The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-02-28

WASHINGTON, d. c., Feb. IS
Knickerbockers for women seem to
be here to stay-for a while at least.
Women could not be converted to
boomers when they were introduced
by intellectual feminists as a reform
in dress back in, 1851. But now few
fiappers stroll off the golf course in
Knockers and go down Main Street to
get soda and the youth Of the nation
acclaims the new style for street wear.
For half a dozen decades there have
been prophets who saw, or thought
they saw, trousers for women on the
horizon. A few times indeed some
daring feminine souls did break away
from the tyranny of hoops and dust
trailing skirts to appear in boomers
or even trousers. But the expert
ments generally fizZled out speedily.
There is an old letter written to the
Lowell Courier by st. Louis woman
regarding four young women who
| passed through Missouri On their way
west wearing mems apparel. Their
father and brother accompanied them
| and approved of the style.
"They were from Philadelphia, and
highly respectable" wrote the cores
! pondent, 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 that their conduct on
the boat was perfectly ladylike.
W. Il 20
nineteenth century, when boomers
were raising such furore Short hair
was also being advocated by high
| brow women as being more comfort
able and sensible. The idea was that
J the short hair and boomers would al
most entirely relieve a woman from
! the care of personal adornment IT
was this angle of approach and not
| the unattractiveness of boomers and
short hair which left the women OF
America cold. Introduced as reform
short hair and boomers were laugh ed
out of existence in short order
! Boomers Were Misnamed
A f1apper who could claim to be the
| pioneer wearer of Knockers would
I doubtless be proud of the title. But
back in 1851, Amelia Bloomer lament
| ed the fact that the famous bloomel
garment should ever have been asso
ciated with her name She spent
| endless time explaining that she was
not the first person to wear boomers
that they should really be "millers,
as Miss Miller was the first wearer
and that she had been connected with
the project in it's early days only by
her articles favoring this dress reform
which appeared in the Seneca Lily, &
paper which she edited. Later, she ex
planned, she did appear in boomers
but only because she believed it righ'
to practise what she preached. How
! ever, in spite of Mrs. Boomers pro
tests the name stuck.
| 1t is interesting to note that thi:
garment which aroused so much ex
element had about the same relation
to the skirts of the day that knicker
bockers have to the skirts of 1922.
Women's dresses in 1851 were wide
ly denounced on the ground of beins
unhealthy. They were long, heav.
and full. They trailed in the dust t,
catch germs. They gathered mud from
wet streets in rainy weather, and thel
tapped about the wearers' ankles t.
give them colds and pneumonia Ye
no lady" dared lift her voluminou
skirts high enough to clear the streets
Referring to this fashion one edito
declared that "a false modesty ha