With that said...let's look at riding hats!
Fashion has been front and center when it came to riding hats until recently. It was more about fit and flair than functionality. Below is a recently posted favorite picture I stumbled upon. It is hard to tear my eyes off of this one!
But honestly, can you imagine riding in this? It is an 18th Century Black Tricorn riding hat.
..or how about this vision of ugliness? I would fear lift off in this one!
..ahh yes, now here is a beauty though. This is a riding hat diplayed in a museum dating 1864.
When ladies started to become more involved in the hunt, not only did their riding habits need to be reformed, but also the topper. The formal favorite is the top hat. So elegant, it is still a standard for today!
A bit less formal, but still giving the polished finish we love is the derby.
..and then we have the safety riding helmet.. with all of the finishing elegance of an eraser on a pencil....
sigh... Now don't go lecturing me on the million reasons we should all be wearing one of these .. there is NOTHING you can say that I have not already heard... goodness, my Father was a brain surgeon. I, more than anyone totally understand the advantages of the modern riding helmet.. but for now humor me...
after all - this one post is about fashion - NOT function..so I leave you with this beauty!
I think some of the new Charles Owen helmets are kind of nice (mostly just the Ayr-types). Not as pretty as a top hat though (I did hear a rumor that someone is trying to develop a safety version like they did for bowlers and cowboy hats awhile back so juniors can stay traditional and still be able to ride in 4H). I still have a plastic shell type- I haven't ridden in a while and back then it wasn't worth it when I was going to be chucked on my head again and have to buy a new one (the one I'm most proud of has a softball size dent).
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