PART ONE
Pants, bloomers, slacks, bell-bottoms, drainpipes, breeches, pantaloons, Flares – to name but a few.
When I found this photograph of my Nanny and her friends wearing trousers, apart from being blown away by how stunning they look in a photo taken off guard, it got me thinking about how many generations of women before them would have had the freedom to wear the same. The photos would have been taken in around 1947-1950, still a time when women wearing trousers was a rarity.
I can remember the look of horror on my Nan’s face when I turned up to her house wearing ripped jeans. She told me that her mum had a similar reaction to her wearing a pair of ‘slacks’. Fashion is a reflection of the times we live in and that’s what I love about it. You can always learn a little about a period of time by what people were wearing or fighting for freedom to wear.
For someone who had weekly fashion history lessons for 3 years at Uni, I know very little about the history of women wearing trousers. I don’t know why this wasn’t one of the topics of discussion because it’s fascinating. It feels so alien to me because I live in a time where no one bats an eyelid at a woman in trousers. I recently watched the BBC documentary, ‘Coco Chanel Unbuttoned’, in which she is labelled as a fashion pioneer, for many things, one of them being bringing the relaxed silhouette for women into the forefront. I think we have a lot to thank her for, we’re able to be comfortable and glamourous in trousers, no judgement. (I’m writing this wearing old joggers with a bleach stain on the knee hoping no one knocks on the door, because they would judge me, no doubt about that. Comfortable but definitely not glamourous.)
As I delved a little deeper into the subject, I quickly discovered a woman named Amelia Bloomer. She was an American newspaper editor for The Lily, the first newspaper run by women for women, in the mid-1800’s. With the support of her husband, she wrote about and was an activist for women’s rights – part of this activism was ‘freedom dressing’. Allowing women to wear more comfortable clothing so they were able to take part in activities such as horse riding. Their complaint wasn’t to be taken lightly, the tight corsets of the 19th century fashion would give women breathing impairments, they were overheating until they passed out. Their restrictive attire even broke ribs and crushed organs. They could barely exist let alone enjoy any pursuits that men could freely take part in.
During her time as editor of The Lily, Amelia and a fellow suffragette neighbour were visited by a woman wearing ‘Turkish Trousers’, a style commonly worn by women in the Middle East. The sight of this garment really struck a chord with the suffragettes, the Turkish trousers were already an option for women in other countries, all they needed to do was make it available for the women of America. Amelia took it upon herself to promote the wear of these ‘Pantaloons’. She used her newspaper to spread the word about this comfortable garment, even printing instructions on how women could make them at home to encourage and make them more accessible. It has been documented that during this time women had been arrested for wearing trousers, so with the outrage spreading faster than the fight for ‘freedom dressing’ could, it didn’t become a trend for the mainstream and remained a symbol for women’s rights and the suffragette movement instead.
(Picture shows a depiction of Amelia Bloomer wearing the famous “bloomer” costume which was named after her. Taken from Wikipedia )
Whilst Amelia didn’t design or invent the Turkish trousers, they were famously known as ‘Bloomers’ and associated with Amelia Bloomer for years to come. Trousers worn by women have made appearances over the years in Western culture, however nothing was prominent for the next century. Which is where Coco Chanel’s up rise really slaps us in the face and changes the way we dress – and we’ve never looked back. Chanel was all about freedom. Freedom in choosing to live and love the way she wanted, wearing what she felt good in whilst being able to move her body and be comfortable. She found a way to make masculine garments stylish and elegant without losing her femininity. (The photo of Coco Chanel in her signature style, taken from a brilliant article by CNN. Well worth a read…click here.)
Whilst watching the documentary and reading articles online, I was reminded of more recent news-worthy stories regarding women in trousers. In 2013, the women of France finally overturned a 200 year old law banning women from wearing trousers. Yes, they had to fight for this law to be revoked! In 2013! Obviously no one was policing this and the women of France have been wearing trousers without fear of prosecution but that’s hardly the point. I read a BBC News article that stated “according to the law, women needed to have the permission of local police if they wanted to ‘dress like a man’ and wear trousers.” The law was intended to prevent women from pursuing certain jobs. The BBC article goes on to say “It was modified in 1892 and 1909 to allow women to wear trousers if they were “holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of a horse”. Are you picturing a woman holding just handle bars and no bike and her friend with reins and no horse or is that just me? During the French Revolution, Parisian women had requested the right to wear trousers and working-class revolutionaries became known as “sans-culottes” for wearing trousers instead of the silk-knee breeches preferred by the bourgeoisie.”
Women are still fighting to change archaic rules that exist in our current world. Sports women fighting to change knickers for shorts during a volleyball match, asking for more fabric to make them feel comfortable. The women visiting the Henley Royal Regatta were only granted permission to wear trouser suits in 2021. It bizarre to think anyone is denied an item of clothing, especially when what they are really asking for is comfort and freedom.
Part 2 of this blog post – Who Wears The Trousers – is all about the trousers I have made, inspired by the photo of my Nan and her friend. Check out the final result on my Instagram @charlottewalker_sews
I have taken ENORMOUS pleasure in creating a playlist for this post. Freedom, girl power and expressing yourself all gathered into one place!