{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1808655"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1808655/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1808655","accessionNumber":"T.2:1&2-2026","objectType":"Riding habit","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"The riding habit was a key influence on the development of fashionable women’s dress in nineteenth-century Europe and across its empires. Initially an elite, specialist garment for sports, it was also a practical solution through the period for walking and travelling, eventually evolving into the functional ‘tailored costumes’ worn by women from all levels of society by the 1890s. The V&A collection includes several important examples dating from the eighteenth century (such as T.554-1993, 269toB-1890) and the late nineteenth (T.134-1956, T.430-1990). Apart from this riding habit, there is only a single example of c.1840 (T.3-1915) representing changes in their style and use during the period 1790-1860.\n\r\nUsually crafted in woollen cloth by male tailors, riding habit jackets were cut to fit and flatter the upper body, reflecting fashions for men. Alternatives for summer and hot climates, such as this potential acquisition, were made in hardwearing linen or cotton (or blends). They were often trimmed with military-style braid and worn with top hats, collars and cravats. While riding habits were associated with practicality and physical activity in the country, they were also worn to display taste and status in urban settings such as Hyde Park in London or the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, and their construction reflected contemporary styles of sleeves and waists. Women’s magazines published fashion plates disseminating the style, often shown together with one-piece outer-garments such as ‘redingotes’ or the more traditionally feminine pelisses worn for ‘walking dress’. The garments and their wearers became known as ‘Amazones’ (the mythical warrior women of Ancient Greece) because of their association with the traditionally male qualities of physical activity and strength. In twenty-first-century popular culture the style has become associated with Anne Lister (1791-1840), after the dramatization of her diaries for the BBC series Gentleman Jack. \n\n The measurements taken from the riding habit show that it was made for a woman about 5’ tall or less, perhaps a teenager.The Museum of London collection includes a cotton riding habit of a similar date (museum no. 33.5/2).\r\n","physicalDescription":"A riding habit of tan coloured plain weave cotton. The jacket has a raised waistline, pointed collar and large gigot sleeves. It is embroidered with applied pale blue woollen braid in a leaf pattern atalong the collar edges and centre front closing edges, and has a stylised leaf spray at each side of the front. At the back, where the jacket has a small pleated peplum defined with four buttons, a pair of braid leaf sprays extends from a bow at the centre towards each shoulder, emphasising the neat fit of the slightly raised waistline. \n\nThe skirt is gathered into a self-fabric waistband and cut long to cover the legs and feet of a rider in side-saddle. The skirt was originally made with an open front, where the hook and eye fastenings are, and has been later hand-stitched closed down the length. The hem of the skirt was taken up by 12cm, worn for some time at that reduced length, and then let out again. The stains are over the full length, so the skirt length was altered when it was already stained. The waistband of the skirt, long pocket, and underside of the jacket collar are all made from pieced together cotton. \r\n\nThere is a pocket at each hip closing with self-fabric covered buttons. At the left side there is a false pocket, sewn closed. There are cotton tapes attached to the waistband, possibly to be worn over shoulders. The jacket closes with hook-and-eye fastenings of jacket, with similar at the skirt waistband. The jacket is lined, the skirt unlined. \n\n\r\n","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"cotton","id":"AAT14067"}],"techniques":[{"text":"hand sewing","id":"AAT257459"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"},{"text":"Sport","id":"THES48893"},{"text":"Feminism","id":"THES48955"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES385818"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES385818"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES385818"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"riding habits","id":"AAT215869"}],[{"text":"jackets (short coats)","id":"THES398689"}],[{"text":"riding habits","id":"AAT215869"}],[{"text":"skirt","id":"AAT210459"}],[{"text":"purse","id":"AAT215521"}],[{"text":"skirt","id":"AAT210459"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"USA","id":"x29333"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"The riding habit was found in Pennsylvania"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1825-30","earliest":"1825-01-01","latest":"1830-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Purchased with the support of the Elspeth Evans bequest","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"785","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"09/09/2025","earliest":"2025-09-09","latest":"2025-09-09"},"part":"Bodice - bust","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"1025","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"16/06/2026","earliest":"2026-06-16","latest":"2026-06-16"},"part":"Skirt - measured from waistband to hem along formerly open edge","note":""},{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"660","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"16/06/2026","earliest":"2026-06-16","latest":"2026-06-16"},"part":"Skirt - waistband, measured fastened closed","note":""},{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"650","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"16/06/2026","earliest":"2026-06-16","latest":"2026-06-16"},"part":"Bodice - waist","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"160","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Minimum","date":{"text":"16/06/2026","earliest":"2026-06-16","latest":"2026-06-16"},"part":"Purse, fastened shut","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"190","unit":"mm","qualifier":"Maximum","date":{"text":"16/06/2026","earliest":"2026-06-16","latest":"2026-06-16"},"part":"Purse","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Measured by conservation","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"This riding habit was purchased by the V&A from Cora Ginsburg LLC. It originally was found in Pennsylvania.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"A riding habit of tan coloured plain weave cotton, comprising of a fitted jacket and skirt, American, 1825-30. ","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.2:1-2026","T.2:2-2026","T.2:3-2026"],"accessionNumberNum":"2","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":2026,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-08-26","recordCreationDate":"2025-09-09","availableToBook":false}}