A Primer: 1930’s-1950’s Trousers & Pants For Women

One of the most desired, and often most misunderstood, articles in the vintage wardrobe are the trousers.

Today I’m going to delve a little bit into the basics of the transition of trousers from the 1930’s through the 1950s. It’s a quick overview so I’m not touching on everything, but it will give you a good starting point!

– A Beginning –

Women and trousers. It’s a love affair in modern times, but was it in the past? Well, no- actually. If you remember good ol’ Amelia Bloomer, she caused quite the scandal by sporting bifurcated garments in the Victorian era. They called it “Dress Reform”. It was a fad that wasn’t with the majority, but it did continue in some form or another. Enter the 1890’s, and there’s bicycling bloomers for women. Some daring women even start wearing trousers for riding. In the American West, and at places where there were adventures seeking new discovery, women wore pants with more frequency. They even had a short-lived popularity during the Great War, when women helped out at home (much like they would again in WWII), but it was not widely accepted.

Enter the 1920’s and the “flapper”. Pajamas are all the rage- in the boudoir and by the seaside. Some daring women even started wearing men’s trousers. Was it accepted by the majority? Definitely not. But they started gaining in popularity thanks to the seaside, the boudoir, and the new collegiate co-eds!

– The 1930’s –

The 1930’s is when we really see women in trousers get their stride. It was still not accepted by the majority in the early part of the 1930’s. In fact, studios used to try to keep Kate Hepburn from wearing them between sets in Hollywood, because the photographers would snap her over the studio gates and it was still “shocking”. But, really, the resorts and the young set, the Hollywood sirens, and the wealthy, are what caused the trousers to catch on.

They were not widely worn, but by the mid 1930’s it was acceptable for wear for sportswear. They’re mostly seen on campus, at the resort, and in other places if you lived in the warmer climates like Southern California or Florida. Cannes was a big place for wearing trousers. How daring!

early1930s

The first half, we see very loosely fitted trousers. The images above are from 1934. The “rise” (that is, crotch length), was EXTREMELY low. Think M.C. Hammer. Seriously. Sometimes down to your knees! Notice here, these are mostly for sporty summer wear. That is quite common in the 1930s. You don’t often see them “dressed up”, and if you do, it’s usually on the wealthy.

(http://wearinghistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/late1930s-500x391.jpg)

In the second half of the 1930’s, trousers really start going crazy. In 1939 it seemed everyone wanted them, and they were here to stay! There were lounging ones, playing ones, work ones, beach ones, pajamas… and sometimes even dinner outfits. The late 1930’s is playful, and trousers fit in perfectly with that ideal. The image on left is from 1938, and the image on right from 1939. Still notice, they have the very loose fit. Trousers were NOT meant to hug your butt. They really wanted them to fit like a skirt- skimming your hips and rear loosely, then falling to a low crotch, and splitting into a bifurcated garment.