Ordinary Women doing the Extraordinary: The Social Evolution of the Trouser Suit (Part 1)

The trouser suit – in the form of a ‘power suit’ – as a staple of the female wardrobe in modern society has not had a long history in terms of being socially acceptable. Its long history consists of ordinary women making extraordinary feminist efforts to rid men of their sense of superiority through the medium of fashion. Ultimately, it is the bravery and innovative thinking of the conventional woman that transformed women physically wearing trouser suits into females metaphorically ‘wearing the trousers’. This new turn of phrase signified a shift in power norms, delegating power and influence on women sporting this kind of clothing. 

The Original Trendsetter: Joan of Arc

The complex nature of gender identity can be traced back in the centuries to the example set by a prominent French historical figure, Joan of Arc, who joined the predominantly male effort in the Hundred Years War army. Wearing the traditionally male clothing of a soldier for both practical reasons and as a deterrent to rape, she was scrutinised as going against gender norms and, thus, was labelled as unholy. The importance of the Church’s values is stated in Deuteronomy 22:5, where it claims, ‘the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man’. The role of a soldier and their subsequent attire was reserved for men, and due to Joan of Arc’s brave ignorance of this, it later led to her conviction and execution. From this, we can infer that Joan of Arc must have posed a problem – and thus proposed a threat to masculinity in general – which suggests she intimidated the male sphere. Joan of Arc, however, has lived on in the fashion industry where, for example, Alexander McQueen brought out his Joan of Arc Pant Suit with red lining in 1998, exemplifying how Joan of Arc’s decision to ignore fashion guidelines has had long-lasting effects. 

Activists using Fashion as a Weapon 

Nevertheless, obstacles continued to remain in the way of feminist fashion. In the 1800s, it was technically illegal for women to wear trousers in Paris without a police permit, but the 19th century did also spark some optimism for improvements of women’s rights and it’s no surprise that trouser suits were involved! Amelia Bloomer was an American women’s rights activist who become synonymous with the breakthrough of more women wearing trousers, her name often associated with the bloomer trousers. Absentmindedly contributing to the early stages of a fashion revolution, Bloomer recognised that women had the choice to replace tight corsets and endless layers of petticoats for more free clothes that more widely reflected the change for social freedom. In the April 1851 edition of The Lily, her choice of dress was announced through the media, where the outlet’s circulation rose from 500 per month to 4000 – demonstrating that her controversial fashion statements sparked interest and was a catalyst for further brave women to walk in Bloomer’s path. Living nearby to Bloomer, suffragette cousins Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Elizabeth Smith Miller soon adopted outfits that Bloomer had discussed in the press, which consisted of knee-length skirts with loose pants. Fashion, therefore, became more than mere fabrics strung together: a politics of clothing was emerging where one could choose to be fashionable in order to identify with the struggle and fight for female rights such as emancipation. 

Wartime Mobilisation of the Trouser Suit 

Moving into the 20th century, we see a more collective effort to use fashion as a way to integrate women into – and also challenge – patriarchal societies. As a practical necessity of wartime struggles, women were deployed across the general workforce in a variety of industries and required the appropriate clothing in order to do so. The siren suit was a staple style – much like a boiler suit – that protected women from the dirt of air raid shelters and acted as a shield in dangerous workplaces. The suit was also available with puffed shoulders, bell bottomed legs and a fitted hood, which was often preferred by most females; in such dire times, adding a feminine touch to unisex fashion was deemed a necessity. However, Winston Churchill posed as the poster boy for the siren suit – so we still had a way to go for women to be a visible fashion symbol.

In the 1940s, we also greet the Zoot Suit Girls, who mimicked working-class attire. It consisted of skirt suits but also of wide leg, pegged high-waist pants with a long, cardigan sweater jacket and was a symbol of rebellious fashion, as it was illegal to cross-dress during the 1940s, and many women were often arrested. Creating their own identity, these women refused to be condemned to the traditional feminine clothes that society set as their fate. 

Ultimately, the social evolution of the trouser suit has not developed with ease. Legislation, social norms and masculine superiority – to name but a few – have subjected women to limited fashion that has mirrored their limited rights in society. Nevertheless, it is a testament to the ordinary yet extraordinary women who have rebelled against this limitation and sparked revolutionary ideals for the women of today to both relish in and develop further. 

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