Buckwild Breeches Review

I've seen a lot of ads for Buckwild breeches and I even goaded Leah into trying them on at Rolex last year. I did not try any on--nothing murders the self esteem quite like trying and failing to squeeze into some horrific piece of spandex in public.

Then Roxie's mom was like "hey I have these kickass pants that I super hate because of their overly sticky silicone full seats do you want?"

yes. yes i do want.

They're a gorgeous shade of teal with plaid full seats that have super sticky silicone on them. They wear like yoga pants--soft, comfy, and simple. They're a higher rise, which I very much appreciate as a long-waisted person. I will say that they don't do a lot for smoothing over the lumps and holding things in place, but maybe the fun colors distract from that? I dunno. I love them. They make me smile when I put them on.

zoom zoom baby mare!

I've kind of gone back and forth on these, which is why I haven't done a write up until now. They're like $130 full price, which is in range for nice breeches, buuuuuut I'm pretty cheap about buying stretchy pants. Plus my first pair was free. Plus the lumpy issue. Plus since they aren't uncomfortable to wear, how well are they really going to hold up? (My brain goes strange places sometimes, but I bet you've thought that too.)

Then this happened:

rad. purple. pants.

Yeah purple with multi color horsey full seats plus a sale (and I was waiting for test results on teeny dog). #yolo

this seems almost indecent

I think I ordered Saturday morning and had them in my hands Tuesday or Wednesday.

love

I will say--I wear ~34 breech normally and I ordered the XL from Buckwild. They're a little bit big for me and quite stretchy. I almost could have sized down. Definitely don't size up.

one day i will get good pictures. one day.

I mean. They're a look, don't get me wrong. If you have very conservative sensibilities, these are probably not the stretchy pants for you. (But also if you have very conservative sensibilities, you started throwing up in your mouth when you saw this post title and maybe this isn't the post for you either.)

But also. They are so comfortable. They're super fun. They're a nice, lightweight fabric that will wear well in summer without being too hot. I really like the sock bottoms on these--comfortable without being uncomfortably tight.

look baby ZB!

They wear a bit like a dressed-up riding tight--there is a zipper and snap and belt loops, but the comfort level is pretty unbeatable.

Would I wear them in a clinic? Well. Yes. But also I have a rainbow bit and a steampunk browband and I believe in having fun and making my own traditions. YMMV on that particular issue.

Life's too short to be boring. Go buckwild!

Disclosures: my free pair had everything to do with having fantastic friends and nothing to do with the company. I paid the sale price for the purple ones and I don't regret a cent. I'd be surprised if I didn't end up with another pair of these.

UPDATE: If you're a budget-fun-colors-breeches type (like me), you're probably comparing them with Smartpak Piper breeches. In short, the Pipers have a more substantial fabric that smoothes over lumps much better. HOWEVER. The Pipers also have that killer crotch sag (wtf why can't they can't just fix that) and even the mid-rise pipers give me a MAD muffin top. Not attractive. The Buckwild breeches hit me in a much more flattering place and I'm happy wearing them around rather than constantly trying to bury myself in layers and creatively crop photos.

Magna Wave Meets Reactivity Personified: A Magna Wave Maxx Review

I'm skeptical about alternative therapy for horses. I think new technology is super cool and I love living in the future, but I also think it's dumb to spend money on untested tech that may or may not do anything.

this pic is never not appropriate

Good news: my bodywork lady totally gets that.

(Aside: people like to ask what bodywork is. It's some combination of massage and chiro and I can't 100% tell you what she does, but when she works on C, we go from not going forward and not turning right to going forward and turning right, so it's worth the $ to me.)

our specialty

Bodywork lady also runs an equine rehab center and she usually lets us play with the new toys when they come in to see if it's something we're interested in doing on our horses. Courage has gotten laser treatment and ultrasound stuff, I gave Alyssa  Courage's turn on a Theraplate to see what happens (answer: made her nauseous), and I think we've done a couple other things. To this point, I haven't noticed that anything outside of the usual hands-on body manipulation was doing anything for Courage.

getting started

And then bodywork lady shows up with a thing called a "magna wave". It looked like a glorified hose lasso attached to a suitcase or tiny R2D2 droid and it popped like an electric fence. It has little wheels on the body so it's easy to move and it plugs into a normal outlet, so pretty straightforward. (research tells me this is the Maxx model).

