Womanly-sized riders, unite!

[honeydoozy]

Hispar boots and BIG calves…

Okay, I have the Hispar Field boots… size 11.5 (and I think the calf is about 20"). Yes, I am an Amazon woman…:winkgrin:

I went with the field boots because of my freakishly high instep which makes dress boots problematic (don’t know what I’m going to do when I get up in the levels and dress boots are more important).

I did have to take the boots to my local boot guy to have some alterations in the calf - too small in one spot, way too roomy in another. Go figure. They are the answer for me, for now. My only gripe about them is that they are a smidge too short for my liking. As they break down, I will definitley be bummed. That said…

Tall boots = $250
Alterations = $75
Boots that I can get on without bursting a blood vessel… PRICELESS.

[honeydoozy]

Cool Medics

THought I’d update y’all on my latest purchase:

Cool Medics riding vest - This thing is going to SAVE MY LIFE this summer. The only problem, is that the standard riding vest only goes up to XL - it fits, but just barely. I can zip it all the way up, over the girls, if I’ve got the super-combat bra on, but it’s snug (does seem to work way better when zipped though - go figure).

A barn buddy tried, and it just wasn’t even happening for her. We’re built differently - I have more of a taller, hourglass figure, and that’s where it matters with this item. Very “fitted”.

Now, according to their website, they do have a “unisex” style, that is modeled by men - but obviously the sizing would be different. It’s not nearly as fitted (and thus, kind of sloppy), but I’d be interested to know how much more room (and cooling effect) it offers.

Cuz, like I said… this thing might just save my life this summer!

(I am being told repeatedly that you can wear it under your show coat and it still works…REALLY??? :eek::D)

[immigene]

Hunt Coat Finale

After all the crap I went through at the tack store they were unable to order a hunt coat for me. Again the owner was very gracious, but manufacturer didnt have any in stock. Aparently some equestrian clothing makers here and overseas take the whole month of July off. So if its not in stock forget it.
Luckily I found an online tack store (horse&rider etc) that had these same coats at $65.00 less than Equestrian Collections!! Since I swam in the 30 I ordered the 26 in navy. The owner called me and said she didnt have the navy, but had the navy pinstripe and would send it that day. Finally some good customer service. She told me that the plus size business of her store has just exploded and they plan on expanding their inventory to meet the need.
Criss- Like yours the 26 is still a little big but I’m off to the tailors to have it fitted. So if I order this coat again I probally get a 24.

Has any one here had a totally custom coat made by a tailor or seamstress?
Where do you find the material and how much does it cost?

Off to schooling show were you dont need a hunt coat lol…

[criss]

I had a coat custom made. Then I gained ten pounds and my boobs got a little bigger, and it no longer fits. Still a chance I can let it out somewhere, or at the very least I can use it as a custom pattern and make myself another, adjusting the pieces as needed to be a little bigger. It was indeed beautiful while it fit, although sadly I only competed in it a couple of times.

It cost so much I’m embarrassed to even say (I don’t remember exactly, either). My advice: make sure you get a quote for the whole job beforehand. My tailor charged me by the hour, and it took her forever to decide where to set the shoulder seams, etc, and how to get the wrinkles out of the back (since I have a big rear and too much arch in my back, so it didn’t hang smoothly unless the hips were huge). It ended up being at least twice what I had budgeted and I was too chicken to argue with her…

She used a Suitability pattern, and modified it extensively.

I would not do it over again, because, well, I have a sewing machine and just need to get off my ass, but for those that don’t sew, it seems like a reasonable route as long as you keep the costs fixed from the start.

[mtngirl]

CoolMedis made a vest just for me…

I don’t know if they’ll still do this or not, but last year when I got my CoolMedics vest the XL wouldn’t even come close to fitting me. I called the company and they immediately said they would make one to my measurements. Three weeks later I got a vest which fits me perfectly for a very, very reasonable price.

Moral: Never hurts to call the company and ask. The worst they can tell you is no, and their answer just might surprise you.

[spiffy]

right on, sarie!

I recently got some tredsteps and they are fantastic!! I too am 5’1" with, uhm, healthy…calves. They fit so well and are totally worth the money. I recommend trying them on though, I found I actually needed a (gasp!) smaller size than I thought.

[Teesmom]

I have a beautiful dressage coat to sell yet it seems everyone wears a 10 or 12. I was glad to see a bigger girl group out there. Was beginning to feel like I was the only womanly woman riding.

