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Sunday 22 February 2004

Second-Hand Books from @philabooks+philadelphia
See catalogs @philabooks.blogspot.com

MY LIT'RY LIFE
Definitive History of Riding Clothes Important New Guide for Horsemen

Clotheshorse: A History anf Guide to Riding Apparel, Richard Carreño, Writers Clearinghouse Press, Philadelphia, 1992, 71 pp.

* Riding breeches in the 19th century were even tighter than they are today.

* Most riders are women. Yet equestrian fashion styles have always been dominated by men and by masucline looks.

* Though often thought to be impervious to fashion fancy, even the well-dressed foxhunter is now donning (gasp!) updated garb.

These are amongst the intriguing and sometimes little-known findings sprinkled profusely in an exhaustive, new study of riding fashions, Clotheshorse: A History and Guide to Riding Apparel. The book, written by equestrian writer Richard Carreño, is the first definitive survey of riding attire that encompasses American styling preferences. It is also the single-most comprehensive work on the subject in 50 years.

Clotheshorse is a companion to a work by Sydney D. Barney, published in England in 1953, according to Carreño.

Though Barney's Clothes and the Horse was the standard for many years, Carreño noted that the Barney book, ''though wonderful in its time,'' is now ''woefully outdated.'' Clotheshorse also adopts an international perspective, lacking in the now-out-of-print Barney book.

Clotheshorse combines scholarly research and helpful tips to novice and experienced horsemen alike. The book includes a detailed step-by-step guide to ''what to wear when for what'' in all English riding disciplines. A separate chapter serves as a buyer's guide.

[For details regarding purchase, please click, at left, the link to @philabooks+philadelphia].