The freedom dress that backfired so badly it nearly destroyed the women’s rights movement

The Bloomer Costume Revolution in 1851

Amelia Bloomer never meant to start a fashion war. She just wanted women to wear clothes they could actually move in.

But 1800s Victorian society threw a fit. Men threw rocks. Women crossed the streets to avoid her, and stores refused her service.

Still, Bloomer kept pushing her cause through her women’s rights newspaper.

But it was Elizabeth Smith Miller who introduced a simpler outfit whilst sitting in her Petersberg garden in New York.

Here’s the wild story behind America’s first pants scandal, now preserved at the Seneca Falls Historic District you can visit.

How Miller’s Invention Reached Amelia Bloomer

Elizabeth Miller wore her new outfit when visiting her cousin Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Seneca Falls in February 1851.

Stanton (who fought for women’s rights) saw its practicality, made one herself, and visited neighbor Amelia Bloomer in the same outfit.

Bloomer ran The Lily, the first newspaper for women in America. She had written about uncomfortable women’s clothing before.

After seeing this practical outfit, Bloomer decided to make one too.

The Lily’s April 1851 Promotion of the New Costume

Bloomer told her readers about her new clothes in the April 1851 issue of The Lily, including sewing instructions in the issue for independent wear.

This made it easy for ordinary women to stitch up their pieces. The newspaper also printed pictures of Bloomer and Stanton wearing the outfit.

The Lily quickly grew from 500 to 3,000 subscribers as eager women showed an interest in the freeing alternative despite the drama.

National Media Called it the Bloomer Dress

By June 1851, all newspapers across America called the outfit the “Bloomer dress”, named promptly after its biggest supporter.

The New York Tribune first wrote about Bloomer wearing the costume, bringing it to public attention across the country.

The name “Bloomers” stuck even though Amelia Bloomer didn’t create the original design. She always gave credit to Elizabeth Smith Miller.

Women’s rights supporters preferred calling it the “freedom dress” or “American dress” to focus on its benefits rather than one person.

Hundreds of Women Write to Bloomer

After The Lily published information about the new outfit, Bloomer’s mailbox flooded with letters from women asking for patterns and details.

As Tammy Morgan notes in her thesis, women wrote to The Lily praising the Bloomer costume and sharing their experiences wearing it.

History Today highlights many women who adopted the Bloomer outfit not just for comfort, but to avoid the health risks caused by tight-laced corsets.

Amelia Bloomer used The Lily as a platform for conversation, treating these letters as part of a broader public discourse.

The Bloomer Craze Sweeps America in 1851

In the summer of 1851, more women tried the new bloomer style. Socialites special events to celebrate the new dress reform.

Bloomer balls and picnics let women wear the outfits together. In Toledo, Ohio, sixty women wore the costume at a big social event.

The movement peaked at New York’s Broadway Tabernacle in September where hundreds gathered to support the fashion at a festival.

The Freedom Costume Goes International

American women brought bloomers to Europe when they wore them to the World’s Peace Congress in London in August 1851.

Blackwood’s Lady’s Magazine told readers about the revolutionary style. London society responded with mixed feelings (still unsure).

A Bloomer Ball in Mayfair during September drew much attention.

British magazine Punch mocked the costume as a “sort of shemale dress,” showing fears about women wearing clothes like men’s.

The Public Ridicule and Harsh Backlash

Public harassment and mockery crowned the streets.

Newspapers that first wrote fairly about the new style soon turned against “Bloomerism” as public opinion shifted (as expected).

Cartoons showed women in bloomers smoking, drinking, and acting like men.

Some churches even denied membership to women who wore the reformed dress, calling it immoral and against proper gender roles.

Family Opposition to the Revolutionary Costume

Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s teenage sons refused to walk with her in public when she wore bloomers because they felt embarrassed.

Stanton’s father banned her from wearing the costume in his home.

The familial pressure seeped into politics too. Men openly said they wouldn’t vote for candidates whose wives wore bloomers.

And women soon had to choose between personal comforts and supporting their husbands’ careers in the patriarchal society.

Clergy and Critics Condemn Women in Pants

Religious leaders led the fight against bloomers, saying women in pants threatened gender roles owing to its unfeminine appeal.

People held public meetings just to speak against this trend, treating it as a moral crisis instead of a clothing choice.

Even William Lloyd Garrison, who supported women’s rights, urged women to stop wearing the reform dress.

Suffragists Abandon the Distracting Costume

By late 1853, Elizabeth Cady Stanton gave up wearing the bloomer costume.

Lucy Stone, another women’s rights speaker, soon followed Stanton’s example and returned to regular dresses.

Susan B. Anthony wore bloomers longer than her friends, until mid-1854, before finally giving in to social pressure.

Bloomer herself wore the outfit until 1858/59, admitting later that the dress had become a counterproductive symbol.

Visiting Amelia Bloomer House in Seneca Falls, New York

Amelia Bloomer House is part of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park at 136 Fall Street in Seneca Falls, New York.

Drop by the National Women’s Hall of Fame on East Bayard Street, to get a glimpse of Bloomer’s personal artifacts.

The “Bloomer and Reform Dress” exhibit shows 1851 costume patterns and papers. A life-size bloomer model is on display at the visitor center.

Walk to Van Cleef Lake to see the “When Anthony Met Stanton” bronze sculpture showing Bloomer wearing her famous outfit.

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