Given Courage's extreme reactions to ropes/hoses (DO NOT LIKE) and hearty respect for electric fence (won't step over a single strand 1' off the ground), I figured this would be another failed experiment where I might get some good NOPE pictures but would achieve nothing useful.

Bodywork lady walked into his stall with the weird heavy popping droid suitcase hose thingy. I was SHOCKED that Courage gave it minor side eye, then was 100% ok without even moving his feet.

And then I was completely floored.

Not only did he like the treatment (I'd already tried it on myself--feels weird, doesn't hurt, did feel good after), he literally dropped his head below his poll and completely relaxed his entire body. Apparently, the machine/hose combo uses electro-magnetic pulses to essentially give a deep tissue massage. I don't know how I feel about any of those words in particular, but the change in Courage was remarkable.

This is the horse who leaps around, rears, paws the air, bolts away, and generally has a meltdown in his overreactions to pain when we do bodywork. He relaxes afterwards when he feels better, but it's borderline dangerous (at best) for myself or our practitioner and I never feel comfortable asking someone to hold him for me.

After a nice long session with the Magna Wave, Courage stood there like a sleepy old school horse, eyes closed, ears floppy, poll below his withers, and was completely passive and cooperative for the entire length of the adjustment.

and gave big releases

Which was less than a third the normal amount of time because there were no flying hooves to dodge or trooping around the barn trying to catch him after yet another escapade. (Yeah he possibly has a reputation...)

Um. Sign. Me. Up.

Courage is a special snowflake for sure and I try to do anything I can to keep people around him safe and happy. This was worth it for the increase in personal safety for myself and our bodyworker alone. I mean, we both kept repeating "I don't even recognize him" and "do you think we killed him"? I also asked her if I could get my own, and she said sure but pointed out they cost a tidy 20k so yeah, not happening here.

Per our bodywork lady, you can actually get on and ride immediately vs the usual 24-48 hours off after stuff like this, but I had somewhere to be so I didn't get to see the after-effects until I pulled him out the next day.

I threw him on the lunge line and then scraped my jaw off the floor--dayum.

don't even know this horse

Homeboy floated around like I've never seen him move. I ended up not riding, because he also felt super good, which entailed grunting oddly every few strides and periodically leaving the ground ways I just didn't care to ride.

eh no thanks

He wasn't naughty or bolting or any number of previous lunge line shenanigans. He just looked like he felt amazing and he was expressing himself. Nothing was sustained or idiotic.

Even without the after pictures though, I'm a believer. The change in him was mind blowing for me and regardless of how well it holds long term, the sheer fact that he was able to let us work on him without the big reactions makes it worthwhile to me at this point. I will say I watched our lady use it on several horses and there were a variety of responses, but for Courage and one of his girlfriends, this nifty tool could be a game changer.

10/10 will use again. Definitely recommend.

Quick Reviews: Show Equipment

There are lots of bloggers who write lots of helpful product reviews. Those things are super helpful if I'm shopping and super boring if I'm not. In the interst of being as non-boring as possible, here are some quick product reviews of some new stuff I used at the show.

1) FITS Zephyr Dressage Coat review

I found this on clearance for $100 and snagged it because I really, really wanted a four silver button coat with piping and something washable, stretchy, and breathable. This coat checks all the boxes. Wearing dark colors in the sun is wearing dark colors in the sun, but it was bearable, reasonably flattering, and actually fit my ridiculous ape arms. I have never liked a show coat before and I'm not sure I plan to start now, but for $100, I am very pleased.

2) Ogilvy Dressage Profile Pad review

I'm pretty sure both of my ogilvy pads are this model. Regardless, love love love this pad. Fits perfectly on C under my 18" dressage saddle and large Mattes half pad. Never moves, never wrinkles, never rubs. Thick enough to hold it's shape, thin enough to wash well. I wish all my saddle pads were ogilvy.

still going strong in our last test

3) Charles Owen Sparkle JR8 review

I've had this helmet for a while now but haven't worn it much once it broke in because I wanted to save it for shows/clinics/photo shoots.

Love it. I mean, it's just a spruced up JR8, so it's not all fancy and upgraded like other things on the market. I had a jr8 I loved for a couple years and I'm fine with the features and price point. It definitely stands out. I got a ton of compliments and if there were haters, they kept it to themselves. I will say the sparkle game is strong in the dressage crowd, so I wasn't the only one with a shiny helmet.

