You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer - Hardcover

Amelia Bloomer is not a proper lady. She thinks proper ladies of the 19th century are silly. They're not allowed to vote, not supposed to work, and all that fuss about clothes! Ridiculously wide hoop skirts, yards and yards of hot petticoats, and cruelly tight corsets supported by whalebone or steel made women faint at the drop of the hat: "What was proper about that?" So Amelia, being so very improper, sets out to revolutionize the world for women.

Not only does she start her own newspaper and try to change the voting laws, she also popularizes a new fashion. This bold new garb shocks the proper ladies, but frees all others to move, digest, breathe, and think about something other than keeping from fainting (such as voting and working). Named for their best spokesperson, bloomers marked the start of a kinder, gentler approach to women's fashion--and women's rights.

Shana Corey's lightly humorous voice is perfect for this true story about the 19th-century women's rights activist. A note at the end provides horrifying and fascinating information about women's restrictive clothing (corsets sometimes displaced internal organs!) and the dress reform that Amelia Bloomer spearheaded. Chesley McLaren's breezy, exuberant illustrations charmingly reflect her background in fashion design and illustration. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Grade 1-3-A funny, disdainful look at the early 19th-century proprieties that set the scene for the women's rights movement. Amelia Bloomer thought proper ladies were silly; it was silly that they couldn't vote, and it was silly that they were not supposed to work. "So she started her own newspaper and went to work on that." Text and pictures flow easily and energetically with comic views of ladies in their lavish, lusciously colored dresses. Several scenes cascade down the page, intertwined with type resembling hand-printed letters. The story keeps a clear focus on the social constraints of confining clothing. Independent-thinker Amelia is thrilled when her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton brings her cousin to visit. "Libby was not wearing a dress!" Her poufy pantaloons and period shoes are first seen in ebullient splendor on the end pages. Needless to say, Amelia finds them "brilliant," makes a pair for herself, and promotes them in her newspaper. Author and illustrator conclude adroitly, connecting Amelia's influence to present-day modes of dress. Over time, the early "bloomers" went out of style. "But did people really forget all about Amelia Bloomer and her improper ideas?" The answer is laid firmly to rest on the final page with its assortment of contemporary pants-clad women. The concluding essay sketches a bit more detail about Amelia Bloomer, the attire of her time, and women's continued interest in "bloomers." Dressed in a well-shaped story, this entertaining lesson in social history will be especially enjoyed as read-aloud fare.
Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
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