[everyequine]

[QUOTE=Teesmom;2554155]
I have a beautiful dressage coat to sell yet it seems everyone wears a 10 or 12. I was glad to see a bigger girl group out there. Was beginning to feel like I was the only womanly woman riding.[/QUOTE]

Yes, not only do we exist, we are starting to be heard. No longer invisible to riding clothing manufacturers, there is some improvement, but a long way to go.
I went into a rather upscale tack shop and was not waited on. I started touching saddles and a rather surly older woman came over and asked if I needed help. I asked do you have this saddle in a 17.5? she looked at me a little coldly and said no, most of our customers are … I said “not fat?” She said “Well, younger”. so I was fat AND old in her eyes! (she was a lot older than me!) needless to say, I stopped shopping there until she left, probably about 5 years. I am fatter, and older now, and when I walked in, the saddles were stocked in 17.5, 18, and gasp, a 19!!
so yeah, we are here, and starting to get noticed!! And guess what, the tack shops are starting to figure our money spends just as fast, if not faster than the regular sized riders! When we find stuff that fits, WE BUY IT! :yes:

[Coreene]

Girls. Because I am too lazy to scroll through the entire thread to find out about these, who has tried Irideon Cadence Stretch Cord Breeches? The “cord” part alarms me. The photo looks good, but my head is swimming with visions of Cord Challenged By Abbondanza.

[honeydoozy]

@Coreene;2584485

Girls. Because I am too lazy to scroll through the entire thread to find out about these, who has tried Irideon Cadence Stretch Cord Breeches? The “cord” part alarms me. The photo looks good, but my head is swimming with visions of Cord Challenged By Abbondanza.

love, Love, LOVE them… they have just enough stretch to move with you, but they’re also firm enough to hold it all together nicely. The “cord” is not a big deal, to me - I kinda like it.

Love 'em so much, that I have three pairs in black, and 2 pair in white for shows.

[pintopiaffe]

I did feel the cord material at Dover… they didn’t have fat girl sizes to try on. But it reminded me GREATLY of the old Harry Halls. You know, the ones you had in the early 80’s that fit you and went on and on and on into the mid-to-late 90’s, and when they finally just plumb fell apart, you found out you couldn’t get them any more. THOSE Harry Halls. :lol:

For the cooling vest–search Ebay for “cooling vest”, you’ll come up wtih a bunch for about 1/3 the cost of the DE one. And in sizes that fit. Lycra panel under the arms means it even adapts to curves. I LOFF mine, enought that i’m looking at the fancy cut one.

[luvs2ride79]

I have the cadence stretch cord and LOVE them! They do run a little smaller than the Issentials, so go up a size if you can. I have the same size in both and the cords are deinitely more “snug”, but that’s kind of nice as they do hold you in a bit, lol.

[Coreene]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. They are on sale in the Dover catalog.

[Murphy_s_Mom]

@pintopiaffe;2584998

For the cooling vest–search Ebay for “cooling vest”, you’ll come up wtih a bunch for about 1/3 the cost of the DE one. And in sizes that fit. Lycra panel under the arms means it even adapts to curves. I LOFF mine, enought that i’m looking at the fancy cut one.

We’re back up to 100+ degrees so I just bought one of those cooling vests on eBay. Best part…I had a $35 credit on PayPal from a return I did months ago and forgot about so the vest/shipping only cost me $11. I went with a black one since that’s part of my barn colors. Thought about the cheaper neon yellow one, but figured it would clash too much with the Barney britches (aubergine HH from a few pages back) and the chestnut horse. :lol:

[Nix]

Coreene – I absolutely LOVE mine!! Go for it! I thought I might have flashbacks when wearing them, but it didn’t happen. :winkgrin:

[Vesper_Sparrow]

The Cadence cords don’t bag out like some of the cheaper stretch cords. They are nice and supportive. The Cadence knee patches are my default breeches. Issentials in dark colours are great for hot weather (just got back from a lesson today at 9 am with Humidex already in the upper 90s and I think the breeches part of me was the coolest and least sweaty).

Have the Cadence full seats for shows; don’t like them as much but I put up with them.

[slpeders]

I too noticed that Dover has the Cadence Cords on sale. Anyone tried to get the whites in plus sizes, but with a kneepatch instead of full seat? Just checking…
I’ve said all season that once my mare is ready to go out again, I’m rewarding myself with new whites. Of course, I’ll need to get my boots altered…dangit.
not smaller, either…I’ve been trying to drop what I picked up while we were laid off, but I’m not there yet.

ETA: How do Assets/Spanx breathe? OK? I do not need something that doesn’t breathe or wick…

[Coreene]

Y’all cost me too much $$!!

Well, that’s just great. All this gushing about those damn breeches has cost me $402 with shipping - because I of course could not just buy those, and had to get a new helmet, etc.

How I justified spending $200 on a helmet I will not show in (thank God Troxel fits me better than the others):

1. My Troxel GP is a squidge too small and too hot; wore it once and thought “no way” and so am sending it to the therapeutic in VA that burned down
2. My Troxel schooling helmet makes me feel like I am off to some motorcycle rally
3. The new Troxel Reliance has cooling vents like the schooling helmet
4. It gave me the excuse to by a spiffing new helmet bag

That’s the version I’m sticking with.

[Nix]

Gosh, I hate it when that happens Coreene!!

Good luck with your purchases. I have a few pairs of the full seats and the knee patch - love them both.

[criss]

Coreene, where the heck are you seeing that Dover has the Cadence breeches on sale? To me, it looks like they’re the regular ninety-whatever dollars plus shipping.