The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-08-04
THE BIRTHDAY OF BOOMERS.
1t Was July rs, but 1t Was Not Very Gem
orally Celebrated This Year.
(From the Philadelphia Times.)

(From the Philadelphia Times.)
Today is one which all the fair cyclists
of the civilized globe should join with
one acclaim to flttingly celebrate; for on
this day forty-six years ago the bloomer,
in all its glory, first blossomed forth upon
a cold and non-receptive world. The au-
thor of this then startling innovation,
Mrs. Amelia Bloomer, was lady of I'M
doubted social position and intelligence,
and her name has achieved an undying
fame from it's association with the bifur-
Gated costume. At the time of the open
ing of her crusade she was engaged in
editing temperance journal, the Lily,
and the columns of this organ were cease
lessly employed in promulgating her de
cidedly radical ideas of dress reform.
AT this day, when the bloomer may be
fairly acknowledged to have attained q
recognized position in the feminine ward
robe, it is usually relegated to athletic
pursuits; but in the mind of it's origina-
tor far less restricted and more general
adoption was contemplated. 1t was, in
fact, to take the place. on every occasion,
of the more cumbersome and unmanage-
able skirt, which at this time, indeed,
was increasing in size to such an extent
that, in the language of contemporary
English writer, the men were "begin-
ming to ask what proportion of the geo.
graphical area the ladies meant to occu-
py." Her own first appearance in the
new costume was at ball given at the
house of one of the leaders of society in
the town in which she lived, and, as may
be easily imagined, she was the centre
of attraction during the entire evening.
1t is interesting to note Mrs. Boomers
idea of the costume as she intended it to
be. as contained in an article in the Lily.
She says:
1--WE would have skirt reaching down
to nearly half way between the knee and
thu ankle, and not made quite SO full as
is the present fashion. Underneath this
skirt trousers moderately full, in fair
not instep, and there gathered in with an
elastic band. For winter or wet weather,
the trousers also full, but coming down
into boot, which should rise some three
or four inches above the ankle. This
boot should be gracefully sloped at the
upper edge and trimmed with fur or fam
cifully embroidered, according to the
taste of the wearer. The material might
be cloth, morocco, mooseskin and SO
forth, and made waterproof if desirable :"
The idea was quite generally taken up
and discussed at the time by the press of
the country, the consensus of opinion
being that it was elegant, convenient and
T! in no way open to the charge of indelf
cacy. But few women could be found
| +. 90 Ant 70
openly. adopt it, and it speedy became a
practically dead issue. 1t remained for
the introduction Of the bicycle to induce
the latter-day maid to reco gnize its
utility and accord it place among her
articles of apparel. Mrs. Bloomer her
self chung to the costume tenaciously un-
til the day Of her death, but as she lived
very quietly, her personal following in
| this respect was not large.
But if society at large declined to lay
aside its founces, trains and furbelows,
there were others who were by no means
loath to grasp at the ease and convenience
offered by the new mode of dress. 1t
may not be generally known to the pres
emit generation, but is nevertheless an &C.
the city of Philadelphia there is COM
munity large proportion of the female
population Of which at one time wore
regularly the rational garb.
| When in 1861 Charles K. Lands laid
out and opened for settlement the town
of Vineland, N. j., the inducements
offered by him to intending purchasers of
land early attracted large influx of very
mixed elements. The railroad advan-
tages of the new town and the extraordi
nary productiyeness of the surrounding
country brought hundreds of adventures
and members of peculiar and fantastic
sects and creeds, often in the face of open
Encouragement from the proprietor to
their immigration. Spiritualists, Free
Thinkers, Friends, liberals and even
skeptics and atheists, who professed no
faith at all, found the atmosphere congo
NAL to their ideas, and of such were its
first colonists largely composed. Among
them were the Boomers f" in faith spir-
itualistic and all firm adherents of the
trousers cult.
And, indeed, no better garb could prob
ably have been devised, considering the
manners and customs of the wearers. AL
were agriculturists, and men and women
alike labored in the fields, SO that at a
little distance it was matter of some
| difficulty to distinguish the sex of the
| toiler. The dress of the women con-
sisted of a sort of blouse, coming in some
instances just above the knee, In others
a little below it. Beneath this the newt
able trousers, reaching half way to the
|
wooden Logging, covering the upper part
of the shoe This costume was generally
of some light cloth, usually of faded
reddish color, the whole surmounted by a
broad brimmed SLOUGH hat, such as the
Dunkards are accustomed to wear. Some
times in summer linen would be substi
tuted for the more weighty CLOTH but
the style invariably remained the same.
Shortly after their arrival in the towr
all the different eclectic" sects united
into society, known as the Friends o.
Progress, the idea being that, as lega
corporation, they might erect and main
tain a common hall to be used for the fret
and liberal discussion of religious ant
semi religious topics. At one time there
were between twenty and thirty "bloom
err families in and about Vineland; bu
as generation succeeded generation tn
number decreased, until at the presen
time but two representatives of the sec
/ remain one living on the outskirts Q