A Rider’s Closet: At Home With Amelia Diamond

Whether inside the competition ring or out on the town, every rider wants to feel good in the clothes she wears. The former Head of Creative of the cult-following blog, "Man Repeller," Amelia Diamond is now using her well-tuned voice to consult and write her own book. Amelia, an inquisitive writer and horse lover, invited us into her New York City apartment to share her favorite family mementos and how traditional equestrian attire has seamlessly influenced her style.

“My personal style is influenced — maybe even subconsciously or through osmosis — by my riding background. Something I really liked about showing was the traditional attire. There’s something very tidy and satisfying about it. I’ve always been drawn to that classic, tailored, put-together element of equestrian style.

I like things that feel special or unique. I’m not very brave with my style and don’t take a lot of risks, so I think I try to do that in small ways when I can, like with my red cowboy boots. They are probably the loudest things that I wear on the regular.

I’m better at dressing myself than I am at decorating my apartment. This apartment is probably my best attempt so far, and of course, now I’m moving out. The steeplechase prints hanging around were passed down to me from my grandmother. Though my grandparents have all unfortunately passed, I have collected mementos from them, which are really special to me.

My mom has an incredible eye — like she’ll find a discarded door on the sidewalk and bring it home just in case there’s something cool she can do with it — and has helped me find cool things for my apartment. I like things that have a story and are found. It makes it feel more special. I like stuff — I like things to be really tidy, but I don’t like a lot of blank space.

Map
My boyfriend, Spencer, drew this map of all the hunts that used to run through Manhattan when there was still a ton of farmland. I believe he found maps of individual hunts, then combined them into one map. (He just graduated from the Florence Academy of Art. His main focus is painting, but he made this for me as a Christmas present!)

Breeches
I’m super loyal to Tailored Sportsman for breeches. I like them stiff, high-waisted, old-school. I’m really aware of the fact that there are more cool, technical, and sporty pairs to try. I want to try the ones that have all the grippies all the way up, but I haven’t yet. I have a pair of Ariat pants that I wear for schooling that are more stretchy. When I was riding in the winter, I wore black Free x Rein breeches underneath chaps to stay warm, then would keep them on to run errands around the city after. They’re subtle enough that they can almost pass for non-riding pants, but I don’t really mind wearing riding clothes outside of the barn, either.

Belts
My favorite belts are by C.S. Simko, who’s a friend of mine. We met because I saw Sarah Ryan wearing one of his belts and I was like, “I need that.” I fell in love with its clean, classic design. I commented on her Instagram to ask where she got it, and from there Simko and I got in touch.

I have always had a thing for belts. Maybe it’s because they’re sort of like stirrup leathers. I love [C.S. Simko] because you can wear them with jeans or breeches or over a blazer, or to belt a winter coat. They work with everything. My friend Jessie started a belt company called Blake Goods; they’re really nice looking, too. I just got a black one from her with a silver ring and it has been a missing link in my closet.

Shirts
My boyfriend got me into those EIS sun shirts because when we first started dating, he bought me a black one for my birthday. (His sister’s a rider.) I wear them to ride, with workout leggings and sneakers around the city, or anything remotely athletic that takes place in the sun. Then on the runway, I think two seasons ago, a few shows layered half-zips under jackets and blazers and I loved the look. I realized I could recreate a similar style with the sun shirts. As an added bonus, especially for layering under blazers, they have vents along the underarms seams, so it’s less hot.

Ever wonder what Jessica Springsteen’s closet looks like?

Helmet
I used to have a GPA — I still have it somewhere — with the titanium strip and Swarovski crystals down the middle. I did it myself when it was super trendy. But I wear a Charles Owen now. When I started showing again after college, I needed new everything. I liked the look of the Charles Owen to the more technical helmets. I always feel dorky in show settings now because I know I’m not wearing the cool stuff, but also, who cares? One big problem with helmets: my hair barely fits under it. I just got it cut, but before it was super long, which meant I was constantly fighting with my hairnet and the ponytail bangs.

Boots
They’re Ariat. I went through a phase where I preferred to ride in tall boots as opposed to half-chaps and paddock boots. But I’m trying to stop that habit now because I’m really ruining them. I have the brown Ariat boots I’ll wear occasionally with skinny jeans and a white button down shirt outside of the horse world. I try to be thoughtful about context so that I don’t look too literal — the boots have a place and time — but sometimes they make an outfit.

Gloves
I wear the brown and cream gloves by SSG. I wear those in the summer because they breathe and I think they look nice. They’re a little bit thicker and I ride with pretty thick reins, so they’re helpful when I’m jumping. I have lots and lots of black, no-name riding gloves. I’ll find them in a pocket or in my sock drawer and just start wearing that pair. I don’t have very fancy leather riding gloves.

Chaps
When I was in middle school and working at a summer horse camp, I used to wear shorts with paddock boots, then put chaps on over the shorts to ride. My memory is that a bunch of us did that. I have no idea how because I feel like that would be so uncomfortable. There was one trainer who everyone emulated — she used to wear chaps, and I think that’s where it all started.

I’ve been volunteering at a therapeutic horsemanship program, schooling some of the ponies and horses. (The program is called Gallop NYC, check it out!) Because it was so cold this winter, I wore chaps over my breeches to keep me warm and forgot how much I liked riding in them. I actually forget I’m wearing them, so I have to actively remind myself to not wear them on the subway, even though I’m sure no one would blink.

Jewelry
What I’m wearing now is my pretty standard lineup. This necklace is from my Grandma. When she gave it to me, I just never took it off.

This is a horse cameo carved into glass. My friend Eliza’s mom, Brinker, made this. She and Eliza have a contemporary jewelry line called Brinker & Eliza and I wear their stuff a lot.

I have this bee by Alex Monroe. I love it. I like how it has these creepy little legs. It makes it less precious.

I have two signet rings that I wear, one on each pinkie. I don’t know what happened, but one of my pinkies shrunk, so I have to be careful the ring doesn’t fall off.

The bottom and the third hole earrings are Gag & Lou. I can’t remember the middle one, which kills me because I want to replace it and can’t figure out the brand! Fun fact about this piercing: I accidentally re-pierced it during fashion week a year ago.

Beauty
L'Oréal Paris makes my favorite mascara, Double Extend Beauty Tubes. I like it because it makes my eyelashes look really long, but my favorite part is that you take the mascara off by getting it wet, then pulling the tubes off — it’s so addicting.”

Read this next: A Rider’s Closet: At Home With Jordan Allen

Photography by Lucy Cuneo for NoelleFloyd.com