Jeannie Andrew was the eldest daughter of seven siblings. An experienced tailoress, she made this riding habit for her younger sister Elizabeth Hall before she left New Zealand and moved to the United States of America with her husband in 1889.

As well as a jacket and full skirt, there are two pieces to cover the legs from knee to ankle, as would be expected by Victorian ideas of modesty. The habit is made of heavy black worsted wool and is lined with brown cotton twill. The fitted jacket is shaped with bone at the back and the skirt has a curved back seam because women rode side-saddle in the early 1880s, rather than astride.

Elizabeth spent most of her married life in Whanganui. Her daughter Isobel Symons donated this rare garment to the museum in 1982.

Riding habit, late 1880s
Made by Jeannie Andrew (1865-1955)
Made from worsted wool and cotton twill
Donated by Isobel Symons, daughter of Elizabeth Symons,1982
WRM 1982.18
Photographed by Kathy Greensides

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