I have a case of Anglophile this week… first with their television shows, and now their clothing. To further this, today I’m using a wool wrap that my parents brought back for me from their trip to Britan this past spring. Sure, it’s super itchy, and also only like 70 degrees outside, but it is important to me to fully celebrate my British obsession week.
Today, I want to talk about a British company, Aztec Diamond Equestrian. They make lovely, fashion-forward equestrian clothes. Early this year I even did a gift certificate giveaway for their company. Their popularity seems to be growing, as seen on social media, and as indicated by the growing amount of products they now sell.
Back in the spring, I bought a lovely show shirt.
Pristine show shirt, bizarrely flat yet curly hair. Thanks a lot, hairnet.
I’ve been using this shirt exclusively for every show I’ve done this year, which amounts to about three shows I believe. For two shows, it was beautiful and cleaned up nicely. At my last show, it was super hot, and I decided to ride without my jacket. I figured everyone has a day like that, but I didn’t realize it would make me so dirty. No matter, I thought, it’ll clean up nicely in the wash.
HAH!
The sad remains of my show shirt. (If you are confused about the design, it’s a body suit to keep it tucked in.)
It looks exactly as dirty as it was before I put it through the wash. I think the fabric, which was a lovely waffle weave, trapped in all the dirt. These is just a theory though, I honestly am not sure why it stayed so dirty unless it’s not actually dirt, but some kind of fungus or bacteria that took up residence on my shirt.
I would like to point out that I followed the cleaning directions on the tag. I also do not claim to be a laundry expert, so I’m sure there is some magical way I can treat the shirt and it will go back to its pristine self. Eventually, I will do that. But, in general, I do not like clothing that requires special maintenance. I have ruined wool jackets and silk shirts in the past because of my reluctance to give them special treatment. They failed the gauntlet, so to speak. They cannot make it in the cutthroat world of my closet.
Because I really like the design of this shirt, I’m going to try to clean it up, and if it works, I’ll be more diligent about keeping it clean. But I would not buy another one because I do not like clothes that require effort. Even my show jacket goes in the washing machine.
When I purchased the show shirt, I also purchased two pairs of leggings, gray and navy. I don’t see navy on their site anymore, but this is the gray version. I had purchased the medium, because in most American clothes, I am a medium. Turns out I should have purchased a large, because I have one of the biggest behinds in existence. I didn’t feel like returning or exchanging, so I just put the leggings in my drawer and moved on with my life. Now, months later, I’ve lost a bit of weight, and I rediscovered the leggings.
These leggings are a good look. I don’t look like the model, but the first time I wore them, my friend said, “Those are nice leggings!” And they really are. The design of them is super flattering. They are really high waisted and pull you in.
I have a short torso, but these cover my belly button. Basically, the bottom seam of the top band is where I normally have my pants sit, so it felt strange to me. Sitting down, the band would roll a little bit, but standing up, walking around, and riding, it would stay straight up and suck me in.
The fabric is like a ribbed athletic legging. It claims on the label they are designed for grip while riding. Normally athletic leggings are much too slippery for riding, so I was interested in trying this out. Turns out, completely true. I didn’t feel slippery, and I basically forgot I was wearing leggings.
I’m apparently one of those people who cannot stay clean, so of course I was pretty dirty after riding. The leggings were covered with that fine horse dust. But, it brushes right off, and then the leggings look pristine again. Hurray for clean looking clothes!
Other than the flattering lines of the legging, they also added some decals. On one side is their arrow-like logo, and on the other side, raised rubber letters.
I’m a little curious if those letters will stay on there. They seem pretty firm currently, but I haven’t been wearing the leggings that long.
In addition to riding in them and wearing them all day, I also wanted to test their workout ability. I was wondering if the friction useful for riding would make me feel like I was wearing sandpaper on my legs while I used the treadmill. Happy to report that it did not. The friction level is not that high. These leggings are perfect for those days when you go riding and also go to the gym.
The only downside I can say about these leggings is that after wearing them for many hours around the house, my legs felt a little bit itchy. Not enough to actually itch, but just a little bit of an annoyance. Eventually, I did change out of them to a softer, lounging around worthy material.
Overall, I really like the leggings, and I look forward to riding in them. I will be checking out the breeches they sell too, but I’ll wait until I’m feeling better about my bank account. That limited edition lace decal design though — so tempted to make that purchase!