The practice of cycling developed during the 1870s and led to the creation of the French Velocipede Championship in 1880. The male population was soon conquered by the bicycle and this new form of transport, a symbol of personal freedom of movement, was quickly taken up by women. The activity however, was heavily criticised from a medical standpoint – the Faculty of Medicine considered it a danger to fertility – as well as from the point of view of decency. Women’s wearing of breeches, a bifid garment (one that is divided in two), borrowed from men’s wardrobes, crossed gender boundaries. The debate around the wearing of breeches and trousers came to a head during the 1890s, when the velocepedist was subject to numerous, sometimes scathing, jokes and caricatures; The “bloomers”, associated in the public’s mind with this sport, were named after the American feminist Amelia Jenks Bloomer, who in 1851 demanded the right to wear trousers. It should however be noted that this story is not entirely true, in that she never wore bloomers in public, but rather trousers accompanied by a long tunic.
- Auteur(s): Anonymous
- Dates: Circa 1900
- Mode d'acquisition : Manual donation, 1995
- Matériaux et techniques : Bloomers: heathered wool twill, cotton twill lining, mother-of-pearl buttons.
- 1995.122.X