Feminist and writer Amelia Bloomer lent her name to the floor-length, flowy pants she developed, and later activists chopped their hemlines and got rid of suffocating layers. The changes to women’s fashion sparked some hysteria about the disintegration of gender identity and society at large. Various publications worried that the bloomer signaled the start of women’s “usurpation of the rights of man.” The woman’s wish to move about more freely and comfortably was interpreted by others as “women desiring to compete with men for places of public power.” They weren’t entirely wrong... but slowly but surely people started to recognize the truth that public power can and should be shared. Fashion functioned as a powerful visual tool that feminists used to call attention to women’s right to equality. 

In the end, the reclamation of the dress by women became a more important feminist symbol than the adoption of masculine styles. Women transformed the dress into more freeing, comfortable styles that allowed for more movement and freedom of expression––like skirts (mini, midi and maxi) or the t-shirt dresses of today. Nowadays dresses are not only more comfortable and diverse in style, they’re also more accessible to more groups of people. You don’t have to be a certain race or economic level or career to wear a certain dress in a certain style––you can wear what you like. 

At Dressember, we use this diversity of style and expression to make a statement: You––all of you––can do anything in a dress (or tie!), even fight for justice and freedom. We include ties in our movement to continue to break down rigid gender standards in fashion but also to ensure that advocates can join the fight in a style that is comfortable for them. Most of all, we care about turning fashions that have been used to divide and disempower into symbols of unity and freedom. 

Can dresses change the world?

The people wearing them certainly can.