show coats: colorful or conservative?

Maryland Saddlery's local Butler location had a barn-burner sale this past weekend, with bins and boxes and mystery bags jam packed with all manner of merch that needed gone. Some of it was used consignment stuff, but actually a LOT of it was overstock from various sources and channels.

i spy with my little eye.... a much more conservative jacket than one normally sees around 'Fraidy Cat Eventing

The sale was a lot of fun -- I spent an inordinate amount of time poking around all the nooks and crannies, chatting with the friends you inevitably run into at massive tack shop sales.... Egging each other on to try things on or look at whatever fun and fancy boots or straps or odds and ends lol, like the "Man From Snowy River" style oilskin long coat my friend found, omg haha.... 

But this coat --- I actually spied somebody else trying one of them on from across the shop floor, and was immediately smitten.

french blue with Izzy! pc Austen Gage

That might surprise those of you who have been around these parts for a while. Since.... Well. Nobody has ever accused me of being a "style icon" (snort), but ya know. I like what I like. And I've always liked colorful jackets. 

berry with Charlie! 

Which, naturally, have garishly adorned our competition recap posts all the way back to 2015 haha. Well, except, that's not exactly entirely true. In recent years I've kinda trended toward not wearing a jacket at shows. Like, we mostly do unrecognized stuff (with few, tho notable, exceptions), so jackets aren't really required anyway. 

lavender-gray with Charlie!! natch with my beloved brown boots <3

Plus.... Honestly, bc I can't really lie to y'all.... Well, you already know. We aren't exactly super impressive, esp in the dressage ring (since for jumping phases at horse trials we are generally wearing a safety vest + pinny vs the show coat). 

Often we're distinctly... not impressive. Which kinda has given me pause about really dressing up only to stand out for maybe not the right reasons, ya know? 

ain't nobody ever gonna argue with that price tag tho

Plus I've recently found myself kinda drawn toward the clean classic conservative (emphasis on "clean" bc y'all know I suck at laundry....) look of a good black jacket with piping. Call me basic if ya want haha. 

esp when it fits like this

And this O'Shaugnessy by Sara Griot show coat ticks all the right boxes. Plus, it has the benefit of being a bit more flattering than some of the jackets I've chosen over the years for their color, occasionally at the expense of fit.... Tell me I'm not alone there LOL --- or maybe you've always preferred a more traditional look? Or maybe you avoid jackets like the plague, no matter what???

Anyway, welcome to the family, new coat! Now I need to find an excuse to wear you!! Do show jumpers wear black coats these days? I'm out of the loop lol....