Feminism

&
Fashion

1
2
 Acknowledgements

This book is for all the women who have stood strong against the social inequalities and made a place
for today’s women, the new women. This book is for those whose battle has won liberation and
freedom in a patriarchal world. Every modern women owes it to the women of the past who initiated
the feminist revolution.

-Ayesha Dikshit

3
4
 Introduction
Fashion has always been an important part of the society. Since the stone ages, fashion has depicted the lifestyle of the respective
civilisation. Where fashion depicts a society’s lifestyle and culture, it is also a voice to those who are trying to take a stand against
that culture, against that society. Fashion is a weapon to those who want to rebel against the society and even to those who want
to fit in the social circle; it’s all about one’s own choices and perspective.
When on the one hand, fashion is how the ruling classes of the society exhibited their power, on the other hand fashion was an
accessory to those who couldn’t afford rich fabrics and royal colours.

For women, fashion has always been an indispensable part of their lifestyle. In a patriarchal society, where the “right kind of”
clothes have always been a debatable topic, women chose the same weapon to take a stand against men.
What women should wear? Which kind of clothes are the right kind of clothes for women? Which body part of a women’s body
should stay uncovered and which body part should showcase a perfect curve in an ultra-fitted piece of clothing known as corset?
Ironically, where men are the ones to ask these questions, they are also the ones to answer them for women.

Do you think it is okay for men to choose fashion as a tool desexualise women only for the cause of men’s sexuality? Is it okay for a
man to cover a woman for the sake of her own safety from man himself?

In order to not making a statement by women’s clothing, feminists since centuries have been trying to do just the opposite. And
well, they have succeeded almost every time.
Feminism in fashion is clearly visible in the contemporary world. But, feminism and fashion have been like “a means to an end”
since centuries. The clear history of fashion indicates on having served feminism and women greatly. Therefore, in my research, I
give you the two most influential decades in the history of “Feminism & Fashion" – 1850s and 1960s.

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6
 Contents

1. The Hoop Skirts – 1850’s

2. Crinoline- the oppressive garment?
3. Bloomerism and Feminism
4. The Aesthetic Dress Movement
5. The Suffragette Fashion
6. Second Wave Feminism – 1960’s
7. The Mini Skirt Revolution
8. The Bi-Polar Fashion of the 1960’s
9. Feminism and Fashion – Two sides of the same coin?

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8
The Hoop Skirts – 1850’s
Back in the 19th century women’s fashion
consisted of mainly hoop skirts.
"A hoop skirt or hoopskirt is a
women's undergarment worn in various periods
to hold the skirt extended into a fashionable
shape. Its Tudor name was a 'farthingale’.”
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoop_skir
t)

The hoop skirts were domed shape because of

the crinoline worn underneath it. Crinolines
were starting to be used in the 1840s but till
then, crinoline only meant stiff petticoats made
with horse hair (‘crin’).
During the first half of the 1850s, crinolines
made a shift to caged crinolines. This “Caged
crinoline” was made out of steel.
The adjective “caged" used to specify this piece
of clothing is in itself an oppressive strategy
against female power.

Figure 1- Hoop Skirts, 19th Century

(source: www. http://www.maggiemayfashions.com/)

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Figure 2 - Crinoline incorporated evening dresses (source: www.vintagevictorian.com)

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 Crinolines – the oppressive garment?
"Crinolines were worn by women of every
social standing and class across the Western
world, from royalty to factory workers. This
led to widespread media scrutiny and
criticism, particularly in satirical magazines
such as Punch. They were also hazardous if
worn without due care. Thousands of women
died in the mid-19th century as a result of
their hooped skirts catching fire. Alongside
fire, other hazards included the hoops being
caught in machinery, carriage wheels, gusts
of wind, or other obstacles.”
(source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crinoline)

Ironically, it is during the decade of crinolines,

that the most significant dress reform
movements took place.
Figure 3 – Caged Crinoline Illustration
(source: https://karleeaturner.files.wordpress.com/)

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Figure 4 - Cage Crinoline ( source: www.redbubble.com/)

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 Figure 5 – Elliptical Cage Crinoline
(source: https://melindascostumes.wordpress.com/)

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Figure 6 – Crinoline Parody (source: www.pinterest.com)

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Figure 7- Crinoline Satire (www. https://commons.wikimedia.org/)

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Figure 8- Hoop Skirt Satirical Comedy (source: www. pinterest.com)