4) Horze Crescendo Kiana Breeches review

I hate hate hate wearing white breeches, so I didn't own any. I ended up with these through a trade on facebook. The detailing is cute and the fabric isn't see through.

I tried them one once a few months back and then wore them both days for the show. They held up great, didn't give me saggy ass, and smoothed things out reasonably well. I would buy these again no question.

There are some glaring holes in my wardrobe going forward--I need acceptable show gloves (realized morning of that everything I own is blue or brown) and I really need a good stock pin. Preferably with sparkles. I also want custom dress boots but LULZ $$$. Oh and a garment bag (and boot bag!) is starting to sound incredibly useful. Ideas?

How To Wrap Bandage Liners Like a Pro

Let's wrap this up nice and tight: First I had a Teach Me Tuesday about bandage liners, then I bought some and had a friend teach me how to use them. I got a couple of requests for a tutorial, but since at that point, I had officially done like one liner-wrap by myself, I thought I'd better wait. NO LONGER!! Here is your official Sprinkler Bandit's how-to of bandage liners for exercise wraps.

First off: Supplies!

You will need a normal set of fleece polos and your choice of liners. My favorite set up right now is to use Centaur polos ($16.95 from Riding Warehouse) and I go back and forth between my Roma channel quilted leg pads ($13.99 from Horseloverz) and Eskadron climatex bandage liners ($47.95 from Smartpak).

If you don't have liners yet, let me break it down for you.

Here are the Romas:


The only color option I've found is white. This is the 12" model and it's 18" long. As you can see, it's a rectangular shape with hard corners. These are mildly harder to wrap into your bandage. The material definitely has two different sides, but it's hard to tell which one is supposed to go next to the horse because they look the same. (hint: it's the towel-y side, not the soft flannel-ish side).




Here are the Eskadrons:

I got these used off of facebook and was told they were the 10.5" model. Here is what I can tell you: either they stretch like a SOAB or they are the 12" model. They are slightly bigger than the Romas. They are also softer. The inside/outside delineation is clearer, and the lack of hard corners makes wrapping about 30% easier.

Does that 30% justify the extra $30 in cost? Your call. (My vote: buy these used for the same price as Romas new. They really are better.)

NEXT

The process. 

Of course, I decided to take pictures for this tutorial now that it's dark at 5pm and the aisle lights went out in the barn. Thus, pictures were taken while it was 9f in the indoor. My apologies.

Next off.

Here is what we need to wrap one leg:

One bandage liner.

One neatly-rolled polo wrap.

One bad flash photography job not required.

Go ahead and roll the liner like a standing bandage--outside rolls against itself, like so:

Then lay the edge of the liner against the inside of your horse's cannon bone and wrap to the end of the liner.

This is not a contest to see how tight you can get it. If anything, I go a little looser than a standing bandage. You don't want them to slide down, but this IS NOT a pressure wrap.

even harder? photographing this moment

Now here's the tricky part.

While holding the liner in place with one hand, start the polo wrap. You want to start dead center on your liner. Just like with regular polos, do a wrap, then a second wrap over the top to anchor your bandage.

yup had to straighten this up after i took the pic

Now your liner is starting to stay in place by yourself, but keep one hand gently on the liner and polo until it is fully stable. You don't want it to twist/bind on the leg.

If your anchor wrap is solid, the rest is pretty easy.

On Courage (medium bone, 16.1h OTTB), I do the anchor, then one wrap below, then do the cradle on his fetlock, then work back up. It is important to wrap under the fetlock to secure your liner and keep dirt out of the wrap.

This picture I actually wrapped a little too low, but I was using one hand and it was bloody cold. Back off, ok?

You want to make sure the liner is covered at the bottom. If you used the Romas, this is when you swear a little because those stupid corners are really hard to wrap in. If you used the Eskadrons, pat yourself on the back.

I've always been taught to do a loop around the fetlock, then an anchor straight across, then another loop around the fetlock and head back up the leg. If you also wrap this way, STOP. One pass under the fetlock, then wrap in nice, even rolls up the cannon bone.

Now you're at the top of the cannon bone/liner. Most likely, you are very close to your horse's knee. There are two ways to finish this wrap. The first way I was taught produces a very clean finish and keeps the bandage very tidy.

