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Equestrian style has never really gone away. It resurfaces every few years as a trend, which slightly misses the point: it has been a continuous thread in British leatherwork for two centuries.
Riding leather was designed under real constraints. It had to survive weather, take hard use, hold its shape under load and be repairable.
Those constraints produced a design language that happens to be handsome: clean lines, honest hardware, structure that holds, and leather chosen for how it ages rather than how it looks new.
A handbag built to those principles lasts and improves for the same reasons the original tack did. Our guide to why full grain leather is worth the investment covers the material side.
Our guide to leather bag hardware covers the fittings, and the art of leather embossing covers decorative work.
The saddle bag is the clearest expression of it, and ours is the Aryanna. Our guide to country style meets city chic covers wearing it in town.
This is the part worth getting right. Equestrian style tips into fancy dress when it’s worn all at once.
One strong piece. A proper saddle bag with everything else plain is the whole look. Riding boots, tweed, a velvet collar and a saddle bag together is a costume.
Let the leather do the work. Good tan leather against navy, grey or cream needs no help.
Keep the hardware consistent. Brass with brass, including any jewellery. Mixed metals is what makes a considered outfit look accidental. See leather bag hardware.
Add print carefully. A country-print twilly on the strap is enough. Our guide to pairing bags and scarves covers it.
Race meetings and country events are the obvious home, and our guide to the perfect handbag for the races covers those.
But the reason the style endures is that it works away from them. A tan saddle bag is equally at home on a city street, which is more than most occasion bags manage.
No. The design language is about how the leather is made and finished, not about horses.
Tan and chestnut. Both age beautifully and go with more than black does.
One strong piece, everything else plain. It’s wearing the whole look at once that tips it over.
