“Any Woman Can Make a Skirt” – Fashion Tips for Women Cyclists

Supply adjusts to meet demand, and as Judic Chollet in the Evening Bulletin (Maysville, KY) pointed out, “No sooner was a bicycle for women invented than a necessity arose for a special hat, gown, and shoe for the rider to wear.”¹ Day-to-day women’s wear was unsuited to exercise in general and for cycling was, “an undeniable hindrance”².  Practical considerations, allied with gradually changing social mores, led to the development and adoption by women of clothes that were better suited to cycling.

Clothing companies and tailors were quick to take advantage of a growing market, offering a range of clothes that were suitable for cycling. An early example appears in the St. Paul Daily Globe of August 5, 1894:

“… a remarkably smart little suit composed of navy blue “vicuna” serge, made somewhat after the “Norfolk” Style. Under the quite short skirt are worn knickerbockers of the same material – these meet the long, beautifully fitting leggings. The little close-fitting waist has the “Norfolk” pleats back and front, and fasten on the shoulder with three fairly large fancy buttons. The yoke is very pointed, and both that and the bottom of the skirt are lined with rows of stitching. The sleeves are not exceedingly full for this style of suit and are quite plain. The cap is navy blue, while the gloves and gaiters are of a pretty tan shade.”³

By April 1895 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was reporting from New York that there were, “as many bicycle costumes in the shops this spring as there are tea gowns.”⁴ The correspondent’s source was in a position to spend $60 to $80 on a costume, which gives an indication of the cost of tailor made clothing in the late nineteenth century. At today’s prices her cycling costumes would have cost approximately $1,682 to $2,243.

Cycling costumes depicted in the The Seattle post-intelligencer, April 21, 1985.

Two years later the Perrysburg Journal, Wood County, Ohio, reported on a “Swell Cycling Suit” ordered by an “athletic beauty and reigning belle in the ultra-smart set.”⁵ Silk lined, and with an elephant-green leather belt replete with silver buckle set with emeralds, several pairs of stockings, three vests, and a pair of leather boots, the price came to $715.50. In 2018 terms, approximately $20,488.

The $715 cycling suit as depicted in the pages of the Perrysburg Journal, July 3, 1897

Expenditure of this magnitude was beyond the means of the majority of women cyclists, and at a time when dressmaking was a skill held by women of all classes an alternative to buying tailor-made clothing was to make them oneself. Newspapers and magazines offered fashion tips and dressmaking patterns to meet this demand. In 1896, the St. Paul Daily Globe gave a, “pattern of a divided skirt”, advising that it should be worn with knickerbockers rather than bloomers, and matched with a Norfolk jacket.⁶

A New Cycling Costume, from the St. Paul Daily Globe, April 5, 1986

A year later The Times of Richmond, Virginia, provided a dressmaking pattern and  passed on the sage advice of a, “man tailor”, that “any woman who understands dressmaking can make a suit from this; and if she does not understand dressmaking she should not attempt to make a suit at all.”⁷

The skirt was designed to give the effect of a round skirt when standing, but was in fact a saddle skirt, designed to fall at each side when the rider was seated.

For a woman of five feet eight inches in height, some seven and a half yards of twenty-seven inch wide cloth was needed.

Readers were reminded that making the skirt required, “knack”, and that a little ripping out might be required if first attempts didn’t go to plan. As the caption reminded the reader, “Any Woman Can Make A Skirt”.

The cycling jacket was of the bolero style, a short jacket without a fastened front.

It was, the newspaper advised, “a very easy thing to make”, using three to four yards of serge or broadcloth, depending on the size of the person to be clad.

Sleeves were to be trimmed before being sewn to the body, and it was advised to add decoration before putting the pieces together.

On completion the bolero was to be carefully pressed to make it look as professional as possible.

The leggings were to be made of serge, either of the same colour as the skirt if that was made of serge, or either tan or black if another material was used.

Straps were to be made of leather, and readers were advised that a strip cut from an old pair of shoes would suffice. Alternatively a shoemaker could supply straps for around 10 cents.

Most importantly, the reader was advised to take particular care with the buttonholes, making them as small and neat as possible. When fastening, buttonhooks were to be used, for, “Nothing spoils buttonholes like buttoning with the fingers.”

Finally, the reader was shown how to put together a Tam o’Shanter cap, “the most stylish shape for wheeling”, which when adorned with two quills possessed, “a certain “style” about it that makes it a favourite.”

