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bloomers
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Woman wearing bloomers, lithograph on a music cover by P.S. Duval, c. 1850; in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. bloomers 19th-century apparel
When did women started wearing pants in the United States?
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Woman wearing bloomers, lithograph on a music cover by P.S. Duval, c. 1850; in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Woman wearing bloomers, lithograph on a music cover by P.S. Duval, c. 1850; in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

bloomers

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Key People:
Amelia Bloomer
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trousers
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bloomers, “rational dress” for women advocated by Amelia Jenks Bloomer in the early 1850s. The entire costume, called the “Bloomer costume” or simply “bloomers,” consisted of a short jacket, a skirt extending below the knee, and loose “Turkish” trousers, gathered at the ankles.

The innovation stirred much controversy and eventually fell out of fashion. The name survived, however, to be used for Turkish-style pantaloons, divided skirts, knickerbockers that women wore while riding bicycles in the cycling craze of the 1890s, and women’s loose, baggy underwear.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Alison Eldridge.
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