follow up on Pipers + new stuff!!

A little note of interest (or not) to readers: I wanted to follow up on my new SmartPak Pipers and a few other recently snagged goodies. 

please excuse this quick diversion from actual riding news

I've been wearing the Pipers regularly (sorry no pics), and feel pretty good about the fit. Yes, a belt is needed. But this is A-OK in my book since my new Mango Bay belts just arrived!!! (more on this below). 

Aside from the gapping, the fit is spot-on. The waist band sits where I like it to (medium-ish rise), and stays put with a belt. The fit through the hips and legs is comfortable, with enough stretch that I don't feel restricted, but still has a tailored look without sagging. 

I noted previously that the material seemed to show dirt easily, so I tried the ultimate test: wear them during morning barn chores before our lesson. And they actually came out looking fine - and I didn't feel like a total slob. Dark colors for the win!  

So they are definitely staying in rotation through the fall and winter. I didn't fully think through the merlot / gray color combination, since it's not great with brown. And I, uh, wear a lot of brown. But this just gives me an excuse to wear my tall boots more often :)

Now, onto MOAR new fun stuff!! 

behold my superb foto skillz

I hold no illusions on my chances for winning 2pointober. I'm certainly nowhere near the front runners for longest time. And the 'most improved' category is really anybody's game. I'm sticking with it bc of the principle: my position needs stabilization, and that won't happen without practice. 

But that also means that I'm not holding out hope for the awesome (AWESOME!) prizes. So in the meantime I entered Beka's super birthday giveaway contest over at The Owls Approve (and you should too) and finally ordered some Mango Bay belts using Hillary's discount code from Equestrian at Hart. 

it takes real talent to make navy look black in a picture, obvi

I already mentioned my haul from TOTD, and it all finally arrived yesterday!!! Yesss. Well.. everything except the cavesson... boo. The jacket and breeches apparently both came from Bit of Britain, as they still had that store's tags on them. The cavesson is presumably coming from elsewhere. 

So, my thoughts:

The RJ Essentials navy show coat: The wool blend is a lighter weight than I anticipated, which is good bc I heat up like a furnace while riding, and already have a black wool show coat that is way too heavy. The sleeves are long on my t-rex arms, but that's nothing my tailor can't fix. The fit through the chest, waist and shoulders is true to size. Score! 

don't mind the creepy kitten

The Irideon Campeona breeches: I *really* like the color. It's kind of a mossy taupe that they called 'caffe.' (Can you tell that I have a penchant for dark neutrals, with the occasional touch of pattern?? lol)

Anyways, the pants fit around the waist, hips, knees and calves. But there's an insert from the ankle up past the knee that I suppose is intended to add room for flexing, but actually creates this awkward baggy spot halfway between my knee and hip on the outside of my thigh... 

You can see the insert starts at my ankle, and the tip of the insert ends above those bizarre folds. That's literally just extra material at a very odd place on my leg. It seems to disappear when I sit, tho, so maybe it will do the same when I'm in the saddle? It's weird tho. But for $30 schooling breeches, I'm not too worried about it. 

the pants may or may not give off this vibe tho lol

(found via Behind the Bit)