Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein joins the illustrious A-list of women making pants fashionable by wearing loose-fitting green slacks in a public Khartoum cafe. Although, Hussein was fined $200 for public indecency under Islamic law. Choosing a month prison sentence instead of paying the fine, Hussein wore the same controversial trousers at her trial. In a northern Muslim Sudan, women wear traditional robes covering their hair, but it is not uncommon for women to wear pants, but conservatives consider it immodest. These are the moments that define fashion not only as trivial but symbols of cultural change and independance. Reminding myself of historic pant wearing moments for women, I was surprised to learn records dating back to 4th Century Persia. At the end of the Victorian era, breaking free of cumbersome trappings, Amelia Jenks Bloomer introduced full cut trousers worn underneath a full knee length skirt. Knickers worn with a split wide skirt for cycling at the end of 1890′s were tagged as un-ladylike and did not become popular. Until Marlene Deitrich, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn and Chanel, trousers and pants for women made the transformation. And World War II brought “Rosie the Riveter” with women wearing overalls. Yves Saint Laurent prominently featured the trouser along with menswear influences that cemented the look. Saint Laurent would be very inspired by Lubna Hussein.
