Today In Wyoming's History: August 9: 1895 According to my Wyoming History Calendar, "New Woman" appeared on the streets of Thermopolis wearing "bifurcated skirts". Bifurcated skirts were suitable for riding, and seem to have made their appearance about this time. I'm not really sure from this entry, however, if a Thermopolis newspaper was noting the arrival of the "New Woman" as a type in Thermopolis, or if they were actually noting a singular new woman. Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.
For whatever reason, women seem to have been plagued for much of history with impractical clothing to some degree. Because of that, there's always also been a counter trend trying to address it, or in some instances women have just resorted to men's clothing. This item addresses skirts, which were closely associated, in this instance, with riding styles. That is, a bifurcated skirt was suitable for riding a man's saddle.
Post World War One, it seems, women's clothing has evolved, generally, towards being more practical, and today it's generally equally practical as men's, if there's any difference at all. On the flipside, as fewer and fewer men have had job's requiring practical clothing, men's clothing has evolved into being more "fashion" than at least in other recent eras.
No comments:
Post a Comment