Bloomers (1895)
In an 1890s mini-article, Debs comments on that scandalous mode of dress.
The “Bloomer Question” should be solved by the sex that wears them in a way to suit themselves. Men of sense will hail with satisfaction any change in the woman’s dress in which health and comfort shall be in harmonious alliance with elegance and style. Women know a thousand times better than men what they should wear and I regard it as presumptuous and impertinent for men to meddle in such affairs. If men wanted to wear bloomers they would wear them, nor would they ask the consent or consult the views or desires of women. It should be understood that women are the equals, not the wards of men, and in their own affairs they have the right to suit themselves.
For myself, I confess to a liking for bloomers. They seem cool and comfortable and there is something about the air of the girl who wears them that reminds me of the Declaration of Independence. They are immodest only to the immodest. I have immense admiration for women who have the audacity to fly in the face of antiquated “forms” and “usages.” With iconoclastic courage they shock the prudes of both sexes and pave the way of higher elevations and loftier attainments. Mrs. Annie Jenness Miller1 is one of the really great women of the century.