RIDING HABIT

RIDING HABIT

The riding habit was a suit used by women in the 1800s for sidesaddle riding, with legs on one side of the saddle.

A tight bodice, often accompanied by a waistcoat, was combined with a skirt that was almost always very wide, especially very long to hide the legs. Often the skirt hid a pair of trousers. At the end of the 19th century, the riding habit, prototype of the female sportswear, was adopted for the passion of the moment: velocipede riding.