The question is, as I embark on another closet downsizing challenge, why am I faced with 45 pairs of slacks, 10 skirts, and six dresses? Personally, we know why we prefer slacks. They are more comfortable plus you don’t have to deal with pantyhose.
Think about it. You may remember when you first wore slacks to school or the office.
Acceptance of women having slacks in their wardrobe has been sporadic since the 1800s. A review of a women’s dress code in the 1850s states the Turkish dress, a knee-length dress worn over bloomers and named for the designer Amelia Bloomer, was in style.
Through the years, notable feminists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton promoted the fashion. Mary Edwards Walker, Civil War surgeon, is recorded in history for her many arrests for wearing men’s attire.
Women who worked in factories, when men were serving in the military during two world wars, found that wearing pants was more comfortable and safer.
In the 1960s, Mary Tyler Moore wanted her wardrobe to reflect the national fashion trends on The Dick Van Dyke Show. “I think we broke new ground, and that was helped by my insistence on wearing pants,” she said of the wardrobe updates.
Women were not allowed to wear slacks on the U.S. Senate floor until 1993, but some women broke the rules years before.
America’s first ladies who stepped out in slacks were given national news coverage. In 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt arrived at the Easter Egg Roll wearing riding pants because she didn’t have time to change clothes, she told reporters. Pat Nixon made a national statement when she appeared in Ladies Home Journal in 1972 in several pant suit styles. Jackie Kennedy wasn’t so public but was seen wearing slacks and a sweater at Cape Cod. We can’t overlook Hillary Clinton and her wardrobe of pantsuits in a variety of colors and fabrics. She is also the only first lady to wear a pantsuit for her official portrait.
When we point to jeans in our wardrobes, we must thank the baby boomers for putting the style and denim into the spotlight. It was one of the ways they protested the Vietnam War, but the style and fabric survived incredible popularity from outdoor comfort to high class cultural events.
I was well into my 60s when I ventured into the rack of jeans. I found the plain pair of jeans so comfortable that I dared, at 80, to buy a pair of jeans decorated with rhinestones. They are reserved to wear on Apple Butter Sunday each October.
My young friends tell me vintage clothing is a current trend. I know for sure I am vintage, but I don’t know how old clothing needs to be to qualify as vintage.
Certainly, the jeans are keepers, but which pairs of slacks can be discarded and donated to the Salvation Army? Even though we like to think you can never have too many pairs of black slacks, three pairs were added to the throw away pile. Then the yellow pair that was too tight even when they were bought on sale.
I can’t wait until spring arrives and I can be more ladylike in skirts and jackets, be complimented on my appearance, and just feel more comfortable. Oh yes, I mention skirts and they demand shoes with heels.
Like the long row of slacks in the closets, the skirts have seen many years. The denim skirt may be the oldest and dearest. But I am also finding it difficult to part with the animal print layered ruffled skirt. And there are more old favorites to decide on in the endless task of downsizing.
In the meantime, I’m waiting for a special occasion to wear the pink leather jacket and matching slacks with the Ivanka Trump labels.
First Published February 23, 2025, 11:00 a.m.