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Figure 9 - Crinoline Parody (source: www.mashable.com)

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 Bloomerism and Feminism
The same year that witnessed the birth of women’s
emancipation movement, witnessed the birth of the
most famous dress reform movements known as
“Bloomerism”.
During the Spring of 1851 a woman by the name of
Elizabeth Smith Miller began experimenting with a
new design of women's clothing she described as
"Turkish trousers to the ankle, with a skirt reaching
some four inches below the knee" to replace the
swaddling long skirts she wore daily. The reformed
style was undoubtedly more comfortable and
liberating than her previous dresses that weighed
her down with nearly 35 yards of fabric and over 10
pounds of petticoats at her waist. Along with the
corset worn by women of the era, the conventional
style of women's dress caused, "distorted spines,
compressed lungs, enlarged livers, and
displacement of the whole abdominal viscera . . . a
weary soul in a weary frame" (The Lily, June 1851).
Figure 10- Bloomer Costume (1850’s)
(source: http://www.pastpatterns.com/)

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 Soon after shortening her skirts and donning
Turkish Trousers, Miller visited her cousin,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in Seneca Falls, New York
and introduced the reform dress to her. Stanton
copied her cousin's designs, and the two women
then decided to inform another friend, Amelia
Jenks Bloomer, of their new style of dress.
Bloomer, intrigued with the healthier form of
clothing, adapted the style to her own tastes. As
editor and publisher of The Lily, A Ladies Journal,
Devoted to Temperance and Literature, Bloomer
wrote an article in the next issue advocating the
benefits of Miller's "Freedom Dress" or "Rational
Dress."
It did not take long before the popular press and
society began to take hold of this reform dress
and rename it the "Bloomer Costume" or
"Bloomers," after the woman who first publicized
the style. Reform dress was soon viewed as a
"ridiculous and indecent dress" fit only for
women "of an abandoned class, or of those of
vulgar women whose inordinate love of notoreity
is apt to display itself in ways that induce their
exclusion from respectable society" (International
Figure 11 - The Bloomer Dress (source: www.pinterest.com)
Monthly, November 1851).

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 Society feared a Dress Reform Movement would cloud
the social standards that
governed feminine and masculine norms. Society was
concerned that dress reform for women was only the
beginning - that if the reform was successful, social
distinctions would vastly change. Would male and
female roles be reversed? Would men become
subordinate and start wearing long skirts? In the minds
of people today, such reactions may seem absurd, but
during the mid-nineteenth century, the fears were all
too real. This was an era in which social laws regarding
women reflected statements such as: "It is an equivocal
compliment to woman that man should treat her like a
doll he is in constant fear of breaking" (J.D. Milne).
Despite the negative reactions held by society, the
Dress Reform Movement spread and became associated
with the struggle for women's emancipation. Elizabeth
Cady Stanton argued that: "Woman will never hold her
true position, until, by a firm muscle and a steady nerve,
she can maintain the RIGHTS she claims . . . but she
cannot make the first move . . . until she casts away her
swaddling clothes" (The Sibyl, February 1857). Thus, in
the eyes of several female dress reformers, a reform in
women's dress was one of the first steps towards
women's liberation.
Figure 12 – The Dress Reform Movement (1850’s)
(source: http://dressreform.tripod.com/)
(source: www.pinterest.com)

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Figure 13 – Amelia Jenkin Bloomer who initiated the dress reform movement with other feminist friends
(source: www.wikipedia.com)

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Figure 14- Bloomer Costumes, the first taste of women’s emancipation in the 1850’s
(source: http://dressreform.tripod.com/)

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Figure 15 – Different forms of the “bloomer” costume
(source: www.sitesandstories.wordpress.com)

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The Aesthetic Dress Movement
During the same period when
Bloomerism was fading away, “the
Aesthetic Dress Movement began to
emerge out of the field of decorative
arts. Aesthetic devotees encouraged
women to discard the restrictive
garments in vogue and adopt loose-
fitting, "artistic" apparel instead.
(source: http://fashion-
history.lovetoknow.com/)
Even though, these dress reform
movements that ignited the fire for
women’s right and emancipation had
nearly died out by the end of the 1850s,
these feminist fashion movements were
resurrected by the end of the 19th
century.

