pulling it all together

this has been a great project. i have learned a lot, mostly from what i have read so far in my book, "pantaloons and power" by gayle v. fischer. this book has proved a great resource in expanding my knowledge about pants and how they came to be so important, especially for women.

during the 19th century, only men wore pants. they were called breeches or pantaloons, and were tight-fitting articles worn with boots. the early dress reformers were forward-thinking people that were jumping on the bandwagon of all of the other social reforms going on at this time, such as the abolishment of slavery, the second great awakening, and the prohibition of alchohol.

dress reformers at this time argued that forcing women to conform to the dress standards of the day was demeaning and unhealthy to a woman's body. they debated what was appropriate attire for men and women, and the ideas about women's place in society in relation to men.

in 1851 the first public activist movement took place when women marched thru the streets of new york city wearing short skirts and trousers underneath. this action and the ones that followed shocked the country, society, and everyone's ideals about women's fashion and the power of the pants.

thanks to the efforts of these stalwart reformers, pants are now an acceptable article of clothing for both men and women. personally, i am grateful that i can wear jeans whenever i want, and i'm glad that i chose this topic and for all i have learned.

so what now? collecting this data and information has been useful for me, because i plan to work with textiles and fashion for the rest of my life. i want to go to grad school and earn a master's in textile science and engineering, so that i can research and develop new fibers and fabrics. knowledge about pants, who is wearing them, and how they are wearing them will help me in the future to design what the consumer wants, or dictate what they need.

part V: dress and the future

a. the future of pants. hmm. i think that in the future, everyone will be wearing pants all of the time. i think that globalization, coupled with the general "dressing down" trend, will result in women wearing pants in more and more settings, including business and even church settings. personally, i think that pants are much more comfortable than skirts.

globally, pants will become more and more slimming and form-fitting, so that everyone will be wearing skinny jeans, basically. i think that other cultures outside the united states will take this practice and make it their own through cultural identification. everyone will be wearing it.

b.

even the jonas brothers are ahead of their time.