Dressed: The History of Fashion

Fashion History Mystery #49: A Brief History of Shorts (Dressed Classic) — August 22, 2025

Overview

In this classic episode, hosts April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary tackle a listener question from Australia: "How and when did shorts become a womenswear staple?" The episode traces the fascinating and sometimes controversial adoption of shorts by women, from their 19th-century roots in boys’ clothing and sportswear, through their shocking appearance in early 20th-century fashion, to acceptance as everyday women’s attire. Full of archival research, colorful anecdotes, and witty banter, the episode unpacks the social anxieties and shifting attitudes that accompanied the evolution of shorts.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Query and Episode Aim

• Question from Rebecca Beaumont (Australia): When did shorts transition to a women's wardrobe mainstay?
  • Reference to styles from Bermuda shorts to Daisy Dukes.
  • (01:33)

2. Early Use of Shorts and Lexicon

• Early 20th-century magazines used "shorts" mainly to refer to men's/boys' garments or as a textile term.

• Notable first press use in 1922, Women’s Wear Daily, describing British women considering trousers/shorts for sports.

  • Quote:
    "English women may adopt male attire for sports during the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship ... Rowing girls wear shorts. Abbreviated knickers are worn by runners and hurdlers. Cyclists wear breeches and stockings, while javelin throwers favor abbreviated shorts." (03:34)

• Commentary: Into the 1920s, even boys’ shorts were referred to in “quotation marks” as a novelty (03:07).

3. Crossing Gender Lines: Women, Sports, and Scandal

• Shorts for women began as athletic wear—seen in sports (tennis, rowing, cycling, track).

• Example: 1925, unnamed woman golfer in Manhattan wore shorts, creating a sensation.

  • Quote:
    "A sensation was caused on the Van Court Park golf links ... by the appearance of a young woman attired in a pair of very short golf shorts. ... Both male and female golfers regarded the wearer of this innovation with astonishment." (06:37)

• Another example: Early 20th-century Dorothy actress Anna Laughlin sporting very short shorts on stage in 1905 (05:45).

  • Stage performance was a rare “safe space” for such experimentation.

4. Societal Anxiety and Cultural Backlash

• Male anxiety documented over women’s adoption of “their” clothing, captured in satirical and indignant press.

• 1926, Vogue article by George S. Chappell:

  • Quote:
    "May a mere male voice protest ... the wholesale way they are appropriating our ... habits and ... physical forms. Frankly ... we are beginning to feel suppressed. We sense the looming of sex extinction." (08:43)

  • Lampooned the sight of “an over plump young woman in under plump shorts wheeling a baby carriage. Masculine motherhood. Motherly manhood.” (10:16)

• Discussion of women shopping for men’s shorts, especially in Los Angeles, for swim and beachwear. (11:30)

5. From Transgression to Trend

• Couture designers entered the scene: Jean Patou designed chic women’s shorts ensembles for beach and resort wear in the late 1920s.
  • Description: Black crepe de chine shorts, 8–9 inches above knee, with sleeveless white top and plaid sandals. Entirely modern-looking by today's standards. (12:57)
• Recurring point: What starts as scandalous (e.g., revealing swimwear) often becomes everyday fashion over time. (13:44)

6. 1930s Onward: Mainstreaming Shorts

• By the mid-1930s, shorts were normalized as essential resort wear.

  • 1935 Vogue:
    Quote:
    "Shorts are of course an essential if you want to be very smart." (15:06)

• Fashion moved shorts beyond beaches and resorts—socialites pictured in matching short sets for city outings, and materials like corduroy appeared.

• The trend solidified through the 1940s, 50s, and especially the fashion revolutions of the 1960s.

  • Even then, some resistance persisted—e.g., Norman Norell’s tailored women's suit with culottes caused a stir in the mid-60s. (16:39)

7. Changing Attitudes, Personal Preferences

• Fashion cycles noted: shorts lengths and styles (e.g., capris, Bermuda shorts) come in and out of fashion.
  • Both hosts share personal views:
    • April hasn’t owned a pair of shorts in years, preferring skirts. (17:30)
    • Cassidy owns a vintage 1930s pair—a family heirloom—but doesn’t wear them (18:20).

8. Conclusion

• Shorts' journey into women's wardrobes is a story of function, transgression, adaptation, and eventual normalization.
• Listeners are encouraged to reflect on "baby trousers" and their legacy the next time they get dressed. (18:27)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• April Callahan, on defining "shorts":
  "Shorts is also a textile weaving term, so sometimes we see it appear in fashion magazines long before we see it used in the way that we mean here." (02:29)

• Cassidy Zachary, reflecting on the 1920s:
  "...even the appearance of a man in shorts, outside of sports, was considered shocking... so imagine a woman!" (04:32)

• George S. Chappell via April:
  "We sense the looming of sex extinction." (08:43)
  "Honestly, what more pathetically unlovely sight can there be than ... an over plump young woman in under plump shorts wheeled a baby carriage." (10:16)

• April, on fashion cycles:
  "If you really look at the big picture, you can see how styles and silhouettes that were once considered informal, how over time they really tend to become accepted as proper day wear." (13:44)

• Cassidy, about her vintage shorts heirloom:
  "I do own, April, a 1930s pair of these black ready to wear shorts that one of my great aunts had... I just keep them as one of those special treasures." (18:20)

Useful Timestamps

• 01:33 – Listener question introduction
• 03:07 – Early references to "shorts" in boys’ clothing
• 03:34 – 1922 Women's Wear Daily source on women in shorts for sport
• 05:45 – Theatrical exception: Dorothy's 1905 shorts
• 06:37 – 1925 golfer causes a sensation in shorts
• 08:43 – Vogue 1926: Gender anxiety about women in trousers/shorts
• 11:30 – Women buying men’s shorts for swimwear in the late 1920s
• 12:57 – Jean Patou’s shorts ensemble described
• 15:06 – 1935 Vogue: Shorts are a resort essential
• 16:39 – Evolution through the 1940s–1960s, Norman Norell’s culottes
• 17:30–18:27 – Hosts’ personal reflections on shorts; episode wrap-up

Takeaway

The adoption of shorts by women is a rich tapestry of cultural negotiation and fashion evolution. From scandal on the golf course to staple summer wear, shorts’ history reveals society’s shifting boundaries around gender, function, and self-expression in clothing. As April and Cassidy show, every item in our wardrobes has a story to tell—and shorts are no exception.