girls in guy's garb

[GHT]

 

[GHT]

This is an interesting website. It gives a history of women wearing men's clothes. Did you know that in the 1930's women could be arrested for wearing such attire?

Perhaps because wearing them flew so much in the face of the norms of the time, regular women could be arrested if they wore pants in public. Some were accused of, and arrested for, “transvestitism.” To that end, while some designers, like Elsa Schiaparelli, offered what today seems like a standard pantsuit, it was not for the average woman. In the late ‘30s, according to the Museum of Modern Art, “only the most unconventional designer would offer a straightforward pantsuit, and only a fearless woman would wear it." They certainly weren’t yet an item for the workplace. There, you’d wear a skirt or a dress.

They weren't very imaginative back in the 1930's, if all they could think of doing, was to lock her up.

 

[scottyrocks]

. . .was to lock her up.

View attachment 98131

The mind reels with clever comebacks.

 

[Fading Fast]

The mind reels with clever comebacks.

Yes, a few crossed my mind - that is one heck of a set up line.

 

[Fading Fast]

I'm just old enough to remember (born in '64) that there was still some controversy or at least social opprobrium from some corners - up through the '80s - about women wearing pants / pants suits.

 

[Frunobulax]

I'm just old enough to remember (born in '64) that there was still some controversy or at least social opprobrium from some corners - up through the '80s - about women wearing pants / pants suits.

Really? I'm a few years older and remember no such thing. And I come from a community that featured quite a few religious sects like Dunkards and the like. My mom was wearing pants in at least the 50s and regularly rocked those little stirrup things in the 60s.

As with many things, though, different parts of the country have different reactions to things.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Fading Fast]

Really? I'm a few years older and remember no such thing. And I come from a community that featured quite a few religious sects like Dunkards and the like. My mom was wearing pants in at least the 50s and regularly rocked those little stirrup things in the 60s.

As with many things, though, different parts of the country have different reactions to things.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

I grew up in Central New Jersey just in the orbit of NYC commuters. There was no issue with a woman wearing pants to the supermarket or picking up a kid at school (at least none that I remember), etc., but there were comments / discussion around women wearing pants to "dress up" occasions / venues like church or nice restaurants and, definitely, when working at an office.

Not surprisingly, the split was more generational than gender, i.e., older men and women (some not all) were against it while younger men and women (all, as far as I remember) were fine with it.

Then, when I started working on Wall Street in the early '80s, almost no women wore pants suits while the few who did might hear a grumble or two from (again) the older men and women.

That said, every dress-code policy I remember allowed for "dress pants" for women even in the '80s.

Today, older generations don't get the respect that they did back then, but at the time, their displeasure still carried some weight "in the community."

 

[Frunobulax]

I grew up in Central New Jersey just in the orbit of NYC commuters. There was no issue with a woman wearing pants to the supermarket or picking up a kid at school (at least none that I remember), etc., but there were comments / discussion around women wearing pants to "dress up" occasions / venues like church or nice restaurants and, definitely, when working in the office.

Not surprisingly, the split was more generational than gender, i.e., older men and women (some not all) were against it while younger men and women (all, as far as I remember) were fine with it.

Then, when I started working on Wall Street in the early '80s, almost no women wore pants suits while the few who did might hear a grumble or two from (again) the older men and women.

That said, every dress-code policy I remember allowed from "dress pants" for women even in the '80s.

Today, older generations don't get the respect that they did back then, but at the time, their displeasure still carried some weight "in the community."

Yeah, perhaps dress up occasions were different. I can be a little bit oblivious to some things, too. Wall Street, banks, the legal profession all have held onto higher dress standards than other environments. Mom was a surgical nurse, so whatever she wore to work she quickly changed into scrubs when she got there anyway.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Michael A]

Really? I'm a few years older and remember no such thing. And I come from a community that featured quite a few religious sects like Dunkards and the like. My mom was wearing pants in at least the 50s and regularly rocked those little stirrup things in the 60s.

As with many things, though, different parts of the country have different reactions to things.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

Really? I just queried my sister on the subject and she recalls, in agreement with me, that it was '65 or '66 before girls could wear pants to my public school in Mn. It may have been before that that they could wear them if it was a certain degree of cold in the winter.

I grew up in Central New Jersey just in the orbit of NYC commuters. There was no issue with a woman wearing pants to the supermarket or picking up a kid at school (at least none that I remember), etc., but there were comments / discussion around women wearing pants to "dress up" occasions / venues like church or nice restaurants and, definitely, when working in the office.

Not surprisingly, the split was more generational than gender, i.e., older men and women (some not all) were against it while younger men and women (all, as far as I remember) were fine with it.

Then, when I started working on Wall Street in the early '80s, almost no women wore pants suits while the few who did might hear a grumble or two from (again) the older men and women.

That said, every dress-code policy I remember allowed from "dress pants" for women even in the '80s.

Today, older generations don't get the respect that they did back then, but at the time, their displeasure still carried some weight "in the community."

Yes, I remember my mother wearing pants around the farm and to the grocery store or on a picnic, but never to a party. And I'm fairly certain that any job that involved an office or contact with the public was strictly skirt/sweater, skirt/jacket or dress territory until after the great sweeping away of the old rules in the '70s.

Michael

 

[seres]

On a somewhat related topic… At my West Virginia high school in the mid-60’s, there was quite an uproar when one girl wore culottes / split skirt. It took a year for the dress code to be relaxed to allow it.

 

[Fading Fast]

On a somewhat related topic… At my West Virginia high school in the mid-60’s, there was quite an uproar when one girl wore culottes / split skirt. It took a year for the dress code to be relaxed to allow it.

And that was probably unrelated to any "old" rules or standards, it's just that culottes are that freakin' ugly. Choose: pants or a skirt - compromises are for international peace treaties, not clothing.

 

[Frunobulax]

Really? I just queried my sister on the subject and she recalls, in agreement with me, that it was '65 or '66 before girls could wear pants to my public school in Mn. It may have been before that that they could wear them if it was a certain degree of cold in the winter.
Michael

I was keying on to the "into the 80s" thing mostly. Certainly by the time I got to HS in the 70s pants, mostly jeans, were ubiquitous for the girls I went to school with.

And in my family, since dress up occasions were few and far between, my view is probably skewed. Pretty sure Mom wore a dress or skirt to church every week, though.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[HadleyH1]

Charlotte Rampling





Isabella Rossellini

 

[HadleyH1]

late 30s or early 40s

 

[Fading Fast]

Charlotte Rampling

That is a jawline.

 

[HadleyH1]

Yes indeed! LOL ^^^

 

[GHT]

That is a jawline.

La Rampling could wear one of those refuse sacks and still turn heads.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

My great aunt.

 

[HadleyH1]

you know...the tux and tie and all ....it's nothing ok? it's just for fun

it just looks great ok? that's all

Kim Basinger

 

[HadleyH1]

ahh
Charlotte Ramping...style .. all that ...yes