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In the 19th century new leisure activities became popular, 'sports' - exercising for fun.
As women had long been prohibited from wearing men's clothing, women's participation in sports such as riding bicycles, playing tennis, playing golf, swimming and sailing - gradually caused this attitude to change and the first daring moves into wearing pants - initially more divided skirts - were made.
Carol Hamilton Heche, descendant of one of Alameda's earliest residents, wore this blouse around 1920. In a note that accompanied this donation she wrote:
'Worn [on] tripp to Hawai with pants - Very daring'
The true 'Middy' blouse - the term is derived from 'Midshipman's - came into existence around 1910. Made of light-weight cotton duck fabric or wool, it was not meant to be 'tucked in', and was meant to be pulled over the head instead of closed in front with buttons. In the 1920s, sometimes the middy shirt was made with a hip band. Originally white, later they came in other colors. Later versions also lost the sailor's collar, and even shortened the sleeves.
