St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-09
"rHE BLoo,ir.,l COSTUME
Amelia Boomer says Elizabeth
Cady stanton First Wore and
IntrOtl uced IL

Amelia Boomer says Elizabeth
Cady stanton First Wore and
Introduced Ii.
The following letter from Mrs. Amelia
Bloomer, whose name became world
famous years ago In connection with
what was known as the "Bloomer cos
tune" Is printed in the January La
dies Home Journal, and has keen de-
gree of interest in that the Mrs. Bloomer
denies the credit of Introducing the cos
tune in America. This letter, recently
written, is now produced in print for
tho first time:
COUNCIL BLUFFS, lo.-My Dear Sir:
l hardly know how to write about the
costume" associated with my name.
But was not its Inventor or originator
as is so generally believed.
In March. 1851, Elizabeth Smith Miller.
daughter of Hon. Gerritt Smith, of
Peterboro', n. Y. visited her cousin,
Elizabeth Caudy Stanton, at Seneca
Falls, N. T., which was then my home
and where | was publishing The Lily,
and where Mrs. Stanton also resided.
Mrs. Miller came to us in "a short skirt
and full Turkish trouSers.a style ofdress
she had been wearing some two months,
The matter of wOman'S dress having
! been just previously discussed in The
Lily, Mrs. Miller's appearance led Mrs.
Stanton to at once adopt the style. and
i very soon followed, Mrs. Stanton in
Producing it tu the Seneca Falls public
two or three days i'm advance of me. In
the next number of my paper following
my adoption of the dress april, 1851,
| wrote an article announcing to my
readers that had donned the style to
which their attention had been called
in previous numbers.
The New York Tribune noticed my
article, and made it known to its thou
sands of readers that l had dOnned
short skirt aud trousers. and from this
it went from paper TO paper throughout
this country and countries abroad. L
found myself noticed and pictured in
many papers at home and abroad. |
was praised and censured, glOrified and
ridieuled, until l stood in amaZement
at the furore | had raised by my pen
while sitting quietly in my little Office
at home attending To my duties.
Suffice it that it was the press at large
that got up all the excitement and that
named the dress. l never called 1t the
"BIoomer costume" With me it was
always the short dress and trousers. 1t
consisted of skirt shortened to few
inches below the knees, and the sub
StitutIon of trousers made of the same
material as the dress. In other respects
thetdrgSS was the same as worn by all
women. At the outset the trousers we're
full and baggy, but we Improved upon
them by making them narrower and
gathered at the ankle, and finally by
making entirely plain and straight, fall
ing to the shoe like the trousers of men.
TO some extent, think. the style was
adopted abroad. but not largely, or. for
{ that matter. at home. There were in
dlviduals here and there who gladly
threw off the burden OF heavy skirts
and adopted the short ones, but soon
both press and people turned upon it
their Iidicule and eensure, and women
had not the strength of principle to
withstand the criticism, and so re-
turned to their dragging skirts.
For myself l wore the short dress
and no others, at home and everywhere,
for six or seven years, long after Mrs.
Stanton, Lucy Stone and others had
abandoned it. Lucy Stone wore the
dress several years. Travelled and lee
tured in It, and was married in it, |
think. None of US ever lectured on the
dress question,or in any way introduced
it into our lectures. We only wore it
because we found it comfortable, con-
venient, safe and tidy-with no thought
of introducing fashion, but with the
wish that every woman would throw
off the burden of clothes that was drag
ging her life out.
This dress question has been of Sec
ondary Importance with me. and it is
not for that l wish to be remembered.
As you will see from what have writ
ten above, wrong Impression prevails
in regard to my part i'll that matter. l
was not its originator. | adopted the
style and made it known to the public.
The press did the rest.
am not lecturing at all these last
few years. A throat difficulty and my
seventy years of age have compelled me
to retire from active participation in
works for the advancement OF women.
Respectfully yours,
AMELIA BLooMER.