This way entails making sure your liners finish RIGHT BELOW the knee joint when you first put them on. If you wrapped this way, you take your last pass around the liner and overlap aboue 1/4-1/2" of polo over the top of the liner material.

Your result is very polished and correct in any company.

OR

You may want to let the whole world know how trendy you are, that you have liners, or that you're totally copy-catting all those trendy-cool-strange horses you see in pictures on the internet. This entails letting your liners finish a little higher on the knee when you first wrap them, then wrapping up to the bottom of the knee with your polos and finishing about 1/2" below the top of your liners.

I've done it both ways. I would NOT recommend the second method for the roma liners--again the hard corners are not your friend here. It looks fine on the eskadrons. I guess it's just a matter of preference--I like the tidier finished top for lessons and clinics and daylight, but if it's pitch black at 5pm and I'm the only one at the barn, HELLZ YEAH we're gonna pretend we're Euro dressage stars.

liners peek out

liners covered up

So there you have it. Two methods to wrap bandage liners. Who else is in love with the look? (And frankly, the function too. This at least doubles, probably triples the amount of interference protection a polo provides, plus the added benefit of protecting the leg from the polo. So much win.)

My First Encounter with a Saddler

For those of you have have regular access to saddle fitters and leather repairs and tack stores, this post really isn't for you. Also I hate you a little bit. For the rest of us, here's a basic walk-through of the saddle fitting process.

I live in an area where horse keeping isn't THAT expensive because (fun fact!) we have lots of space and almost no amenities. So that's awesome. I've learned the mechanics of how a saddle should fit through trial, error, and picky horses, but I have never before had access to any sort of saddle-fit professional.

until now

Enter Adrienne Hendricks (using full name with permission and because it's part of her business name). I've seen her name bounce around a few times locally and knew she did minor leather repairs. Then I found out she was interning with a British-trained master saddler and did fittings and flockings and the like. I filed that information away, but since I've never had access to a saddle person, I didn't really know what to do with them.

And then Courage's sweat marks under his dressage saddle started changing. I'd never really liked them, but he wasn't complaining and the saddle seemed to be the holy grail that fit both of us. But they kept changing, which of course correlates with him developing as we do more and better dressage work.

And once you have the holy grail, it's in your best interests to try to keep it.

So I called Adrienne. (Or more like, sent a panicked facebook message, then got cold feet, then scheduled her, then almost canceled, then went ahead with it.) We set up my first-ever full-fledged saddle fitting.

First off: I was super happy with Adrienne--she's personable, she rides, and she was very professional. I hadn't met her before, but she put me at ease pretty quickly. She started by asking some questions about or level of work (low) and our history of saddle maintenance (none). Next. she carefully evaluated how my dressage saddle sat on Courage's back.

(you've all seen my horse with a saddle on before)

Then. Out came the saddle fitting curve! This is something I've read about online a lot, but it seemed a bit more complicated than what I was comfortable with on my own. And yeah, it was. She took three measurements of Courage's back (withers-ish, mid-back, and back back. I'm so technical!). There was a level attached to the curve to make sure all the measurements lined up and she transposed them all on to the same piece of paper.

She also used them to compare with the underside of my saddle, and we came away with this information:
1) Courage is pretty symmetrical in general and exhibits no particular back soreness.
Comment: Huzzah! I was right!
2) The only noticeable variation is that his right hind is clearly his weakest link--there is a bit of a corresponding hollow in his back.
Comment: Less pumped about being right about this.
3) My saddle actually fits him quite well.
HUZZAH
4) The flocking in my saddle is a bit like roadkill on a country highway that's been left out for a whole winter. Like, still technically recognizable as a saddle, but hard, lumpy, and way dead.

not gonna lie, this was terrifying. RIP saddle.

We'd initially only planned on the fitting, and minor flocking adjustments, but there was no denying what needed to be done. There was also no denying that my checking account would in no way accommodate my crazy new plan to just DO IT ALL NOW. I have a long, tragic history of beating that poor account with a stick, so we rolled with it. I told Adrienne to take the saddle home and do the full reflock.

She felt really bad about how that was substantially more money than I was planning on spending, tried to talk me out of it because she wasn't trying to take advantage of me, and then offered to throw in a free dye job on the saddle, so it would be beautiful. Not saying no to that.

