Womanly-sized riders, unite!

[Dale_Area_1]

I second Elizabeth G! I am a larger rider, with a long thigh and short xx wide musclar calf. Her breeches are the best. I gave up trying to buy off the rack 10 years ago, either too long, knee patch in wrong place or I the dreaded hanging crotch, if I did not hike them up to my chin. Arghhhhh!

The quality of her breeches are fabulous! I wear them every day schooling, never wear out and last, last, last. I still have the pair I bought 10 years ago and they are fine. I have two pairs for showing, they look brand new and they are 4 years old. Her prices are not that bad, at first I was yikes, but, they last a long time and fit perfectly.

Boots is another issue. I still have my effinghams and pray they will last me a lifetime. I really don’t want to pay over $500 for boots, especially if they screw them up.

Again, I don’t understand why, the don’t make boots is a larger calf, mine is 17.5?

Show jacket, another nightmare, I am a 38DD, so I had my friend let out under the arm, down the side and put in a ‘V’ of elastic. Now I can button it and breathe, but I tend to round my shoulders when I ride, which sucks, to keep it loose.

Great thread – please keep the information coming

[naters]

@VCT;2076266

Naters… I will let you know about the breeches. There are some others I’m going to try too if none of these three work out. I have to order a few at a time though or hubby would have a heart attack.

Tis better to ask for forgiveness than permission :lol:

[Coreene]

Just as a heads up to my fellow Rubeseque pals, they had some divine vests at Avenue this year which are fab riding vests. They are tailored, gorgeous an on sale now.

[Dale_Area_1]

Please post the link! Never need an excuse to go shoppng.

[Coreene]

For some reason, I can no longer paste onto posts. Go to www.avenue.com, search for “vest” and it is the Diamond Quilt Vest for $29.99. I have them in red and brown. You need a size larger than you usually take, because they are very tailored. My s-i-l said the same when she bought the black one which was on sale in my size, right from under my nose. :lol:

[Dale_Area_1]

Thanks. Just checked it out, all sold out except for 2 sizes. Oh well.

[ThreeHorseNight]

I couldn’t find the vest when I searched for it, but found it under Outerwear (which you select from Shop by Category).

Dale, what sizes they have left depends on the color. If you click on a color on the left, you’ll be able to see what sizes are left.

I wish they had better pictures…

[amastrike]

So. Tall boots. I need boots with a 17"-17.5" calf… and my lower leg is only about 15.5", so no taller than 17" or so. Oh, and cheap (like, under $100 cheap). And preferably no zippers (so if the calf is a tight squeeze, I don’t break the zipper). I really don’t want to pay much because I’m hoping to lose more weight, and spending hundreds on tall boots that end up being too wide in the calf won’t be fun! However, it’ll be a while before I lose enough to (hopefully) fit into nice, off-the-rack boots, and I’d like to be able to go to REAL shows before then. Since it took losing 70 pounds to lose 1.5"-2" off my calf, I can’t imagine losing the 30-50 pounds I have left will make another 2" difference on my calves. Wow, this is getting long-winded and complicated. I don’t really need field boots for at least a few more months, but I’d like to have some ideas and know how much I’ll need to spend.

Forgot to mention… I need a size 11. Why do so many boots stop at 10 or 10 1/2???

[FlashGordon]

Good lord how did I never find this thread before…

I am in a boot crisis-- 16 1/8" calves and no off-the-racks in site will fit.

Just found the Nittany Boot store on Ebay but am reluctant… perhaps I will try the Hispars.

[system]

I just bought my first pair of tall boots - was looking at the catalogs with my favorite tack store owner - when I saw that Devon Aire has started making XXW calf boots. Size 10 has a 18 1/2 inch calf. Woohoo!

She called them and they said it was a pilot to see if there was interest in wider calf boots. I had to go onto a waiting list, so I guess there is.

[twnkltoz]

Wow!!! Tempting to get them and have gussets put in for the other inch I need.

[ThreeHorseNight]

Hmmm, I can’t find the xxw boots online. All of us need to order those boots so that Devon Aire will see the need to sell xxw calf boots!

[everyequine]

DA comes through!

