Bikin' Bloomer Clothing

A kind reader over at the Chronicle, where my most recent story was about the bicycle-fueled rise of bloomers, said he would like to see some examples. Here they are! All from 1895 or thereabouts at the height of the biking craze.

Note how radically bloomers depart from the costume of the day. Biking helped women get rid of the corset and big, heavy layers of skirts and petticoats and led to the "Reform Dress Movement," which upheld sensible, more rational clothing for women. It was bloomers that started it all!

Susan B. Anthony herself said that the bike was the single most important factor leading to improvement in women's rights.

(Click on an image for a large version).