The Wasp — 1894 — page 471: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes women wearing bloomers (loose, practical trousers) in rainy weather. The caption presents a mock debate: one woman argues men dislike bloomers, while another counters that they allow women to walk in rain without holding up long skirts—thus "saving labor." The satire targets Victorian gender anxieties about women's fashion reform. Bloomers were genuinely controversial; conservative critics viewed them as unfeminine and a threat to traditional female roles. The cartoon mocks both the prudish objections to practical clothing and the dismissive attitude toward women's legitimate comfort concerns. The figure holding an umbrella in the background appears to represent the old-fashioned alternative—encumbered by rain-soaked skirts.