The cap and the bolero were within the skill of anyone according to the newspaper. While a neat sewer, “who understands the importance of a close finish and hot iron for pressing”, was capable of making the leggings. Those who had not made a dress before were likely to need practice on simpler designs before making the skirt.

The good news for the wallet was that, counting the plume on the hat, the cost of making the outfit was estimated to come in at no more than $5.

This was good news for those whose budgets were limited, or who preferred to manage their money carefully. Seasonal weather conditions required clothing that was warmer or cooler depending on prevailing temperatures. In 1899, Helen Grey-Page advised women cyclists that, “Now is the time when every woman who can is getting ready for her spring cycling suit.”⁸ Readers were advised to, “choose some pretty mingled goods”, and make a skirt to reach the tops of the shoes, married with a flannel waist, and an Eton jacket matching the skirt. High bicycle shoes and a jaunty Tam O’Shanter completed the costume.

Cycling suit design from The Philipsburg Mail, May 12, 1899

Later that year, Grey-Page offered readers a design for an early fall cycling suit using thin woollen goods for the skirt, striped flannel for the shirt, and offset with a soft felt Alpine hat with a plaid ribbon band and a stiff quill.⁹

Early fall cycling suit from the Daily Inter Mountain, August 26, 1899

And at the beginning of the year Mary Goodwin-Hubbell wrote of the winter suits that were available to women cyclists and made from cloth more commonly found used in golf suits.¹⁰

Winter cycling suit from the pages of the St. Paul Globe, January 8, 1899

And as well as weather conditions, some designers thought of the physical environment riders found themselves in, as with this outfit for the, “daring woodland cyclienne”, which was, “specially adapted for long spins through shady groves and also for rough-and-tumble riding.”¹¹

Woodland cyclist’s outfit, The Manitowoc Pilot (WI), August 10, 1899

Throughout the last decade of the nineteenth century tailors, dressmakers, and pattern designers catered for the growing popularity of cycling among women by producing a range of tailor-made clothing and dress designs that were more suited to cycling than standard modes of dress for women. These outfits and designs reflected contemporary tastes in fashion, and further reflected societal norms in dress set against evolving nineteenth century attitudes to the appearance, role and modes of behaviour expected of women at the time. While opposition to the rational dress movement was strong in some quarters, contemporary women, whether they could afford to buy bespoke clothing or chose to make their own outfits, had access to a wide range of fashionable and socially acceptable garments that allowed them to cycle in greater comfort while maintaining decorum.

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1894 bicycle suit, The Evening Bulletin (KY), June 14, 1894

1895

Some of the new bicycle leggings the girls are wearing, The Herald (Los Angeles), June 2, 1895

Women’s cycling costumes, Washington Times, April 21, 1895

The very latest in bicycle costumes, 1897

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Notes:

1. Chollet, Judic, “Dresses for Daisy Bell,” Evening Bulletin (KY), June 14, 1894. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87060190/1894-06-14/ed-1/seq-4/
2. Chollet, “Dresses for Daisy Bell.”
3. Le Baron de Bremont, “Late Cycling Suits,” St. Paul Daily Globe (MN), August 5, 1894, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059522/1894-08-05/ed-1/seq-14/
4. “The Ways of Women,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 21, 1895, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045604/1895-04-21/ed-1/seq-12/
5. “Swell Cycling Suit,” Perrysburg Journal (OH), July 3, 1897, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87076843/1897-07-03/ed-1/seq-7/
6. “New Cycling Suit,” St. Paul Daily Globe (MN), April 5, 1896, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059522/1896-04-05/ed-1/seq-13/
7. “How to Make a Bicycle Suit,” The Times (Richmond, VA), May 2, 1897, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034438/1897-05-02/ed-1/seq-9/
8. Grey-Page, Helen, “Spring Cycling Suit,” The Philipsburg Mail (MT), May 12, 1899, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025320/1899-05-12/ed-1/seq-2/
9. Grey-Page, Helen, “Early Fall Cycling Suit,” Daily Inter Mountain, August 26, 1899, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85053057/1899-08-26/ed-1/seq-14/
10. Goodwin-Hubbell, Mary, “Suits for Winter Wheeling,” Saint Paul Globe (MN), January 8, 1899, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059523/1899-01-08/ed-1/seq-16/
11. “For Country Riding,” The Manitowoc Pilot (WI), August 10, 1899, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033139/1899-08-10/ed-1/seq-11/