Bloomer Costume

a fanciful fashion of women's dress. It was introduced about the year 1849 by Mrs. Amelia Jenks Bloomer, editor of a woman's rights journal, at Seneca Falls, New York. It consisted of a jacket with close sleeves, a skirt falling a little below the knee, and a pair of Turkish trousers secured by bands at the ankles. This form of dress was adopted with a view to freeing woman from the inconvenience of skirts, but it was ridiculed so universally, both in this country and in Europe, that it was never adopted to any considerable extent. As the result of the movement for reformed dress, however, the short walking skirt that clears the sidewalk was adopted. It also prepared the way for the bicycle costume now worn by women with so much comfort. The present gymnasium suit worn by women is practically a bloomer costume.