Great news about the DevonAire’s!!! It’s about time!! I have an 18-1/2 inch calf, but a size 8 foot. Don’t forget to try ebay (there’s a 19" on there now)there are some good ones that show up from other sellers too…

[Valentina_32926]

[QUOTE=FlashGordon;2105514]
Good lord how did I never find this thread before…

I am in a boot crisis-- 16 1/8" calves and no off-the-racks in site will fit.

Just found the Nittany Boot store on Ebay but am reluctant… perhaps I will try the Hispars.[/QUOTE]
Do yourself a favor - do NOT order boots from Nittany. Mine came with broken zipper, shoe size too big and a hole in the heel.

[ThreeHorseNight]

OK, I had to share this with someone, and most people wouldn’t understand (my husband did not share my enthusiam!) . Who better to share with than those who cannot find boots that fit their calves?

I have very large calves, and have never (in 20 years of riding, even when I weighed 30 pounds less) been able to put on an off-the-shelf boot and get it over my calves. After consulting size charts, doing research on COTH, and checking the alignment of the planets, I took a chance and ordered the Mountain Horse High Rider boots, with a wide calf, on ebay (I’ve been snowed in a lot lately, and my credit card is suffering from the late-night online shopping sprees). I abso-freakin-lutely cannot believe it, but I was able to put them right on out of the box and zip them up. I am astonished. So astonished that I am sitting here in my long underwear, with my boots on.

The calves fit beautifully. If anything, the foot is a little small in the toe, but they are women’s size 11, and don’t come bigger, so I’m going to give them a try. (I could get a pair of men’s, but I haven’t seen the men’s sizes in wide calf in any of the catalogs.)

According to the size chart, these boots have a 42 to 44 cm calf, which translates to 16.5 to 17.3 inches. I think my calf is bigger than that, but the boots still fit. (Of course, it helps that I have a size 11 foot, which means that the calf is bigger than it would be on a size 7 or 8 boot).

Anyway, for those of you having trouble finding boots, you might want to give these a try. They do not have the traditional look for hunters or dressage, but they are great for schooling, lower-level showing, eventing, etc.

Whoo-hoo! I might just go and order the winter boots now!

[twnkltoz]

[QUOTE=everyequine;2132809]
Great news about the DevonAire’s!!! It’s about time!! I have an 18-1/2 inch calf, but a size 8 foot. Don’t forget to try ebay (there’s a 19" on there now)there are some good ones that show up from other sellers too…[/QUOTE]
WHERE??? LINK!!!

[everyequine]

Oh, Twinkltoz, I so badly wanted you to see them. Alas they are sold. They did go to a fellow member of our womanly riders club. I may in the future be able to get my hands on another pair. PM me if you need to.

My loving MrEE has told me that my “calves” how now become “COWS!”

[twnkltoz]

Ah well, at least it was one of our own!

[mtngirl]

ejdrury: Which catalog had the XXW Devon Aire with 18 1/2" calves?

I guess I could always get them cut down. Seems like any time an extra-wide calf comes along, they make them 18-19 inches high too. I’m only 17 1/4" to the back of the knee…:sigh:

I just got a lovely navy pinstripe hunt coat from VTO. Very reasonably priced. It was back ordered for 6 months, but I finally got it. Sizes go up to a 24L. Size runs about normal too!

[everyequine]

fitting boots

[QUOTE=mtngirl;2139521]
ejdrury: Which catalog had the XXW Devon Aire with 18 1/2" calves?

I guess I could always get them cut down. Seems like any time an extra-wide calf comes along, they make them 18-19 inches high too. I’m only 17 1/4" to the back of the knee…:sigh:

I just got a lovely navy pinstripe hunt coat from VTO. Very reasonably priced. It was back ordered for 6 months, but I finally got it. Sizes go up to a 24L. Size runs about normal too![/QUOTE]

Mtngirl, the height needs to be that tall to allow for the drop once they break in. You do want them to be 1-2 inches taller than your leg height once they break in they will be where they are supposed to. This doesn’t include the stiff dressage boots, they should only be up to an inch taller since the stiffener in the back doesn’t allow the shaft to drop, but there is a space in the back of the ankle that will soften to drop a little.

good find on the coat!! I bet it’s lovely!!