Sporting Women, What to Wear?

          The cycling craze of the 1880s provided women with independence that was unfamiliar to them.  Once women were able to ride about town unchaperoned and accountable to no one but themselves, they also began experiencing freedom in the way they dressed.  Although this freedom of dress did not begin with the cycling craze of the 1880s, the cycling craze certainly helped to propel dress reform into its next phase of acceptance.

As women’s sports and leisure activities attracted new participants, new items of clothing were necessary.  In the 1860s, the bloomer costume—consisting of calf-length skirt, harem pants (bloomers), and bodice—was popular with young girls participating in sports at private female academies.  The need for an outfit that would allow for the physical activity required by the new sports activities, combined with the private setting of an all girls environment, allowed this otherwise frowned upon fashion to take hold.

The bloomer costume provided inspiration for the cycling costume that was advertised with the advent of the safety bicycle in the late 19th century.  The costume consisted of the same bloomers and top, but the bodice was generally more stylish and fashionably fitting rather than the looser top featured in the gym suits of female academies.  Even though the costume allowed the wearer more freedom of movement, virtually every inch of the body was still covered.

Although many women chose not to adopt the new fashions, these alternative clothing options had a continuing effect on women’s clothing.  The late 19th century saw an increase in the variety of garments available to women participating in new leisure activities.  From bloomer costumes for bicycle riding to skirts and shirtwaists for tennis and golf, these garments all enabled women to enjoy the sports that were gaining popularity.  Women’s sports clothes are included in the Connecticut Historical Society’s extensive costume collection; representations of sporting women can be found in the photographs, prints, and broadsides; and the issue of women and leisure time is featured in CHS’s new exhibit, Making Connecticut.