Trousers for Women
Walk down any city street in the West today, and you will see more women wearing trousers than skirts. Yet trousers for women did not become even remotely acceptable until as recently as the 1920s. The legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt daringly wore trousers on stage in the late nineteenth century, while early enthusiasts of bicycling favoured divided skirts for practical reasons.
Designer Paul Poiret took inspiration from the costumers of the Ballets Russes for his harem pants of 1909 - wide trousers gathered with a band at the ankle. And at the society beach resort of Deauville, Coco Chanel introduced elegant yachting pants, at first for herself and then for other women who admired her style.
She explained: 'It was Deauville and I never liked to stay on the beach in my bathing costume, so I bought myself a pair of white sailor pants, and added a turban and ropes of jewels, and I must say, I looked like a maharani.' Women in the 1920s started to choose trousers as beachwear and loungewear, but only the very outrageous dared to wear them on the street.
The bisexual film star Marlene Dietrich, sometimes referred to as 'the best-dressed man in Hollywood', caused a scandal during the 1930s and '40s by wearing trouser suits as daywear. The Parisian chief of police considered her attire so shocking that he ordered her to leave the city.
During World War II it became acceptable for women to wear trousers for wartime work in the fields and the factories, but when peace resumed in 1945 they went back to their skirts and dresses. Trousers on women were still generally viewed as unnatural and unattractive. However, Capri pants, Bermuda shorts and tight trousers that laced up at the knee were still worn as leisurewear.
It was in the Swinging Sixties that women really started to embrace the comfort and practicality of menswear, wearing trousers for work and to parties. The practice still retained its shock value for some, and women wearing trousers were often refused entry to formal establishments, even restaurants.
Yves Saint Laurent's 1966 sleek tailored trouser suit, known as Le Smoking, was controversial at first, but this would be the garment that eventually sealed the acceptability of trousers as an alternative to the skirt suit or dress. Here was a formal, elegant suit for the girls, acceptable to all. Women could finally wear the trousers and get the respect they deserved.






