… for women in cold climates, harsh conditions, or places far away from those who would judge them on the basis of being fashionable. While the Reform Movement and Reformers were making a political statement regarding the status of women, and a charge against corsets and fashion as being unhealthy, it was already practiced in America because of sheer functionality.
Quietly and without fanfare, many women, particularly women of the western settlements, by the 1860’s had abandoned fashion and wore the female counterpart of men’s trousers, jackets, and shirts. They did seem keep the basic silhouette and fabrics of the time, however, so fashion was not completely thrown away.
(Photo: left: 1867 Wisconsin farmer in trousers; right: Kiowa girls in traditional dress. Indigenous women for centuries already knew the benefits of wearing trousers.)