Claire McCardell bicycling outfit.
I remember learning the word “bifurcated” in 10th grade English: “to divide into two branches or forks” (or pant legs, more on that in a second). This class inspired my passion for words and literature, and after going to college for a degree in English lit, (read: personal enrichment) realizing I needed a tangible skill to survive in a recession, and then going into apparel design, I felt like I had branched off in a completely different direction. However, now I have come full circle to the word that inspired a tangential journey to my current career path, the first garment Babecycle produced for retail was a bifurcated skirt, also known as a culotte. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I have always had a very strong affinity for trees and the metaphors of branches and roots. Using this analogy, we are going to dig into the history and the roots of the word “culotte” and then explore how the meaning branched out to the current day interpretation.
The history of this garment is fascinating and linked to women riding bicycles and engaging in other forms of physical activity. Yes! But first, the French word described men’s breeches or knee length tight fitting pants, usually made of silk, and worn with socks covering the lower leg. This style of pant first appeared in the late 1500’s, and was worn by aristocratic gentlemen across Europe. During the French revolution, 1789-1799, the revolutionary fighters were known as the sans-culottes, (without culottes) as they were rejecting this aristocratic system. So, what did the sans-culottes wear? Trousers. How modern! Slowly, the word and garment morphed into what we now know as a split skirt for women, but the drama doesn’t stop with the French Revolution.
Schiaparelli designed this silk tennis outfit for Lili de Alvarez worn at Wimbledon in 1931.
When the culotte appeared in women’s fashion, it did so as a compromise between appearance and function. During the Victorian era, when skirts and dresses were floor length, women would not have been able to engage in physical activities such as horseback riding or bicycling without a split skirt, unless they were sitting side saddle. Yet, it was paramount to uphold the illusion of the skirt, and so the culotte usually had pleats or a wrap around skirt to disguise the pant element. The culotte was accepted because it did not appear to be a pant, and therefore did not threaten the status quo. However, when French designer Elsa Schiaparelli wore a culotte that was undeniably a divided skirt, with two distinct legs, the British press went wild. The photo and caption are from Shocking! The Life and Art of Elsa Schiaparelli:
Schiaparelli’s shocking split skirt, London 1931
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“French designers had been playing with the idea of the divided, or culotte, skirt for several seasons, and by spring 1927 it had found its place in the wardrobe of active, fashion conscious women. In May 1931 Schiaparelli wore her true divided skirt, undisguised by panels or a wraparound skirt, in London during a trip to buy tweeds. The garment caused much controversy and was loudly condemned by the British press” (31).
Why so much controversy? Around the same time, British author Radclyffe Hall was put on trial for her book The Well of Loneliness (1928), about a “sexual invert” and the book was subsequently banned, (now I really want to read it!). Before the trial, women who chose to wear pants “had been viewed as an artistic affectation, but after the trial any form of dress deemed to be masculine, such as the divided skirt, was decried as anti-feminine and was associated with lesbianism”(15). It is stunning how powerful clothing can be and how much meaning it carries. We have come a long way since 1931; however, the needs of “active, fashion conscious women” have not very well been served! The bicycling clothing market has mostly been catering to the athlete, only now are smaller companies rising up to meet the needs of urban riders who use the bicycle as transportation.
The modern Babecycle culotte isn’t quite as controversial; it is a pragmatic garment appropriate for the office and efficient on the bicycle. Babecycle says, “It’s easy to bike in a skirt, especially if it is really pants!”
Babecycle culotte in citron cotton jacquard. Photo by Hub & Bespoke.
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