Who Wears the Pants: Attorney General Legalizes Slacks for Women
In May 1923, the U.S. Attorney General gave America’s women the legal green light to wear slacks anywhere they wished — even in public. These crazy kids with their Rudy Valentino flickers and Louise Brooks bobs — the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket, I tell ya.
It seems a bit odd a century later that grown women needed an OK from the government to pick their wardrobe. But then again, women weren’t even given the right to vote until three years earlier, so there you go.
Way back in the day, both sexes wore skirts, or at least skirt-like clothing such as togas, tunics, kilts — you get the idea. These sorts of garments made practical sense as they were simple to construct and provided built-in ventilation.
Summer Breeze makes me feel fine
Anyway
When horseback infantries became more common, men began wearing below-the-waist items of clothing including breeches, tights, and codpieces, as bouncing around on a horse commando would probably not be the most pleasant of experiences. (Judging from the wince I got from my other half when I asked him, in the name of research, how he’d feel about pants-less horseback riding, I’m pretty comfortable with that statement.)
In the western world, ladies…
