Riding habit jacket

Women’s riding outfits, known as riding habits, of the 18th century adapted elements of men’s dress. This jacket of the 1750s is styled after a man’s coat, although it has been modified with a waist seam to fit over stays and a wide petticoat. Careful mitring and gathering of the heavy braid allows its arrangement around the pockets and into rococo curves down the jacket front. The trim consists of three parts: a wide ribbon of silver thread woven in a geometrical pattern, and a narrow gimp of silver on either side.