of durable stretchy fabrics, have, over time, led to the addition of a fourth kind of riding pant, the riding tight, which is long like a jodphur but with an elastic (usually) end to the leg instead of the old-fashioned cuff.
Half chaps were invented, people started putting zippers in tall boots, and the design of breeches and jodphurs began to change. The distinction between the different types of riding pants began to blur, and pretty soon it’s complete chaos. Human sacrifice, cats and dogs living together…mass hysteria.
[QUOTE=rustbreeches;8033629]
RPM, what is your general location in the US? I have only ever heard of jods being used in reference to the riding pants worn with paddock or jod boots, that have a cuff on the end[/QUOTE]
Maybe saddle seat? I think they wear something like that? I’m not familiar with the discipline. And I disagree right back at you RPM. Most horse people I know use the same terminology as rustbreeches and I.
I was simply pointing out to the OP some of the people on this board would read the title and think he/she was talking about children’s apparel.
What about the (back in the day) breeches that had the big flare in the thigh? I loved them.
[QUOTE=HPFarmette;8033755]
What about the (back in the day) breeches that had the big flare in the thigh? I loved them.[/QUOTE]
So much more flattering! And again, available at Horse Country Saddlery in Warrenton, VA. A huge array of fabric, colors, pricing etc!
[QUOTE=HPFarmette;8033755]
What about the (back in the day) breeches that had the big flare in the thigh? I loved them.[/QUOTE]
I was always under the impression that “breeches” are the modern, close fitting riding pants and that “jodhpurs” are the old-school, flared thigh pants like you’d picture a silent movie director wearing in 1926 while barking into a megaphone.
Betty Draper wore those on Mad Men when she was still married to Don and went to a jumping barn on the weekends-- Season Two, I think.
I have one pair of breeches that are slightly wider like that, but not full-on movie director. I bought them in the late-90s and they’ve held up really well. They have pleats across the front and I really like the look of them.
But I do need to seriously hike the fabric up and forward before I mount, or I end up sitting on folds which is uncomfortable.
WOW!
http://horsecountrycarrot.com/index.cfm?action=store&sub=product&prod=910&cat=50
Thanks, I love these. I had no idea.
I don’t want to spend $295, but at least I know they’re out there.
[QUOTE=Silverbridge;8033823]
I was always under the impression that “breeches” are the modern, close fitting riding pants and that “jodhpurs” are the old-school, flared thigh pants like you’d picture a silent movie director wearing in 1926 while barking into a megaphone.[/QUOTE]
Nope. Back in the Dark Ages of my childhood I had both breeches and jodphurs. Both had the big, flared thighs.
The big flared thighs were more necessary before stretchy knits and wovens became common.
Breeches always used to be mid-calf length because you were meant to wear them with tall boots; jodhpurs were ankle length and were meant to be worn with jodhpur boots (aka paddock boots, although there used to be a difference between the two types of boots as well).
The new kids on the block are riding tights (or pull-on riding pants) and half-chaps. When I was a kid riding in the late 1960s and 1970s, there were no half chaps. If you didn’t want to have your calves pinched by the stirrup leathers, you got tall boots as soon as you could.
And there used to be a thriving business in second-hand tall boots; every tack shop had them. That part of it was great.
[QUOTE=HPFarmette;8033755]
What about the (back in the day) breeches that had the big flare in the thigh? I loved them.[/QUOTE]
You forgot the joy of putting your knee out through them as they had no stretch.:lol:
I think it’s an age thing.
Breeches ended at the calf in 1971. I was old enough to have had a pair with the baggy thighs but the serious doubleknit fabrics were just coming in to use. Matter of fact my first show pair I was skinny enough to get the fancy doubleknit on sale and let the seam in the back out all the way - they were constructed with the waistband made so you could do that. Then the second pair was buff colored and had the flare, (also on sale). They also had a split that buttoned or IIRC on mine was a zipper?
You could also get Jodhpurs with the cuffs for adults - fair number of movies show those in use, Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet being one and KY jods are still around, and we use “underpasses” as well, the judges check.
I remember buying my first pair of breeches in 2006, I’d been using some thin track pants, and I was so surprised that they went all the way down to my ankles and were cut so much like pants. Even the doubleknit breeches had a curved outer seam IIRC.
ETA our thrifty instructor had our parents use jeans and exercise bandages on top to stop chafing till they could afford boots.
[QUOTE=Posting Trot;8034304]
The big flared thighs were more necessary before stretchy knits and wovens became common.
Breeches always used to be mid-calf length because you were meant to wear them with tall boots; jodhpurs were ankle length and were meant to be worn with jodhpur boots (aka paddock boots, although there used to be a difference between the two types of boots as well).
The new kids on the block are riding tights (or pull-on riding pants) and half-chaps. When I was a kid riding in the late 1960s and 1970s, there were no half chaps. If you didn’t want to have your calves pinched by the stirrup leathers, you got tall boots as soon as you could.
And there used to be a thriving business in second-hand tall boots; every tack shop had them. That part of it was great.[/QUOTE]
Weren’t jodpurs also supposed to be worn with paddock boots and puttees? This had long been military practice. The puttees protected the leg from being pinched, scraped, etc.
Here’s an example of the Army’s M1911 leather puttees:
http://onlinemilitaria.net/products/3138-US-M1911-Leather-Puttees/?bc=no
For men you can still get old time, flared thigh jods from the likes of What Price Glory, Great War Militaria, etc. I just bought a pair of British reproductions in Bedford Cord that are perfect for most TN days in late fall, winter, and early spring. Lots of women re-enactors wear men’s uniforms. Maybe these might work with proper sizing and, maybe, some modest tailoring.
G.
There were things similar to those puttees available for the civilian population - you can see a pair at Jack London’s home at the State Park in CA. He passed away in 1916.
Interesting trivia http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/jodhpurs-guide-pants-history-style-where-to-buy/
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