But from the second I saw this shirt, I was in love. I gave myself a cool down period before I would let myself purchase it, because it costs more than any pair of breeches I have ever bought in my life (except the Gho Dho's I stress-bought the week before the KPG clinic!).
Over the next couple of weeks, I kept finding myself thinking about it. Then, while standing dejectedly in the barn aisle immediately after the failed CWD fitting a month ago, I pulled the trigger on the shirt as a consolation birthday present to myself. "Congratulations on not spending [mumble mumble] thousand dollars on yourself today, self, that $85 shirt you want is a lot less expensive than a saddle isn't it?" #geniuslogic
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| My favorite color and my favorite shade of that color |
...and then it got here and was too big. I saw that SmartPak had the same shirt in an XXS, so I emailed RW to say, "Hey, the XS was too big, SmartPak carries an XXS that you don't carry and I'd rather order it from you, can you special order it for me?"
Here's where it got weird. They "checked with the manufacturer" and told me Noel Asmar didn't make that shirt in plum and XXS. Not "It exists but we can't get it for you", but "It doesn't exist" Uh...okay, but clearly it DOES exist because SmartPak carries it...?
(Side note: This is the second time in a month I've noticed RW not carrying the smallest size available in a particular shirt, which is going to seriously limit me buying apparel from them if that's A Thing now. I sure hope not.)
So I returned the XS to RW and ordered it in XXS from SmartPak for $30 more than I paid RW for it, because I was committed after trying it on - it was gorgeous. I had no idea whether SmartPak would come through or not. But they did. And it was worth the wait.
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| Back of the collar detail |
This shirt looks so good on, even my husband loves it. He has strong opinions about fashion and hates most horse attire, so that's really saying something. When I asked what he liked about it, he said "the fit, and the high collar, it's very unusual and striking. There are so few equestrian shirts that look good, but that's one of them." I've even worn it to a date night!
I've worn it to ride three times so far, and have found that there's a very narrow range of temperatures at which this shirt is comfortable. I was a smidge warm in it at 65 degrees, so this is definitely not a sunshirt. I was comfortable riding in the indoor in the low 50s, but needed something windproof over it when I hacked outside in the breezy 50 degree sunshine.
You're also not going to get anything to fit underneath it: the forearms are borderline too tight on me. A vest will look great with it and extend its useful temperature range a bit, but still, this is definitely a 2-season shirt. If that.
It has a cell phone pocket in the back that's more than big enough to fit my Samsung Galaxy S10 in, and there's a reflective strip around it for visibility. Be aware that this is more of a "trail ride" feature though, since when I started to do sitting trot and canter, the phone started flapping around back there, slamming into my lower back and untucking the shirt.
It washes great too. I washed it on my washer's Hand Wash setting (like I do all my darks) and air dried it, although it does say it's tumble dry low safe. I'm paranoid, and too in love with this shirt to risk ruining it (or making the forearms even tighter).
Finally - the plot thickens around the sizing. SmartPak no longer has the plum/XXS available, and Noel Asmar's website also only shows the blue and black in XXS. But I swear it exists, look!
(Note that it's just generally designed to fit tight. If you size up to get it more baggy, you may find it too wide in the shoulders. YMMV, but my fit issues with the XS were entirely shoulder-related).
Bottom line: This shirt is expensive, impractical, isn't going to fit you if you have normal sized adult forearms, and is only comfortable within like a 10 degree temperature window, but IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. Also it's husband approved.
What: Noel Asmar Tory Technical Shirt
Colors: Black, Plum, Blue
Sizes: XXS-XXL
Price: $118 (gulp, yeah, I know)
Where to Buy: SmartPak if you need the XXS size, or Riding Warehouse carries sizes starting at XS
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