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 The Suffragette Fashion

As, feminism reached the turning point, now famously known as the “Suffragette Movement”, it is then that
Bloomer suits and Aesthetic dresses were being commonly accepted by women. The suffragettes who stood for
women’s emancipation spread the trend for women’s “Pant Suits”. As pants helped with free movement of the legs
under any circumstances, unlike crinolines or heavy Victorian gowns. Women suffragettes exhibited their feminism
through fashion.
The late acceptance of Bloomer suits and Aesthetic dresses can be directly linked to the emancipation of women in
the 1920s.

It is no coincidence that Coco Chanel designed the first “Chanel suit” in the 1920s. Women’s suffrage and World War
I which was another cause of changes in women's status. In order to defend national sovereignty, men were
conscribed to fight in the battle front. Therefore, women had to do men's physical labour in factory. Females no
longer stayed in the house only serving their own family, but also went out working to support the household and
their country. Not accidentally, Coco Chanel's simple and practical designs catered to the needs of working women.
In her shop, she sold “flannel blazers, straight linen skirts, sailor tops, long jersey sweaters and skirt-jackets”, which
were inspired by menswear. “These convenient clothes enabled women to work with higher efficiency.
Chanel used such serviceable materials and relaxed patterns in the design of fashionable daywear for sophisticated
urban women, safe in her knowledge of their aspirational and practical qualities.”.
(source: https://www.ukessays.com/)

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Figure 16- Vintage Chanel’s Suits (1920’s)
(source – www.pinterest.com)

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Figure 17- The Suffragette Movement
(source: www.wikipedia.com)

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Figure 18 – Women’s Suffrage Rallyt
(source: www.pinterest.com)

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Figure 19- The Suffragette Fashion (source: www.pinterest.com)

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Figure 20- The Suffragettes (1920’s)
(source: www.mashable.com)

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 Second Wave Feminism
The 1960s – the decade which witnessed the most important
feminist movement, also known as “second-wave feminism.” In
the first wave feminism, where women focussed on achieving
political and legal rights; in the second wave of feminism women
concentrated on more social issues on real equality between men
and women.
When feminism was taking a turn from legal to social equality of
women, fashion was again playing a major part in taking a stand
against the oppression of women.
Second-wave feminism is a period of feminist activity and thought
that first began in the early 1960s in the United States, and
eventually spread throughout the Western world and beyond.
Whereas first-wave feminism focused mainly on suffrage and
overturning legal obstacles to gender equality (e.g., voting
rights and property rights), second-wave feminism broadened the
debate to a wide range of issues: sexuality, family, the
workplace, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official
legal inequalities.[1] Second-wave feminism also drew attention
to domestic violence and marital rape issues, establishment of
Figure 21 – Women’s suit by 1960’s
(source: https://onlinemba.unc.edu/blog/Feminist-History-in-Womens-
rape crisis and battered women's shelters, and changes in custody
Work-Suits/) and divorce law. Feminist-owned business such as bookstores,
credit unions, and restaurants were among the key meeting
spaces and economic engines of the movement.

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Figure 22 - Abortion Rally 1960’s (source: www. https://www.thoughtco.com)

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Figure 23 – Feminist Rally in 1960’s (source: https://youngglobalinitiative.files.wordpress.com/)

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Figure 24 – Feminist Revolution in the late 1960’s
(source: http://ofocn6.weebly.com/)

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 Figure 25 – (source: www.abc.net)

The Mini-Skirt Revolution

The Age of Revolution, the decade of 1960s’ when women were fighting for freedom from the orthodox and
hypocritical misogynist society.
It is the rebellious nature of the 1960s that mini-skirts were introduced and became a huge symbol of
women’s liberation.

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In this era, fashion was influenced by various factors such as “social mobility, daring fashion photography, easier travel
abroad, the Vietnam War, new music of the Beatles and their much copied hairstyles, retro military and ethnic clothes,
musicals, pop art and film all played a part”.
Feminism was absolutely one of the most influential causes of all. Le Smoking, designed by Yves Saint Laurent in 1966,
is a typical example of impact on fashion by feminism. Yves Saint Laurent wasn't the first person who created trousers
for women. However, it was the first of its kind to draw attention in the fashion industry and the public. This
innovative creation started androgynous style for women and pantsuits have been popular ever since. It's still one of
the favourite outfits of office ladies in present-day society.
The popularity of power suits demonstrates women's liberation and equality between men and women to some
extent. Besides, it provides women another choice in their wardrobes and dresses were not the only selection any
more. In a word, the appearance of pantsuit is a symbol of women been considered to be an independent individual in
workplace. In group of people in younger age, some daring youths were seeking for something new in fashion as
restrictions on women reduced.
Mary quant's miniskirts, of which the hemline was set 6 or 7 inches above the knee, fulfilled their needs. It was
controversial when it first came into the market, but then more people began to accept it in the mid-1960s and went
into the major international trend. Miniskirt was reckoned to be a sign of women's liberation and enabled women to
run and show their beauty without limits.
(source: https://www.ukessays.com/)

