Thursday's Threads: Throwback Edition

 

Soooo.... I maybe forgot to take fresh horse photos for today's Thursday's Threads. But my plan was for Al to be our model today, and he's wearing exactly what Shiny wore two weeks ago. Do you remember? It was this:

I switched Al over to this pad to help with his winter rubs from the saddle. Hopefully it helps. But what I'm really excited to share this week is MY outfit. If you follow me on Instagram you might have already seen that I managed to get myself back into the full chaps I got when I was 16. That makes them... 28 years old. TWENTY-EIGHT! YEARS! That's really old. And um... also makes me really old. Anyway...! Here's what I had on this week:

Outfit

Full Outfit

Helmet is still the Samshield so we'll just skip right over that. Vest is from Macy's. I'm not sure of the brand, I think it's one of their own. 

Sweater: Vineyard Vines

I feel like I may have worn this recently for Thursday's Threads? But not positive. I recently rediscovered it when I went through a bin of sweaters I had stored away. It was a good find this time, but also when I first got it. It's wool and by a fancy pants brand, so it was originally very expensive. But I had found it at TJ Maxx on clearance for like $30 or something around there. It's perfect for winter riding!

Belt strap: Found on Ebay, no brand
Belt Buckle: Vintage Gucci

I found both of these on Ebay years ago. The belt is a little dry and might not be around much longer, but for now it's holding up! The buckle you can see has some slight damage to the enamel up at the start of the G, but otherwise is in great shape. I just think it feels horsey with the buckle in the middle like that. Heh... a buckle ON a buckle. How Meta.

Breeches: Equiline

You've seen these a bunch by now. This is the pair that I think is mis-sized because they are two sizes bigger than I normally wear but fit great. Equiline is weird. 

Paddock Boots: Celeris UK
Chaps: Journeyman

Listen. I have no idea how these are fitting me. I'm easily 15 lbs heavier than when I got them. Maybe more. But here we are! I'm not asking questions. I did have to let the buckle out quite a bit though. I'm all for honesty around here. I've paired them with my sheepskin lined Celeris paddock boots and it's a ridiculously warm set up for winter riding. 10/10 highly recommend. 

But can we chat more about the chaps? They were a Chanukah gift from my mom, but I got measured early because the company was at Washington when I was showing there and it made sense to have them do the measurements. Plus they take awhile and that way they should arrive around holiday time. Which I think they did, who can remember that long ago? I was SO excited. I grew up riding at a barn that had its own tack shop. And also, it was the only tack store anywhere near where we lived. And the owner really hated when we bought stuff anywhere else, so we were kind of stuck with whatever brands they carried there. Journeyman was not one of them. They did have a custom chap brand, but it wasn't one of the nicer ones, and they had very few options. So it was a really big deal when my mom agreed to let me get these. And even the barn/store owner admitted these were really nice quality when they arrived. CLEARLY, they are good quality since they are THIS old. To be fair, they sat in storage for probably 20 years... But that almost makes it more impressive because they came out of storage STIFF. Like I could barely get them unfolded. It took a lot of conditioning and eventually a few rides to get them back to their former glory. But here they are! And I'm once again very excited. 

Here are the chaps back in the day. I was probably 17 at this point. And that amazing steed is Just Humour Me, Bud in the barn. Bud-Bud to his friends. My junior hunter. Best horse there ever was. An appendix quarter horse that held his own against the warmbloods. Ribboned at Devon and Indoors. (With the pros... I never managed a ribbon at those venues. I was famous for finding seven out of eight jumps, and the 8th was usually a spectacular miss, but hey, at least I got there.)

These are the only photos I could find with the chaps. On the one hand I am VERY GLAD that cell phone cameras weren't a thing when I was growing up, but on the other, I really wish I would have had more photos from the old days. 

Do you have anything old you used to love to use for riding that you've brought back or maybe bought again? Did you have a pair of Journeymans?