I received an email a few months ago from R.J. Classics about doing some reviews for them. They’ve never been much on my radar as they’re traditionally more of a Hunter/Jumper brand in my head. I had tried their sunshirts with the mesh back panels several years ago and enjoyed those quite a lot…but that was the extent of my knowledge on the brand. A quick jont over to their website to look got me a little more excited however.
They do have some dressage things there…4 button coats (while mostly in the older traditional colors we’re all suddenly running away from as fast as we can with the new rules), a handful of full seat breeches options and some nice schooling tops and show shirts. I sent a list of a handful of things I’d be interested in trying and much to my delight R.J. Classics sent me an entire show outfit to wear and review. Not what I was expecting, but very grateful to have them share their products with me. On top of that they sent me 3 different coats in various sizes and 3 different breeches in three different sizes. When all three of those failed to fit, they sent me a 4th pair (I of course returned all of the items that didn’t fit). In all the brands I’ve worked with over the years…I’ve rarely had this level of attention to detail given. I was impressed from the start.
Now the item I’m going to review specifically today is the Melody Mesh Show Coat. I actually had not noticed it initially and had sent in a 3 button version I thought would work, but this one certainly has the more traditional dressage styling and look so it makes sense the dressage rider ended up with it! I was mildly disappointed to acquire another black jacket, because we dressage ladies are now running to all sorts of coat colors than aren’t black or navy now! Purples, teals, pinks, greens, tans and all sorts of gorgeous color coordinating magic is the current trend (and I’ve been wearing a teal coat for years…so early adopter here). And that’s where any negative about this coat starts and ends. Literally the only negative that I can come up with for this coat…hat it’s not pink…or purple…or teal. In fact…this coat is so nice…I’m now re-approaching my show outfits to wear this coat and different colored breeches instead.
First off I want to give a huge shout out to R. J. Classics for their sizing. This coat comes in short, regular and long lengths…in sizes 00 – 16. I mean…their sizing covers ALMOST everyone. It’s very extensive. Also major props to them on the easy care level of this jacket. It came out looking brand new from the washing machine. No wrinkling. No loss of shape. I washed it as the instructions stated and it came out looking exactly as it came new in the bag.
I also want to say…I was super dubious about the mesh fabric. I’ve seen several people with mesh coats…and they look like crap. They drape like crap. They wrinkle and bunch while you’re riding…they aren’t cute. Well…that is 100% not the case of this coat and this mesh is different from those I’d seen before. It has a lot more drape to it rather than being stiff. While extremely lightweight (my friend that was holding it for me between rides noted how it was crazy it was so light…) it drapes more like a traditional coat. I don’t know how (probably the very intelligent placement of the nice Italian jersey front panel). But it is lovely. Lovely. It looks very sharp on. It looks nicer than any of my other show coats on except my VERY heavy weight old school coats (which I will never wear again unless it is 40 degrees outside). If I’d sized down I think it would look even better in the saddle…but I prefer more room and comfort over looking like a super model.
Speaking of fit…I ended up with a 12 long because…well…I’m long. Having the extra length in the sleeves is fantastic for me as the only coat I have that has sleeves long enough was my semi-custom shadbelly. Being able to buy something off the rack that fit well is beyond delightful. The material of the mesh is stretchy enough to accommodate my large arms…and the shoulders are wide enough for me that I don’t look like I’m wearing a coat that is too small. There is also a zipper along with the buttons, so if you do go for a tighter fit, it will keep you looking tidy and not having and gaping from boobs or belly.
Can we also discuss the buttons? Maybe I’ve not been buying the right coats…but lord…when I saw the clever way the buttons were attached with an easy on/off for switching them out…my mind was blown. I’ve never seen that before. It’s genius. For reference, the other brand coats I have without this feature…Goode Rider, Asmar, Grand Prix, Sarm Hippique and Pikeur. I quickly replaced the buttons with some I bought years ago to sew on another show coat…that I never got around to. I love it! What a great way to be able to quickly change those out to add a little more pizazz to your coat (or go all black and not have any drama). Genius. I also like the almost invisible pockets and pocket hardware. Keeps a very clean look.
Of course the most important part of the equation is performance…and I think the following anecdote will tell it all. It was over 100 degrees. Coats were waved. A handful of people wore coats…but regretted it (including my trainer a few rides before me). A few people got heat exhaustion. Many people scratched. Some straight up stopped in the middle of their tests and left. I warmed up wearing just the show shirt, but elected to put this coat on for my Freestyle ride (because I had to try this coat for the review…so sacrifices were made to get this information for you!). I will tell you simply…I noticed not one bit of difference between having the coat on and having the coat off. It was cooking hot either way…but the jacket is SO lightweight and so well vented I not once thought “I’m going to die.” In fact my only concern in my body during in the test was the pain in my foot from spraining it earlier in the morning. We went on to get a 67% on our freestyle (which was put together by noob me…not a professional…so pretty good with fairly poor artistic marks…HA!).
Usually there is something about my show outfit that makes me uncomfortable and brings me out of the moment. Not this day. While I did elect to not wear the coat on the second ride (mainly because everyone thought I was insane and the paramedic didn’t want any more work for the day), I was beyond delighted with how the coat performed…not only in the heat…but just general levels of comfort. It’s truly a piece of sports-wear…not just a jacket. It’s so suited to the job…honestly it’s as comfortable and well performing as ANY of my schooling gear. I’m now a convert to R.J. Classics. I know I’ll wear other jackets again…but this coat has a solid place in my show wardrobe…and I’ll 100% be wearing it the next show and anytime it’s hot (or even a little warm). Honestly…if they made this particular jacket (the 4 button) in some more colors…well…I’d probably never even try another brand of coat again. Honestly I may need to order the three button and see how that works for me in some other color (though my trainer isn’t a fan of 3 button and I would hear from her if I showed up in one). If they make a teal…or pink…or purple…or green…I’m not sure I could say no to acquiring more of them. I think any brand that starts branching out and putting out more interesting colors right now is going to pull in a lot of new customers with our new rule changes. There are some small brands with cheap looking coats that honestly I’m considering buying (even though the quality looks bad) simply because of the colors offered.
The price on this coat is also not painful…and for the quality the price is exceptional vs. other products on the market. At $289 it places it well below many of the other popular coat brands with dressage riders.
While I enjoyed the other two items sent (which I will review soon as well), I was blown away by my experience using this show coat and it my solid favorite in my closet. If you’re looking for a new show coat and black and navy are still your jam…I would 100% recommend this coat with no reservations. If you are content with the 3 button style…they do have basically the exact same coat in 3 button with some other more exciting colors (green, purple, burgundy, lighter blue, brown) so that’s always an option as well. I’m not sure that one has the same easy change button system though. As said before…this coat now has the #1 spot in my show coat closet and I can’t see it being dethroned anytime soon (unless they come out with some new colors…which I will for sure buy). I can’t help but highly recommend it. Super product that solves a big problem of trying to show in the summer and still look professional.