The Lily (newspaper)
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The Lily was the first U.S. newspaper edited by and for women. It was published from 1849 to 1853 by Amelia Jenks Bloomer before she sold the newspaper to Mary Birdsall in 1854. While the newspaper in
First issue of The Lily, January 1, 1849
Bloomers
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Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthfu
The Lily (newspaper)
…broadened its focus to include the many issues of women's rights activists in the 1850s. It grew in its distribution as a result of its discussion of bloomers, a comfortable fashion popularized by Bloomer in the paper. In 1848, The Lily developed as a publication for "home distribution" among the women who…
1850s' fashion bloomers
A pair of bloomers, 1981
1851 caricature of fashion bloomers
In a reversal of gender roles, a "bloomer" asks her fiancé's shocked father for consent to marry his son: satirical cartoon from 1852.