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Figure 26- Mini Skirt Revolution (source: www.pinterest.com)

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Figure 27 – Woodstock fashion in 1960’s (source: www.pinterest.com)

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 The Bi-Polar Fashion of the 1960’s
Women’s fashion trends in the 1960s swung wildly from one end of the spectrum to the other. The early 1960s were
marked by box dresses and 1950s fashions. In the mid-1960s, fashion began to take cues from London and the waistline
reappeared. But the late sixties had a mind of their own!
The early sixties were more reminiscent of the 1950s — conservative and restrained; certainly more classic in style and
design.
The late 1960s were the exact opposite. Bright, swirling colours. Psychedelic, tie-dye shirts and long hair and beards were
commonplace. Woman wore unbelievably short skirts and men wore tunics and capes. The foray into fantasy would not
have been believed by people just a decade earlier.It’s almost like the 1950s bottled everyone up so much that the late
1960s exploded like an old pressure cooker. Women were showing more skin than ever before.
It was an exciting time when one women could be wearing an ankle length peacock-patterned culotte and the next
woman could be wearing a solid, teal skimmer.
However, many women were preferring skirts over dresses because they could mix and match their outfits a lot better.
Skirts, which started the decade long and straight, ended up barely covering the derriere. For many young women, the
shorter the skirt, the better.
Actually, the short skirts trend completely dominated in 1967, but fashion designers got bored with it and tried to
introduce the “Midi” — a mid-length mini-skirt. For the most part, women hated the Midi and stuck to their mini-skirts
from 1967.

But to say that all women wore mini-skirts would be wrong. Many women wanted to remain conservative — or simply did
not have the desired figure. In fact, throughout the mid- to late-60s, skirts could be purchased in just about every length.

(Source: https://www.retrowaste.com/)

- souce
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Figure 28 – Mini Skirt revolution rally (source: https://theminiskirtrevolution.wordpress.com/history-2/)

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Figure 29 – Fashion in the 60’s
(source: www.retrowaste.com)

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 Feminism and Fashion – two sides of the same coin?
My Analysis
In February 1851, when Amelia Bloomer first adopted the “Bloomer pants” and tried spreading this comfortable
piece of clothing style in comparison to the caged crinolines, the dress reform soon faded away. But, Bloomers
were an important symbol of feminism even in the 1850s. The style was resurrected in the early 20th century which
maybe due to the acceptance of more substantial roles by women because of World War 1.
In 1960s when women were making a huge leap in feminism by focusing on deeper issues like sexuality and
inequality in the male dominated society, it is during this time that skirts which showed women’s legs famously
knowns as “mini-skirts” till date, starting spreading as women’s fashion and also as a significant symbol in women’s
liberation.

Be it the 19th century when women were buried deep under fabrics and layers of clothing, when the orthodox
society focused on covering a woman in order to desexualize her for the misogynistic society, “bloomerism and
aesthetic dresses” can be seen as the first uprising of feminism, clearly voiced out by fashion.
Be it the 1920s, when women suffragettes spread the fashion of “Pant Suits” which gave women the freedom to
movement unlike the caged crinolines. Pant Suits became a huge symbol of the “Suffragette Movement.”
In 1960s when women’s liberation movement took a huge leap so did women’s fashion at the time. Mini-skirts, the
first skirts that showed women’s legs which was unacceptable in the orthodox society, spread like wild fire in a
forest. Mini-skirts till date are seen as a symbol of women’s liberation, a fight against the oppression of the
patriarchal society.

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 Figure 30- The Mini-skirt. (1960’s)
(source: http://www.huffingtonpost.in/)

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Videos –
 Youtube.com, 2015. The Ultimate Fashion History: The 1830s & 1840s. Available at:
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 Youtube.com, 2016. The Ultimate Fashion History The 1850s & 1860s. Available at:
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Thankyou

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