Riding ensemble

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This object is part of a group of riding clothes which belonged to Eleanor Hewitt. Hewitt, an accomplished horsewoman, enjoyed riding at the Hewitt family home, Ringwood Manor, in northern New Jersey. "Miss Nelly," as Eleanor was known, occasionally wore menswear-inspired garments in her daily wardrobe, as well as for sporting activities. The concealed button placket gives this jacket a clean line. The leg-of-mutton sleeves and collar faced with velvet are details seen the jackets of walking suits of the same period. The tailoring of riding clothes translated into other tailored garments for women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art