Legendary Trendsetter
Amelia Bloomer
The daughter of Dr.Hanson, of this city, appeared in the bloomer suit at a convention last week. It was scandalous.
The Sacramento Bee, California, May 26, 1861
Amelia Jenks Bloomer was a newspaper editor, public speaker, and a proponent of women’s rights and other social reform. She did not design the then-daring outfit that carries her name – a short dress that reaches below the knees with frilled Turkish-style trousers gathered in ruffles at the ankles. She did promote the costume, wore it herself, and watched it become a symbol of the fledgling women’s movement.
Journalists in San Francisco were fascinated with the look. One reporter described the outfit he noticed on an attractive woman as a “green merino fitted over garment complete with loose, flowing trousers of pink satin, fastened at the ankle.” His story included news that a dress shop owner on Clay Street not only had the bloomers on display in her window but was wearing them herself.
In yet another sighting, the city was taken quite by surprise yesterday afternoon by observing a woman in company with her male companion, crossing the lower side of the Plaza dressed in a style a little beyond the Bloomer. She was magnificently arrayed in a black, satin skirt very short, with flowing red satin trousers, a splendid yellow crepe shawl and a silk turban a la Turque. She really looked magnificent and was followed by a large retinue of men and boys, who appeared to be highly pleased with the style.
Daily Alta California, September 1853
Read more about the fashions of the Old West and legendary trendsetters in How the West Was Worn: Buckskins on the Wild Frontier.