I also got to go to her workshop and watch some of the work being done, which was fascinating. I'd never seen a deconstructed saddle before. Fun fact:

this is the saddle

these are the panels

They come apart in two totally different pieces. This is also why lots of saddle people think half pads are silly--if your saddle has decent flocking, you basically have the world's best half pad sewn on to the bottom of your saddle.

That's pretty cool.

In a couple of days, I had my saddle back. I could feel the difference in the panels IMMEDIATELY. They're always been hard and lumpy, and now they were squishy and soft and even and comfy. I can definitely see how Courage will be more comfortable with them. The dye job was lovely and even and made the saddle look brand new, and she'd made a couple minor repairs to the stitching and d rings.

I love it.

It's like having a brand new saddle, only without all that buy/sell hassle.

before--greying out everywhere

after--gleaming, beautiful black

 I've had my saddle back for several weeks now, and I really couldn't be happier. It fits great, Courage goes great, it looks great. I can ride with confidence because I know Courage isn't in pain at all. We do have a plan to meet up again in a couple months and re-evaluate the flocking as it settles, which is a normal part of the saddle-maintenance routine.

This may be my first time using a saddle-pro, but it definitely isn't the last. I'm thrilled with the possibilities. Let's face it--instead of the perennial saddle-shopping side show, I got to spend far less money with a much more satisfactory result. (And if you're local, definitely give Adrienne a call. Well worth the money, imho.)

If you're like me and had never been around the process before, this is a little bit of what it looks like. If you've done something similar with your saddle, how does it compare?

Back on Track Dressage Saddle Pad Review

ALL THE BOT

Back on Track products have been all the rage for quite some time now. I've been slow to jump on the bandwagon because it's a very expensive bandwagon to be on and I had enough of those already.

But.

I snapped up a pair of polos a couple months back because a local friend was selling them for a steal and I wanted them. Then I found another pair for another steal.

And that set forced me to jump on the Back on Track band wagon. Courage is a princess OTTB who likes to stock up random legs willy nilly, have massive overreactions to tiny cuts on the regular, and generally get odd fill in odd places that make me not happy. I found that with the Back on Track polo wraps, the random swellings would go down faster and stay tighter than leaving the legs bare, using boots, or using standard polos (to ride. Never leave polos on overnight).

it does look lovely in action

THAT fascinated me. I mentioned my impulse buy of a Back on Track saddle pad a couple weeks back. I figured that Courage has a lot of miles on him and any little thing that might help is worth exploring. I love how it looks. I love how it's cut. I love the color. It sits great under my saddle and doesn't shift or bunch,

Honestly, I figured that even if it didn't have magical properties, it was still a very nice pad and I was enjoying it quite a bit.

Back on Track Dressage Pad in Navy
Retail Price: $90
What I paid: $90 and they threw in free polos

clean, tight, and rubbing

But then I saw it.

Courage was developing some thin spots in his hair, which is normal for his princess self in the summer. What wasn't normal was the very-odd placement.

I didn't put two and two together until after a hard ride the other day.

Oh. Oops. Sorry buddy.

huh I wonder if he's asymmetrical

I maintain that this is a very well-made pad, but the binding on the pad is more nylon than cotton, and it completely disagrees with Courage's very fine hair and low tolerance for anything strange.

Big sigh here. I'm very disappointed. I'd like to just say "oh, that's Courage, but I've never had problems with him rubbing in this location before and I've used all kinds of pads on him and never seen something like this.

I was hoping to come here and write a super positive review. I was really excited to try this pad out in the colder months, when it can take Courage a while to get warmed up.

Unfortunately, I'm pulling it out of the regular rotation for now and I really can't recommend it. It's a shame, because it's a really pretty pad and other than that, I quite like it.

Review of Three Budget-Friendly Breeches

breeches make a difference

I may be a tack ho of the best variety, but that does not extend to the breech collection. It KILLS ME to pay $200+ for pants that I will wear out in the sun and rain and mud and snow and destroy. Kills me. I can't do it.

I'm told that more expensive pants wear better, but I'm pretty sure the law of diminishing returns comes in to play in a hurry. Plus it seems that people who are most impressed by durability actually do the least things, you know? Like "omg these breeches lasted me 10 years!" but they only ride one horse for 20 minutes twice a week.

