Today, few know what the word bloomers means. However, once the appearance of this thing helped the fact that today women wear trousers on a par with men.
Today, trying on different models of trousers, the fair sex does not often think about times when it was decent for a lady to wear only a long dress or skirt. Of course, for oriental culture, various types of trousers and other pants have historically been part of the women's wardrobe. Western tradition, however, has developed so that for a long time, various semblance of trousers for women (in particular, trousers) were exclusively an element of underwear, which was not intended for demonstration in society.
One of the most significant events in the process of the formation of trousers as a full-fledged element of the wardrobe of a Western woman was the appearance of the so-called Bloomers. These wide trousers, such as bloomers, were named after the social activist Amelia Blumer, who allegedly invented them and propagandized them in every possible way. But actually it was a bit wrong ...
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Speech of a suffragist who changed the history of fashion
Amelia Blumer in a revolutionary outfit
Amelia Jenks Bloomer was an American public figure, suffragist (member of the women's rights movement), and a journalist. She is called one of the founders of feminism. Amelia organized and led women's society, published the newspaper for women "The Lily", which discussed topics that were important to readers, and actively participated in various conferences and other events, promoting her views. One of these performances became significant for the history of fashion.
In addition to the struggle for selective and other rights of women, Bloomer defended the opportunity for women to dress not as prescribed by the rules, but in the way they feel comfortable and comfortable. Turning from words to deeds, to deliver her speech at the 1851 World Industrial Exhibition in London, Amelia came out in a shocking outfit. It was wide and - oh, horror! - a very short skirt for those times, from under which one could see wide trousers gathered on the ankles!
The publication in the English newspaper Family Herald, telling about the appearance of the Bloomers in England (1851), images copied by a newspaper from the American edition of Sartain's Magazine
The event where Bloomer performed was popular and covered in the press, so the appearance of a suffragette in an incredible outfit on it became a sensation. They reacted differently to this. Many were outraged. The Bloomers - the pants were christened by the name of Amelia - were condemned and ridiculed. But there were those who supported the courage of Bloomer - mostly women. They wrote letters to Amelia with words of support and asked to tell in more detail about the Bloomers and give a pattern to the pants that got scandalous fame.
Today it is Amelia Bloomer who is often called the inventor of the Bloomers, but in reality she was rather their popularizer, and another woman came up with them, Elizabeth Smith.
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"... Averse to a long skirt ..."
Elizabeth Smith Miller and her costume
Elizabeth Smith Miller lived in America around the same years as Amelia Blumer, and with her husband also engaged in the struggle for women's rights and philanthropy. But his appearance, the pants, later called the Bloomers, owed primarily not to Elizabeth's public beliefs, but to her gardening. Digging in the ground and caring for plants in a traditional outfit with a bulky skirt was uncomfortable. Elizabeth, by her own admission, did this "disgusted with a long skirt." For convenience, she came up with an outfit that includes pants. She describes him as "Turkish ankle trousers with a skirt about four inches below the knee." Miller appeared in these clothes, including with her cousin, who was friends with Amelia Blumer: she learned about them from her cousin.
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What happened to the Bloomers next?
"New women's costume"
What was the fate of the Bloomers? They survived the ups and downs. At first, along with scandalous fame, the Bloomers got some popularity. They were worn, of course, first of all by courageous women of advanced views, more often - putting these trousers on the road, for convenience. The condemnation of the Bloomers was also strong, and gradually the fashion for these pants came to naught. But, as it turned out later, in order to be reborn again.
The Bloomers ridiculed numerous caricatures in the press
When at the end of the 19th century a bicycle became popular, including ladies, the Bloomers returned. After all, cycling in a long skirt was not only uncomfortable, but also unsafe. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, bicycles somewhat went out of fashion, along with this, women almost stopped wearing bloomers.
Another caricature about ladies, bloomers and bicycles
In the 1910s, fashion designer Paul Poiret revived pants of a similar cut. Lush, oriental-looking harem pants became a trend - but they were no longer called bloomers, but harem pants, "harem pants", and were worn without a skirt. Then, in the 1920s, Coco Chanel made a contribution to the popularization of women's trousers, redrawing male models to a female figure. But these and subsequent stages of fashion development are more likely not about bloomers, but about what they gave way to. The pants themselves, named after one of the first feminists, are now one of the pages of fashion history, the page is bright and, as we can state today, important.
Photo: freethought-trail.org, sexualhistorytour.com, plymouthuniversitynineteenthcenturystudies.wordpress.com, lisawallerrogers.com
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