This was way more interesting than I expected going in. I've heard so many variations of the skirt vs. pants debate that I thought I had heard all there was to hear; I'm pleasantly surprised I was wrong.
(1) When I was doing fieldwork in rural South America, I wore skirts to fit in better with local women, who at the time never wore pants (occasionally teen girls wore jeans. no women or girls ever wore shorts). What was funny is that at first -- before I had been around long enough for everyone to know who I was -- people who had not met me before assumed I was a nun. All white women visitors who otherwise came to the community worked for NGOs and arrived in "safari" garb: cargo pants, hiking boots, t-shirts. A white woman in a skirt was.... a nun maybe?
(2) In the city, which I visited sometimes to conduct research business, if I dressed in tourist garb (shorts or pants) when I crossed the plaza the money-changers (back in the ancient days of no ATMs) would say to me "dólares? dólares?". If I wore a dress or skirt, they would say "reais? reais?"
A white woman in a skirt or dress could only be a Brazilian!
The use of a skirt for privacy still remains despite indoor plumbing in this example at least - nurses doing necessary intimate checks for women around pregnancy and cervical smear tests will advise the woman to wear a skirt to the appointment, and not trousers, as a skirt can be kept on and afford some privacy. (UK).
“Boys need to do something to become men: all a girl needs to do to become a woman is… wait.” — beautiful! Loved reading this and look forward to the next post!
I’ve never felt comfortable in dresses or skirts but there is definitely something to them and I’m actively looking to embrace wearing them more!
Excellent, thank you. We have all our daughters wear skirts unless they are working, until they are eighteen. Possibly extreme, but we're fighting hard to inculcate a sense a feminine identity.
As a mostly grown up tomboy who also is blessed with curves… skirts in summer are painful without additional layers of protection under them. Especially in my childbearing expansion and contraction. I do occasionally enjoy wearing dresses and will dress up for Mass and occasions, but otherwise, pants have been my preferred mode of dress for that reason… and I very much am enjoying the current resurgence of curlottes and wide-legged, loose fitting pants… are they pants or skirts? Who knows! They’re pretty and feminine anyway and I can chase my toddlers around without chaffing or tripping or having to worry if I’m a week late in waxing my legs.
Incidentally, I rode horses for two decades and did a variety of martial arts for the same amount of time. I’ve ridden horses bareback in skirts… and ridden side saddle… but I do not recommend either of those things as a viable solution. Side saddles are truly ridiculous contraptions and I have great respect for ladies who insisted on mastering them, but they are a prime example of the triumph of culture over practical comfort. Men invented saddles for a reason or else it may have affected ancient horse lords birth rates..
The whole “gird your loins” refers to the way men would have to tuck their tunic into sort-of pants in order to actually be able to run freely in a battle. Especially poorer peasant conscripts who might only be armed with a farming implement and maybe have a leather jerkin.
Horses made pants *somewhat* necessary, but I would argue that the wider distribution of armour in cold climates requiring undergarments, like stockings or hose would be the main leader in the evolution of pants in European cultures.
This was way more interesting than I expected going in. I've heard so many variations of the skirt vs. pants debate that I thought I had heard all there was to hear; I'm pleasantly surprised I was wrong.
Hi Regina, I really enjoyed this! I can’t wait for part 2! You might like my essay in which I tried to discuss a very similar question :) https://open.substack.com/pub/theturtledove/p/fashion-a-principally-feminine-interest?r=2lk15c&utm_medium=ios
(1) When I was doing fieldwork in rural South America, I wore skirts to fit in better with local women, who at the time never wore pants (occasionally teen girls wore jeans. no women or girls ever wore shorts). What was funny is that at first -- before I had been around long enough for everyone to know who I was -- people who had not met me before assumed I was a nun. All white women visitors who otherwise came to the community worked for NGOs and arrived in "safari" garb: cargo pants, hiking boots, t-shirts. A white woman in a skirt was.... a nun maybe?
(2) In the city, which I visited sometimes to conduct research business, if I dressed in tourist garb (shorts or pants) when I crossed the plaza the money-changers (back in the ancient days of no ATMs) would say to me "dólares? dólares?". If I wore a dress or skirt, they would say "reais? reais?"
A white woman in a skirt or dress could only be a Brazilian!
The use of a skirt for privacy still remains despite indoor plumbing in this example at least - nurses doing necessary intimate checks for women around pregnancy and cervical smear tests will advise the woman to wear a skirt to the appointment, and not trousers, as a skirt can be kept on and afford some privacy. (UK).
“Boys need to do something to become men: all a girl needs to do to become a woman is… wait.” — beautiful! Loved reading this and look forward to the next post!
I’ve never felt comfortable in dresses or skirts but there is definitely something to them and I’m actively looking to embrace wearing them more!
Excellent, thank you. We have all our daughters wear skirts unless they are working, until they are eighteen. Possibly extreme, but we're fighting hard to inculcate a sense a feminine identity.
As a mostly grown up tomboy who also is blessed with curves… skirts in summer are painful without additional layers of protection under them. Especially in my childbearing expansion and contraction. I do occasionally enjoy wearing dresses and will dress up for Mass and occasions, but otherwise, pants have been my preferred mode of dress for that reason… and I very much am enjoying the current resurgence of curlottes and wide-legged, loose fitting pants… are they pants or skirts? Who knows! They’re pretty and feminine anyway and I can chase my toddlers around without chaffing or tripping or having to worry if I’m a week late in waxing my legs.
Incidentally, I rode horses for two decades and did a variety of martial arts for the same amount of time. I’ve ridden horses bareback in skirts… and ridden side saddle… but I do not recommend either of those things as a viable solution. Side saddles are truly ridiculous contraptions and I have great respect for ladies who insisted on mastering them, but they are a prime example of the triumph of culture over practical comfort. Men invented saddles for a reason or else it may have affected ancient horse lords birth rates..
just as a point of historical fact -- men used to mostly wear "dresses" and "skirts" too. Pants are recent innovation for them:
https://peterturchin.com/cultural-evolution-of-pants/
Oh, obviously. as shown in all the Bible story illustrations and ancient artwork by the Egyptian’s, Hittites, Chinese, etc.
And thanks for the article! So we blame the horses for trousers, eh?
The whole “gird your loins” refers to the way men would have to tuck their tunic into sort-of pants in order to actually be able to run freely in a battle. Especially poorer peasant conscripts who might only be armed with a farming implement and maybe have a leather jerkin.
Horses made pants *somewhat* necessary, but I would argue that the wider distribution of armour in cold climates requiring undergarments, like stockings or hose would be the main leader in the evolution of pants in European cultures.