A Tale of Two Bloomer Costumes

This article analyzes the history of two extant bloomer costumes from the 1850 s, one in the collections of the San Diego History Center and the other in the Cortland County, New York Historical Society. An analysis of the two bloomer costumes reveals two different styles of dress-reform outfits worn by women during this era. Biographical information on the women who owned these outfits expands upon the reasons the wearers might have chosen one design over another. Through a material culture analysis of these outfits and a textual analysis of the history of dress reform, I argue that for a variety of reasons nineteenth-century women might have owned, but perhaps not worn, a bloomer costume.