When did trousers become the default mode of everyday dress for the women of England?
Just yesterday, it seems, the Sex Discrimination Act was being used to obtain the right for little girls to wear trousers to school, at least in cold weather, but failing to give the same right to the woman who was required to climb ladders in a bookshop
Now - walk round any shopping centre, go to any office or any social occasion & women of all ages, likely as not, are wearing trousers
And when was the last time anyone spotted an undergraduate wearing a skirt during the hours of daylight?
I think it is a symptom of the retreat from domestic chores. Trousers simplify underwear (no petticoats to wash) & need much less in the way of ironing
And at least we dont have to have the kind of argument about shalwar kameez as we do about scarves & veils
