Video: Exploring Inventive Women's Outdoor Clothing from 1890 to 1940 in 'Women on the Move'

Mar 12, 2023
by Ed Spratt  

bigquotesWomen on the Move has been funded by the European Research Council as part of the Politics of Patents project led by Dr Kat Jungnickel (Goldsmiths, University of London) and brought to life by The Adventure Syndicate.

This energetic film from The Adventure Syndicate showcases the creativity of women from the 1890s-1940s who invented clothing which enabled them to be sporty and active at a time when social norms, and especially their clothing in this case, inhibited them.

Along with Aneela McKenna of Mor Diversity we have reimagined the fun these women will have had pushing boundaries, and the palpable energy that comes when women get together in the outdoors.

Kat wrote:

Women and girls have always been sporty and active, but they've had to work around significant barriers to their freedom of movement.

In addition to being hampered by negative social attitudes, even when women carved out ways to participate in sports, they rarely had the appropriate things to wear because they've seldom been the focus of sportswear manufacturers.

We looked for stories hidden from history, hidden in the archive, and hidden in the garment itself and we were amazed by the results.

You can read more about this research project in Kat's latest open access article : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1...

We're delighted to launch this film on International Women's Day 2023 and make it open access for all to enjoy and spark conversation and debate about the barriers women have faced and still face to being active.

This was filmed and edited by Oxford Atelier: https://oxfordatelier.co.uk
Adventure Syndicate


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Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,102 articles

50 Comments
  • 28 2
 This is fascinating. So grateful that I never had to fuss with convertible riding skirts (although they are kind of classy looking and ingenius, to be fair!) or listen to any of those insane narratives about physical activity spoiling women for childbirth. Not, as it is pointed out in the film, that sexism surrounding sport has been vanquished completely...
  • 10 0
 Amazing piece of history on many levels, wasn’t going to watch the whole thing, until I couldn’t stop watching, really enjoyed it!
  • 11 1
 Foremothers, an underused word.
  • 5 11
flag pinkknip (Mar 13, 2023 at 1:06) (Below Threshold)
 I use ancestors, that’s ungendered.
  • 4 0
 I've entertained riding in a dress more than once. Gotta get that breeze.
  • 4 0
 Fantastic! Nice work
  • 2 0
 Bring back the skirt shirt
  • 1 0
 Whoever invented tights need a high five though
  • 7 8
 The narration is brutal. Watched a couple minutes, then turned it off.
  • 12 0
 I think these are likely actual quotes from old guides for women. There's a book thats still in print called 'Bicycling for Ladies' by Maria E Ward from 1986, it's a good one for the coffee table, having read this is what made me think that regarding the narration.
  • 12 1
 That was the point, they were quotes from publications during the time period. The publications are referenced in the lower right hand corner during the film.
  • 7 6
 @dpars63: it’s not the quotes.
It’s the way the narrators speak with fake accents that is so bad.
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