The Rational Dress Society's Gazette, January 1889 (litho)
{"Image ImageDescription": "3928356 The Rational Dress Society's Gazette, January 1889 (litho) by English School, (19th century); British Library, London, UK; (add.info.: In the mid-1800s, women\u2019s clothing reflected their constricted lives. Tight corsets under voluminous skirts were uncomfortable and impractical, but considered feminine and necessary. Efforts to change this led to the \u2018Rational Dress\u2019 movement.\n\n\n\nIn 1851 Libby Miller (1822\u20131911), a New England activist, designed trousers to be worn under a short skirt that permitted more movement. But the outfit, dubbed \u2018bloomers\u2019 after being publicised by Miller\u2019s colleague Amelia Bloomer (1818\u20131894), attracted ridicule \u2013 particularly in England \u2013 and did not endure. \n\n\n\nDress reformers therefore moved the emphasis to reforming underwear. But even though hooped crinolines were going out of fashion, long dragging skirts remained the norm. \n\nIn 1881, the Society for Rational Dress was formed in London, opposing tight corsets, high heels, and unwieldy skirts. This was mainly on grounds of physical restraint: it was becoming fashionable for women to be healthy, even athletic; and with middle-class women beginning to enter the workplace, too, the need for more practical clothes was evident. Thanks to lighter or divided skirts, women participated fully in the cycling boom that followed James Kemp Starley\u2019s (1854\u20131901) first \u2018modern bicycle\u2019, the Rover Safety of 1885. \n\n\n\nWider aspirations of emancipation and equality are also clear from the Society\u2019s Gazette, which ran for six issues in 1888 and 1889: \u2018succeeding generations [will] look back with contempt and wonder at the ignorance and obstinacy of their ancestors\u2019. 20 years later, suffragettes were campaigning vigorously, and by 1918 women in the UK could vote for the first time.); \u00a9 British Library Board. All Rights Reserved; English,  out of copyright.\n\nPLEASE NOTE: Bridgeman Images works with the owner of this image to clear permission. If you wish to reproduce this image, please inform us so we can clear permission for you.", "Image Copyright": "\u00a9 British Library Board. All Rights Reserved / Bridgeman Images"}