Fall Shopping Guide: Jodhpurs
Last week I wrote about Balenciaga-inspired schoolboy jackets, and since that runway show was so influential, I absolutely must write about the pants. However, unlike the jackets, where knockoffs abound, finding pants similar to these knockout jodhpurs is going to be a challenge. First of all, Balenciaga pants are known for their amazing cuts (which I can verify--I own a pair of corduroys from a few seasons back), and making a pant with fitted calves and exaggerated thighs flattering is a feat of engineering. Having searched high and low for similar looks, I can verify it's a style that not a lot of lines are knocking off. Still, there are several ways to get the look without paying Balenciaga prices.

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Designers don't knock each other off so blatantly at this price level, so if you're going to splurge, you have one option: Go straight to the source.


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The color of this Bi La Li jodhpur is all wrong, but the shape is the best approximation I found. But I think black might be a smarter choice anyway--it's less obvious than khaki and potentially more slimming.


The wool riding pant from L.A.M.B. is way too tight and cropped to be perfect, but it's more of a riding-inspired pant, a good way to dabble in the look without being a fashion victim.


But if it's khaki you're looking for, Brooks Brothers has it. Again, this pant is too fitted, but if you size up (or two, if you're feeling adventurous), you can achieve a much slouchier fit.


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Of course you can count on Topshop for a great jodhpur. Again, this one is black, but the cut is spot-on and, hey, if anyone knows riding pants, it's a British company.


This paperbag pant may seem like a stretch, but remove the belt, add a schoolboy blazer, and tuck the hem into some boots and you've got a pretty close imitation of the olive jodhpur that came down Balenciaga's runway.


The most logical place to find riding pants? A tack shop! These equestrian-approved jodhpurs are cotton/twill, available in a range of colors, and even come in a lower-rise version if you so choose. Again, I suggest sizing up for a baggier fit, but I think a real riding pant is, ironically, the next best thing to the runway version. (Funny how that works.)