Bloomers are named for newspaper journalist and women's rights activist Amelia Jenks Bloomer. Bloomer lived with her husband in Seneca Falls, New York. When her husband bought the local paper Amelia began to write articles for it. After the historic Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls in 1848, Bloomer began publishing her own newspaper the Lily, which was the first women's journal to be produced by a woman.
Bloomer gave her name to this type of underwear but she did not invent them. Bloomers were actually designed by Elizabeth Miller, who was a friend of Amelia Bloomers. Miller was on a trip abroad and was uncomfortable traveling in her cumbersome and heavy attire. She designed a lighter outfit which consisted of a shorter skirt worn over a pair of pantalets that reached to the ankle. The idea for this fashion was taken from the style of pants worn by the Turks in Turkey; hence it was known as the "Turkish Dress", also sometimes known as the Rational Dress which started in France.
One day Miller stopped by Bloomer's home for a visit, sporting her new wardrobe. Bloomer decided to make a similar outfit for herself and then wrote an article about it in the Lily. "Fit yourselves for a higher sphere, and cease groveling in the dirt. Let there be no stain of earth upon your soul or apparel." Hundreds of Lily readers wrote in asking for the pattern for this new fashion. Men's journals of course mocked the new fashion, eventually giving rise to the term "Bloomers".
Bloomers fell out of fashion for a while, but like most fashion trends, they made a comeback. The invention of the bicycle brought the use of bloomers and the Turkish Dress back into vogue. Even Queen Victoria wore them so she could go bicycling! Eventually, as society progressed and clothing became less restrictive for women, bloomers once again fell out of fashion. Just think about how far women's underclothing have come in 164 years. First women didn't wear underclothes as we think of them today. All the skirts and undergowns made actual panties unneccessary. (Just imagine wearing about 15 pounds of clothing all day and see how much activity you do.) Then the bloomers were adopted to allow for more freedom of movement. Here we are in 2014, and with some of the skimpy underwear available out there we might as well be wearing no underwear at all again.
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