I was very skeptical of the FreeRides but I own 7? Pairs now 
I donāt love the look of anything pull on so I have a mix of the Pro and Lux knee patch in an assortment of colors (yet I donāt have the rust or the plum which Iām listing over). So comfortable and they clean up nicely. Pair the FreeRides with a nice elastic belt (FAB Belts on Etsy) + a collared sunshirt and itās a nice schooling outfit. For vests and jackets, my go to is Eddie Bauer. We have an outlet store and they have some excellent deals.
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Am I the only one who finds Free Rides too short in the rise? Maybe Iām between sizes but I returned the pair I ordered. For reference, Ariat and Romph fit me quite nicely.
They are fairly high rise on me, but not a true high rise. Comparing them to the high rise montars which are so pretty but absolutely comical on me as they came up to my bra. The FreeRides are higher than a normal rise on me, they sit right above my hip bones but not too high. I have a very short torso.
No. The rust turtleneck is one of the mesh ones. Not sure of the brand but Iāve seen on Farm Houseās website.
Echoing Ororo- they usually start to have great sales around Black Friday.
I used ThredUp + Poshmark for Lululemon Swiftly tops (specifically). I like them for fall/winter/spring layering, and they have a nice merino one you can find for a steal secondhand. Probably a good option to find vests/jackets. My down vests/jackets often get retired to barn gear until they die.
No help for breeches- I usually just layer a pair of cheap base layer leggings under my usual breeches.
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For colder temps, I still use a lot of Under Armour cold gear for affordable base layers if I want more than a sun shirt type layer underneath. And layer with wool also.
I also buy merino cycling socks because the unpadded ones are thin enough for my boots. Actually a lot of my cycling socks have become boot socks now that the technical breeches makes the calf fit more snug without extra fabric lumps or velcro.
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Costco wool socks are pretty decent and nicely priced. And, as @IPEsq pointed out, you donāt need knee socks with the more modern breeches with the tighter calves and silicon knee patches.
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I wear crew or micro crew with modern breeches!
In fact, all I wear are Darn Tough wool crew socks these days. Casual, work, gym, barn. Makes life easy, and my feet stay happy!
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Echoing the Costco wool socks- specifically the menās ones. They put my SmartWools to shame.
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Same. I love my Darn Tough socks and I have used their lifetime warranty several times (and currently have a few pairs I should send in for warranty replacement). I do have a couple pairs of their knee high socks and will use them on extra cold days to keep my legs warmer, but for the most part, I stick with the crew socks.
I also second Ororo. I have both a vest and a hooded jacket. Got the jacket on clearance without a battery because I figured I was unlikely to wear both the vest and jacket at the same time. The jacket is actually heavy enough that I rarely even turn on the heat, but itās still nice to have.
Not sure if mine are the menās or womenās variety, but theyāre perfect for riding and photo shoots and colder days in general.
I have not had great luck with either SmartWool or especially Darn Tough lasting very well and theyāre pricey. Iāve never tried to trade in the latter though. I think I have one pair left and should probably try when they die.
I save up until I have several pairs of darn tough that need to be traded in, because you do have to pay shipping to them and $5 for three pairs is better than $5 for one pair. But it is very straightforward and easy and they give you a credit for the cost of the socks to use on their web store. I do wish they lasted longer, but until I discovered wool socks, I actively hated any and all socks. So Iām willing to trade pairs in every few years (plus the patterns are cute (currently wearing blue elephants, but also have foxes using a telescope)
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