The history of sports style. From rebellion to fashion pedestal
Fashion of the 21st century constantly offers us new directions that are born through a combination of things from different style groups, this trend also includes sportswear style , which has become one of the most beloved and sought-after styles of casual wear in recent years.
The new fashion trend had a long way to go before it became an integral part of the modern man’s wardrobe.
Various sports, known since ancient times, became more and more popular in the second half of the 19th century. Sports were in vogue. People, joining the sport, began to understand that they needed special clothes for practicing, which, by the way, would be convenient to use while traveling, and for walking in the countryside, and for other so-called outdoor activities.
The invention of the bicycle in the 19th century excited society, and a mass passion for cycling began. Beach holidays, swimming, yachting became more and more fashionable. Sports such as tennis, horse polo, cricket and croquet, golf, badminton, volleyball, archery, skiing, skating, and many others have become widespread. Comfortable clothing was required not only for those who directly took part in sports competitions, but and viewers who also wanted to feel free and at ease. In the 1920s, the term “spectator sports” (spectator sport) even appeared .
Clothing manufacturers began to think about creating comfortable, non-restrictive things designed for active pastime. Initially, all sports news were addressed to men, but there were more and more emancipated women who were fond of sports and who wanted to spend time in outdoor activities. They also needed comfortable clothes that would be easy to take care of, easy to wash, and manage while dressing without the help of a maid.
Some of the first to rebel against uncomfortable clothing were American feminists.
In 1849, in the American Journal of Hydrotherapy (Water Cure Journal)articles began to appear for women, calling for attention to the imperfection of the traditional clothes that they were asked to wear. The magazine wrote that on vacation, during trips to the waters, during spa treatment, women should feel free and at ease, and, therefore, they need appropriate clothing. The magazine featured an illustration of a new women’s costume designed for such occasions. Ladies were encouraged to wear a new suit, without a corset, consisting of a light cropped skirt and wide trousers, the press, discussing a daring idea, began to call such a suit “Turkish dress”, “American dress” or “reform dress”. By 1850, readers of the Water Cure Journal who went on vacation began to wear an unusual outfit, and other women gradually began to join them.going to resorts. The innovative resort dress became quite popular, and soon the most daring ladies dared to expand the area of \u200b\u200bapplication of the new toilet.
In 1851, in New England (an area in the northeastern part of the United States, consisting of 6 states), feminist Elizabeth Smith Miller ( Elizabeth Smith Miller) began to wear breeches for walks, resembling oriental harem pants just below the knees. The idea was taken up by lawyer and publicist Amelia Bloomer , who also began to wear similar clothes and enthusiastically promote them in The Lily (newspaper) which she organized for women in 1849. Other feminists joined the brave rebels, and wide harem pants, thanks to Amelia Bloomer, were called bloomers (bloomers) ( bloomers) .Progressive women, despite the negative reaction of society, defended their rights to wear comfortable clothes, following bloomers, ladies began to wear ordinary men’s trousers under a shortened dress. In 1866, one of the first American women doctors, Mary Walker (Dr. Mary Edwards Walker) entered one of the New York stores in a dress with trousers visible from under, causing the anger of customers dressed in traditional outfits with her appearance. At the request of the offended ladies, the feminist was expelled from the store by the police, who escorted her to the police station, where the violator of the generally accepted rules was warned that women were fined for wearing men’s clothing in a public place, and arrested for a second violation.A month after this incident in New York, Mary Walker was elected president of the Costume Reform Association.
American feminists, who arrived in bloomers at the 5th International Peace Congress (International Peace Congress), held in 1851 in London, aroused great interest among progressive English women.
In the 1880s, a movement called the Victorian dress reform arose in England, which opposed the wearing of corsets, narrow-toed heels, and other uncomfortable things.
One of the directions of the clothing reform was the movement promoting the so-called “ aesthetic dress” , the founders and propagandists of this direction were creative people – writers, artists, architects, who believe that simplicity of lines should dominate in clothes.
In 1881, the Rational Dress Movement was organized in London.Lady Florence Harberton became the president of the organization , defending the rights of women and believing that wearing comfortable clothes should become the norm in a civilized society. She was supported by like-minded people – the English writer, publicist and artist Mary Eliza Haweis , Constance Wilde – wife of the writer Oscar Wilde , writer Charlotte Carmichael and many other educated and progressive contemporaries.
Invented in the 19th century, the bicycle caused a real social storm, shaking the most solid foundations of life and provoking a whole series of heated discussions about clothing. Unlike other sports that women followed in the footsteps of men, cycling was a completely new experience for both sexes. In the 1890s, a real bicycle mania began in the world. Moreover, women mastered this amazing means of transportation with the same enthusiasm as men, although their path was more thorny, many ladies who dared to sit on a bicycle were ridiculed and reprimanded, and the clothes in which they were forced to ride did not have a comfortable driving. The dress often became the cause of accidents. The same rebels who dared to put on trousers were severely criticized, ridiculed, and sometimes insulted.(penny-farthing) , and stable tricycles, and, at first, rebellious two-wheelers.