Vintage Antique Ladies Bloomers White Cotton Fancy 26" Waist Small
Bloomers- where did that name ever come from? Well, see the answer below, if you're interested!
This pair is of lightweight cotton, with beautiful hand drawnwork and lace insets as well as horizontal pleats on each leg. Theres are closed crotch style. Waistband closes with a tiny river pearl button, popular at the time of creation- around 1890.
Marked Size: none
Waist: 26”
Hips: 44”
Total Length: 24”
Inseam: 13.25”
CONDITION: Excellent except for a light yellow stain across the top of the waistband.It is very light.
The original bloomers were an article of women's clothing invented by Elizabeth Smith Miller of Peterboro, New Yorkan early pioneer of the vulcanized rubber girdle, but popularized by Amelia Bloomer in the early 1850s (hence the name, a shortening of "Bloomer suit"). They were long baggy pants narrowing to a cuff at the ankles (worn below a skirt), intended to preserve Victorian decency while being less of a hindrance to women's activities than the long full skirts of the period (see Victorian dress reform). They were worn by a few women in the 1850s, but were widely ridiculed in the press, and failed to become commonly accepted
