Edwardian bicycle outfit

By the 1890s, the bicycle was creating a social revolution in the United States. Nearly two million bicycles were being manufactured each ye...

Drawn from the collection of the FIDM Museum, Outdoor Girls is the first traveling exhibition to explore women’s sporting attire over this 160-year period.

A past time originally dominated by men, bicycling became more acceptable for women after Queen Victoria bought bicycles for her daughters. By the 1890s, clothing to be worn while participating in the activity was being produced

1900 cycling suit

Beginning of this year, a friend of mine found a sweater in a modern shop which looked remarkably like a 1890’s sports sweater. It’s not quite perfect, but it definitely mimics the look…

Bicycling became almost a cult in the 1890s. The development of the pneumatic tyre and the mass production of machines meant that cycling was now comfortable and affordable, and as Queen Victoria Herself had purchased tricycles for her daughters (Starley's), it also became acceptable. As hundreds of young bicycle manufacturers competed for sales, prices dropped from over $100 to as low as $20 for a new cycle, making them in the reach of just about anyone. True or not?! The Pope Manufacturing…

In 1851, American Amelia Bloomer published an article in her newspaper The Lily calling for dress reform. She, and her group of supporters adopted calf-length skirts over full cut ‘Turkish trousers’. The style received some acceptance and lots of ridicule – and although the style never went mainstream, the full-cut trousers became known as ‘bloomers’ and was soon used to describe divided underpants, as well as a costume in wool worn for gymnastic exercise. With a better understanding of the…