Full disclosure: I spent the past couple years working in a pro situation, which meant 8+ hour days on the regular, all in breeches. I'm currently LOVING the ammy life and I ride my one horse 5-6x a week and do practically no barn chores.

I want a breech to be stretchy enough to not unduly restrict me, firm enough that any unacceptable lumps are smoothed out, durable enough that I can use them for 1-2 years, AREN'T LOW RISE, are front zip, and have sock bottoms. Need normal rise. Hate velcro bottoms. Don't need hips looking wider/more awkward (here's looking at you, side zip).

Tredstep breeches in action

Bachelor #1: Tredstep Symphony Nero Breech in smokie pearl

List price: $89.95
What I paid: ~$75

I was in desperate need of breeches last year and hit a 20% off sale at Bit of Britain. I like Tredstep half chaps, the breeches were well reviewed, and I needed SOMETHING.

I'm normally a 34, I got the 34 and they fit fine. These breeches have a nice sock bottom and an ok rise. The color is fine. They are definitely pants.

That said, they are my least favorite breeches of the lot. The fabric doesn't really have any give to it, which means it's constantly pulling at my knees. It "stretches" out quickly and looks unattractive. The breeches slide down even with a belt on. And despite being stiff and uncomfortable, they really don't flatter anything. I guess the durability is fine, in that I only use them when I desperately need to do laundry, so they're unlikely to wear out soon.

I would not buy these again. It's possible the top fo the line tredsteps are much improved, but if you can't impress me at $90, I'm not shelling out $200.

Equine Couture in action

Bachelor #2: Equine Couture Brittni Knee Patch Breeches in chocolate

List price: $89.95
What I paid: ~$75

These are the product of the same Bit of Britain sale. I basically picked things with a price I could stomach and color I could deal with and clicked order.

Again, got 34 and the 34 fit fine. These breeches also have a sock bottom. It's double layered and doesn't really have a seam at the bottom, which makes them smooth under paddock boots, but it's a minor PITA to put on. Not a deal breaker.

I actually quite like these breeches--they smooth what needs smoothing, give where it matters, and look sharp day in and day out. They don't sag or wear strangely and I really love the grippy silicone knee patch thingy. It grips without making me hotter, which is fantastic.

That said. They are low rise. Not the lowest rise ever, but HELLOOOOOOO MUFFIN TOP. You'll note I only ever wear them with baggy shirts because wow yeah, no one needs to see that. If you are a short-waisted low-rise-loving person, these are the pants for you.

I might buy these again, but I wouldn't pay full price. They do come in nice colors. They have also started to pill somewhat, but since they work twice as hard at the Tredsteps (at least), I'm not too concerned.

sadly no fantastic in action shots yet

Bachelor #3: Smartpak Equine Piper Knee Patch Breeches in ALL THE COLORS

List price: $79.95
What I paid: ~$64

I'm the queen of the 20% off sale. What can I say? Even with cheap breeches, I can't stomach full price.

I have reviewed the Piper breeches before. I kind of liked them. After I wrote the initial review, I liked them less because I was working in a barn and the pipers definitely have a crotch sag issue (no bueno) and they wore out pretty fast.

old pipers in action

But hey! That was almost two years ago.

So here's the updated review.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors. Who doesn't? Fun colors, good price point. My objection to the old fasteners is gone--they covered the painful metal things with fabric and it's all good there.

The Pipers hit every single one of my must have list in breeches--the rise actually works for my long-waisted self, the sock bottoms are spot on, etc.

So what's not to like?

another old piper shot.

Well, the crotch sag is still a thing. It doesn't matter when I'm riding because obviously there's a whole horse+saddle to hold them up. Since my habits no longer include long working barn days, I'm not really concerned about it. And yeah, they'll wear out eventually, but again, riding one horse means that I'm not putting a ton of wear on them.

I will also say that while this fabric is fantastic for the first few hours, it does sort of stretch out and look less flattering after a while on long days. It snaps back when you wash it, but if you're an industry pro, I wouldn't choose these breeches.

As a one horse adult ammy, I pretty much love them.

also not buying more of these

As a size 34, I don't expect breeches to make me look like a 24. I just want them not to make it worse. Maybe someday I'll cave and buy really, truly expensive breeches. Until then, I remain the budget breeches queen and I am not ashamed.

So there you have it. Three kinds of breeches under $100 each. It can be done.