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Speaking of the Western World only, women have traditionally worn dresses or skirts solely. It really was not until the 20th century, a whole twenty centuries post Christ, that women started becoming accepted in the most ordinary of male attire: trousers. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule where women have broken boundaries, but as an gender gender, it was not until a mere generation or two ago that women's pants took on a life of their own. The biggest shift in women's dress codes began around the Victorian era.

Coal Working Women

Even today, most coal workers are men, but there are always women who want to join the industry. In the Victoria era the coal working women were known as Wigan pit brow girls. Due to their dangerous jobs they donned trousers to protect their legs. Interestingly, to appease society they wore skirts on top on their trousers, but had to roll them up to their waist to prevent the skirts from getting caught on anything.

Cowgirls and Aviatrices

At this same time, women working the ranch lands needed practical gear and also chose pants over skirts. Whether riding horses or flying planes, a billowing skirt that does not allow for freedom of movement makes no sense. As a result, these early pioneer women, pioneer in the historical, fashion and career-sense, opted for what made sense to them despite communities disapproval.

Hollywood and the War

By the 1930s some of Hollywood's top starlets were showing their strength by wearing what they wanted in the face of trends and culture. Top names that helped showcase women in trousers and make it a common sight were Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich. This early adoption of trousers by choice became a necessity as World War II came into play and women were needed to fill the jobs of them. Pretty soon most women were wearing the natural garment of a worker: their husband's clothes. The choice to wear pants became even more of a necessity as clothing became rationed.

Jeans

By the 1960s, pantsuits for the new class of working women became a staple and jeans took their turn in the spotlight. It was at this time that jeans became acceptable for women and as more and more chose pants over dresses, cultural attributions about gender roles were forced to be re-examined. The final push came in 1972 with the passage of Title IX, which required public education institutions to treat men and women equally, among other changes. The result is that women could no longer be forced to wear skirts and dresses to school and now Many women wear jeans or pants almost all of the time.

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Source by Tess Ferrton