She Wears the Pants: The Reform Dress as Technology in Nineteenth-Century America

Abstract

This article examines the American dress-reform movement, detailing the ways in which reformers conceptualized clothing as a social and bodily technology. In the mid-nineteenth century, women began making and wearing the "reform dress"-a costume consisting of pants and shortened, lightweight skirts-as an alternative to burdensome feminine fashions. When ridiculed in public for wearing overtly masculine garments, dress reformers insisted their clothing was healthful, functional, and natural. This article discusses women's use of medical science and technical knowledge in their rejection of fashion, promotion of sexual equality, and efforts to change mainstream clothing practices. When approached from a technological perspective, the reform dress reveals broader tensions in an industrializing American society, such as changing gender relations and new understandings of the relationship between humans and technology.

Progressive in the West, backward in the East: Shalwar’s trials with modernity

“…In the United States, shalwar presented a possibility for women's liberation and a healthy, natural, and functional alternative to heavy dresses and corsets, but was ridiculed as masculine (Mas, 2017). The 'Turkish pantaloons' were advocated by women's rights and health advocates during the dress reform movement in the 19th century and recognized for their key role in the gradual normalization of trousers as women's wear (Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.).…”

“…First, these findings overturn the idea of Western fashion as a sign of liberation. From harassing and jailing women in the US and western Europe for wearing shalwar, to corsets that never went away (Steele, 2001), to the extreme sexualization of the female body, the oppressive nature of Western beauty ideals is well documented (Bordo, 2003; Mas, 2017). Meanwhile, their counterparts in Bulgaria and Turkey continue to suffer in similar ways, because the Western gaze dictates a homogeneous nation based on Western hegemonic notions of gender and fashion, directed by patriarchy, capitalism, and consumerism.…”

Deciphering Working Girl: Identity, Post-Feminism, and Power Dressing

“…The American dress reform movement of the mid-nineteenth century prioritized health and freedom of movement in its attempts to reform women's fashion. 43 The movement fought against the restrictive corsets and several layers of fabric that were typical of women's dress of the period, and instead championed an androgynous costume of wide bloomers, loose tunics, and, eventually, masculine straight-leg pants. 44 The dress reform movement displays an early tendency on the part of feminists to associate changes in personal dress with political reform that persisted through the second wave and beyond.…”

“…43 The movement fought against the restrictive corsets and several layers of fabric that were typical of women's dress of the period, and instead championed an androgynous costume of wide bloomers, loose tunics, and, eventually, masculine straight-leg pants. 44 The dress reform movement displays an early tendency on the part of feminists to associate changes in personal dress with political reform that persisted through the second wave and beyond. Additionally, the easy, androgynous costume favored by the dress reform movement almost seems to predict the power suits of the next century, with both costumes' generous cuts and androgynously reinforced shoulders.…”