Empress Eugenie's Riding Habit reflects the
Imperial Army's Uniform

One of the goals of the International Side Saddle Organization is to inform aside riders as to the correct wear when mounted in a sidesaddle. There are detailed descriptions available of modern sidesaddle attire, but there seems to be a lot of confusion concerning period attire.

Sidesaddle riders should wear outfits from the same time as the sidesaddles they are using. Most available period sidesaddles do not predate the mid 1800's. While women did ride aside in earlier times and had very beautiful outfits for this purpose, most of the saddles did not survive or are not usable in their current condition.

The majority of women did not ride as many could not afford horses. Those that did, often used carriages for transportation. The ladies that did ride, were well able to afford special riding habits. They would never think of riding in their evening wear or soiling their house and street gowns in this manner.

They had different riding habits made for different occasions. One for use when riding in the park, a simpler version for summer wear, and those that hunted had a distinct habit for hunting.

It is important for today's sidesaddle rider to research her riding habit and avoid wearing attire that is unsuitable and incorrect for riding. One of the current controversies is what ladies wore under their skirts when riding.

Since modern laundry techniques were not available, women, as a rule, did not wear white lace petticoats and lingerie when riding. Pantaloons (or pants) were worn, but were similar to today's stirrup pants. Breeches were also worn under the skirts.