“Bloomers Not Masculine Apparel, But If a Woman Dresses Like a Man in West Orange She Will Be Fined.” New York Herald. May 22, 1895.
BLOOMERS NOT MASCULINE APPAREL
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But if a Woman Dresses Like a Man in West Orange She Will Be Fined.
[BY TELEGRAPH TO THE HERALD.]
ORANGE, N. J., May 21, 1895.—The West Orange Township Committee recently passed an ordinance relating to vice and immorality. One of the sections provides that “no person shall appear on any street or highway or public place in a state of nudity or in a dress not belonging to his or her sex, &c., under a penalty of $10 for each and every offence.” At a meeting of the Board held last night the question was raised whether or not this referred to the wearing of bloomers or knickerbockers by women cyclists. The question was not settled, but one of the Board said he guessed there would not arise an occasion where the question would be tested, as the garments referred to had become so generally used that they could, he thought, be considered as belonging to the female.