The Forgotten History of Bloomers

Today we tend to think of bloomers as frilly, ultra-feminine undergarments, but did you know the term "bloomers" actually refers to a clothing garment, not underwear, and they were, in fact, a feminist revolution?

Prior to the 20th century, women's clothing was intense! It involved corsets, caging, multiple layers of heavy fabric, underskirts, overskirts, etc. Needless to say, this didn't allow for a wide range of movement, and a slow walk was about as much activity as a woman could hope for. In the mid-19th century, a medical journal noted that current women's fashion was detrimental to their health, and so readers began searching for alternative fashions that did not involve such heavy, constricting garments. Some women adopted lighter, shorter skirts, but some women went so far as to start wearing pants, loose around the thighs and gathered at the ankle (sometimes accompanied by a short skirt). Among the first women to begin wearing this new style of clothing was a women's rights activist named Amelia Bloomer, and thus, bloomers were born.

Bloomers became a symbol of the women's rights movement. Not only did they allow women to participate in activities that had been previously off limits, this new, more streamlined silhouette created safer work environments for female factory workers. When the bicycle craze of the late 19th century hit, bloomers became the standard uniform for women bicyclists. As women's athleticism grew, female baseball teams began to pop up across America. Known as "Bloomer Girls", these teams of female players would travel the country and play against local men's teams. And they won. A lot.

As women's fashion continued to change and shorter skirts and shorts became more acceptable, bloomers fell out of fashion. But they played an enormously important role in the history of women's rights!  So rock those bloomers and pay homage to those women that pioneered them!