The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-08-12
THE BIRTHDAY OF BLOOMERS.

clists of the civilized globe should join
with one acclaim to fttingly 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 author of this then start
ling innovation, Mrs. Amelia Bloomer,
was lady of undoubted social posi-
ton and intelligence, and her name has
achieved an undying fame from its as
ISOLATION with the bifurcated costume.
At the time of the opening of her cru
SADIE she was engaged in editing tenn
perance journal, the Lily, and the col
umns OF this organ were ceaselessly
employed in promulgating her decided
ly radical ideas Of dress reform.
At this day, when the bloomer may
be fairly acknowledged to have at
tanned a recognized position in the fem
mime wardrobe, it is usually relegated
to athletic pursuits; but in the mind of
its originator far less restricted and
more general adoption was contempla-
ted. 1t was, in fact, to take the place,
on every occasion, of the more cumber-
some and unmanageable skirt, which
at that time, indeed, was increasing In
size to such an extent that, in the Ian
guage of contemporary English wri-
ter, the men were beginning to ask
what proportion Of the geographical
area the ladies meant to occupy"
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
center of attraction during the entire
evening. IT is interesting to note Mrs.
Boomers idea of the costume as she
intended it to be, as contained in an ar
ticle in the Lily. She says:
We would have a skirt reaching
down to nearly half way between the
knee and the ankle, and not made
quite so full as is the present fashion.
Underneath this skirt trousers mode
rately full in fair, mild weather com
ing down to the ankle not instep. and
there gathered in with an elastic band.
For winter or wet weather, the trous-
ers also full, but coming down into a
boot, which should rise some three or
four inches above the ankle This boot
should be gracefully sloped at the up
per edge and trimmed with fur or fan
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 con-
venient and in no way open to the
charge of indelicacy. But few women
could be found, however, of sufficient
moral courage to openly adopt 1t, and
1t speedily became practically dead
issue 1t remained for the introduction
of the bicycle to induce the latter-day
maid to recognize its utility and accord
1t place among her articles fof appar-
ell. Mrs. Blocmer herself chung to the
costume tenaciously until 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 fiounces, 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 present generation, but is never
theless an actual fact that within thir-
ty-five miles of the city of Philadelphia
there is a community a large proper
ton of the female population Of which
at one time wore regularly the ration
al garb.
When in 1851 Charles X. Lands laid
out and opened for settlement the town
re tha n IF
fered by him to intending purchasers Of
land early attracted a large influx of
very mixed elements The railroad ad-
vantages of the new town and the ex-
traordinary productiveness of the sur
rounding country brought hundreds Of
adventures and members of peculiar
and fantastic sects and creeds, often in
the face of open disbursement from
the proprietor to their immigration
Spiritualists, Free Thinkers, Friends,
liberals" and even skeptics and athe-
lists, who professed no faith at ALL
found the atmosphere congenial to
their ideas, and of such were its first
colonists largely composed. Among
them were the "Bloomers," in faith
spritualistic and all firm adherents of
the trouser cult.
And, indeed, no better garb could
probably have been devised, consider
ing the manners and costumes of the
wearers. All were agriculturists, and
men and women alike labored in the
fields, so that at a little distance it was
matter of some difficulty to distin-
guish the sex of the toiler. The dress
of the women consisted of sort Of
blouse, coming in some instances just
above the knee in others little below
it. Beneath this the inevitable trous-
ers, reaching half way to the ankle,
where they were met by sort of wool
en- 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.
Sometimes in summer linen would be
substituted for the more weighty cloth,
but the style invariably remained the
same.
Shortly after their arrival in the
town all the different eclectic" sects
united into society known as the
Friends of Progress, the idea being
that, as legal corporation, they might
erect and maintain common hall TO
be used for the free and liberal discus
sion of religious and semi-religious top