Women’s sartorial liberation continued in the jazz age as women widely began wearing trousers for leisure activities, particularly tennis, equestrian and cycling. Until that time (and even afterwards in many places), a women wearing pants was considered cross-dressing and was often criminalized.
In 1933, Eleanor Rooseveltbecame the firstFirst Ladyto wear trousers at an official function. She had been out riding and didn’t have time to change before hosting the annual White House Easter egg roll. Although her clothing choice was accidental, she embraced the unconventional attire, posing for a number of photos in her eyebrow-raising outfit.
And then there was Marlene Dietrich. With her films Morocco (1930), Blonde Venus (1932), and Seven Sinners (1940) she effectively turned international perceptions and women’s wear in general on their heads by wearing her iconic tuxedos and white double-breasted suits into infamy. Dietrich’s public championing of the pant suit in both her professional and personal life coincided with designer Marcel Rochas creating the first ready-to-wear women’s pant suits. In 1939 Vogue published its first spread featuring women in trousers. By the forties, silver screen powerhouse Katherine Hepburn had joined the fray. With her highly publicized preference for wearing trousers on and off set she helped solidify trousers as part of everyday women’s wardrobes.
The female suit saw a brief lull in popularity after the second World War as many sought a return to traditional domestic roles after the mass influx of women into the wartime workforce. Dior’s “New Look” embraced the 1950s housewife look with nipped waists and full skirts. But by the 1960s the suit was back in full force as an unprecedented 40% of women had joined the workforce. This decade saw many watershed moments in equality with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and a Presidential act banning discrimination based on gender in 1967. The sixties also saw Andre Courreges’ reintroduction of the suit into elegant day and evening-wear.
