Pueblo chieftain., 1922-02-28
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsK1N

p WASHINGTON. d. c.. Feb. 25.-
knickerbockers for women seem 10 be
here to stay-for a while at least.
Women could not be converted TO
boomers when they were introduced
by intellectual fcmin!sts as reform
in dress back in 1851. But now few
young flappers stroll off the golf
course in knickers and go down Main
street 10 get n soda and tho youth OF
the nation acclairns the new style for
street year.
For half dozen decades there have
been prophets who saw. or thought
they saw. trousers for women on the
daring feminine souls did break away
from tyranny Of hoops and dust trail
Ing skirts to appear in hloomcrs or
even trousers. But the experiments
generally firzlcd out speedily.
There Is an old letter written to
the Lowell Courier by n st. Louis
woman re~ ding four young women
who passed through Missouri on their
way West wearing mems apparel.
Their father and brother accompanied
them and approved % the style.
They were from Philadelphia. and
highly respectable wrote tho corrc-
spondcnt. reporting on this startling
news Item. Their suits on the boat
were fashionable and fine black dress
coats. black pants. buff vests. and
hats Of glossy black. Their hair was
cut short
She also added tina. their conduct on
tho boat was perfectly ladylikc.
This was about tho middle OF the
nineteenth century. when boomers
were rising such n furorc. Short hair
was also being advocated by highbrow
women as being more comfortable and
sensible The idea was that the short
an
tirciy relieve a woman from the care
OF personal adornment. II was this
angle OF approach and not the unat-
tractlveness OF boomers and short
hair which left tho women of America
cold. introduced as n reform. short
hair and bioomers were laughed out OF
existence In short order.
BLooMERs WERE MIsNAMEp
\ flappcr who could claim to be tho
pioneer wearer OF knicker. would
doubtless be proud of tho title. Blu,
back in 1851. Amelia Bloomcr lament
cd tho fact that tho famous bioomor
garment should ever have been nsso-
ciatcd with hor name. She spent end
less time explaining that she was not
the first person to wear bloomcrs; thal
they should voplly be "millers' as .
Miss Miller was the first wearer. anc
/ that she had been connected with tbs
project In its early days only by hc'
article favoring this dress reform
which appeared in the Seneca LILY, {
paper which she edited. Later. she cN'
plaincd. she did appear in bloomor-
but only because she believed 1t rlgh
to practise what she preached. How
over. in spite OF Mrs. Bloomor's pro
tests the name stuck.
1t Is interesting to note that thl'
garment which aroused so much excite
ment had about the same relation e
tho skirts of tho day that knicker'
bockcrs have to the skirts OF 1922.
Women's dresses In 1851 were wide
1y denounced on the ground OF bcins
unhealthy. They were long. heavy
and full They trailed in tho dust tS
catch germs. They gathered mud from
wet streets in rainy weather. and ther
Tapped about the wearer' ankles tt
give them colds and pneumonia. Yc
no lady dared lift her volumlnoui
skirts high enough to clear tho streets
Referring 10 this fashion one editor
declared that "a false modcstv hai
caused many a young Girl to die Of
consumptlon''
The first blcomers were long like
these skirts. Short boomers woulC
have been hooted off the streets with
out fighting chhnce--if It is posslbl,
20 imagine tho girl of the period ap.
poarinE in them. The hioomcrs whici
upset tho conservatives were fun
ankle length affairs. A skirt consld
erably longer than our popular knee
length specimen fell over them. Th.
effect was very Turkish. but to oui
modern eyes 1t would be about as dar
ing as deep sea diving outfit
THE WAR ON BLOOMERS
Nevertheless. boomers were hotl,
denounced or as hotly approved b,
everybody who talked, wrote. or Ice
tured about thcm. They wore takel
seriously by the undecorativo blu
stockings. and 10 they failed to appea
wow mmuM 10 tho NomnRnr nnnnin r.ht