Women in Trousers: Henriette d’Angeville, a French Pioneer?

Abstract

The story of Amelia Jenks Bloomer and her Turkish trousers figures prominently in discussions of the origins of female trousers. However, the little-known episode of Henriette d'Angeville's mountain outfit sheds new light on this history. Angeville wore trousers in 1838 to climb Mont Blanc as a sensible choice for what was a strenuous enterprise. This early example of a woman wearing trousers in a country where women had been officially forbidden to wear them since 1800 seems to have had no political dimension. D’Angeville’s outfit was a practical response to the demands of physical activity rather than a political manifesto.

Keywords:

• Trousers
• Turkish pants
• shooting outfit
• Amelia Jenks Bloomer
• Henriette d’Angeville

Acknowledgments

Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros would like to thank Ariane Fennetaux for her translation of the article and texts from the original French by John Grand-Carteret and Henriette d’Angeville. She also wishes to thank Alexandra de Mare who assisted with the English version of the draft of the article.

Notes

1. This is the first translation of the text by John Grand-Carteret. We have chosen to keep the original French texts for researchers who are able to read them. We have retained the French term “culottes” for these baggy breeches worn by cycling women at the end of the nineteenth century.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros

Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros is Head Curator at the Palais Galliera, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris where she is in charge of both the Eighteenth-century Collection and the Dolls Collection. Pascale lectures on the history of textiles, dress and fashion at the university Paris-Sorbonne.

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