u/dr_mus_musculus

I was listening to some trivia on the radio this morning and learned that bloomers became popular during the women’s suffrage movement in the US. Then it got me thinking: it’s no longer stigmatized that women wear pants, but that wasn’t always the case.

Across the globe, the traditional/national garb for women is often dresses or skirts of some kind (ie, NOT pants). In Korea it’s called a hanbok. In India, sari. In Japan, the traditional garb for women is the kimono while in Austria, women wear dirndl. These are just a handful of examples out of many.

How did this come to be? How did it become a cross cultural phenomenon across time that women were relegated to wearing dresses while men wore pants?

I was listening to some trivia on the radio this morning and learned that bloomers became popular during the women’s suffrage movement in the US. Then it got me thinking: it’s no longer stigmatized that women wear pants, but that wasn’t always the case.

Across the globe, the traditional/national garb for women is often dresses or skirts of some kind (ie, NOT pants). In Korea it’s called a hanbok. In India, sari. In Japan, the traditional garb for women is the kimono while in Austria, women wear dirndl. These are just a handful of examples out of many.

How did this come to be? How did it become a cross cultural phenomenon across time that women were relegated to wearing dresses while men wore pants?

I'm hosting an art/crafts swap in St Louis, MO (USA) on Sunday, July 26, 2026. If you're nearby and want an invite, let me know!

I was inspired by this sub. I'm hoping to facilitate a fun exchange of arts/crafts -- including through one round of White Elephant exchange (which I hope adds a fun twist to the whole thing) in my local community

Do you guys have anything like this going on in your cities?

Please see my previous post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/StLouis/s/ZNeD6q3Rpk

This event will be held at Perennial on July 26, and will be limited to 20 participants. To offset some of the costs of hosting/organizing this event, I kindly ask that guests chip in $10 to participate in this swap. There will be light snacks and refreshments. Bring your own favorite snack/beverage (adult or otherwise) if you please!

I will be disseminating invites through Partiful. To receive an invite and reserve your spot, please DM me your name and email address

I ask that participants bring 2-3 (or more if you please) handmade items to swap. One item should be wrapped or packaged in some way (inside an old paper bag from Trader Joe’s is perfectly acceptable) so we can do a White Elephant exchange. You’re welcome to bring more than this one item if you’d like to swap with others directly after the White Elephant exchange

I will share further updates as they arise (on this post), so please stay tuned

Looking forward to meeting some of you creative folks soon!

A couple days ago I kind of informally surveyed the general STL population to gauge interest in a local arts/crafts swap/exchange (original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/StLouis/s/UbKrLUZJ7a)

There seemed to be a decent amount of interest, so I reached out to a couple places to inquire about renting their space for this event

I’m leaning towards having this event at Perennial. I think Perennial will be the perfect creative space for something like this (iykyk). I’ve been in touch with the cool folks over there and at this time I’m leaning towards having the swap in late July on a Sunday afternoon (pending availability)

Right now I’m leaning towards capping the number of participants to 20 (the rental fee increases as group size increases), but that number could change depending on interest

Lastly, I wish I didn’t have to ask but I am not in a financial position to eat the entire cost of hosting and organizing this event. I kindly ask that participants chip in a few bucks to take part in this swap

Any tips or advice appreciated. This is my first time doing something like this!

*Sold some yarn recently, typo in title

Recently I sold some yarn on FB marketplace. The woman who came to pick up the yarn was a kindly older lady (70 something. I’m 40F) who struck up a conversation with me about what I had originally planned for the yarn I was selling, what kinds of things I like to knit, etc. I mentioned I have been into sock-knitting recently and this set off a 20 minute conversation about all things knitty. She's apparently in the local knitting guild (whatever that is?). She asked to see my newly finished (first pair!) socks, and so I brought them out for her to see and she ooh’d and ahh’d at them, trying to guess the yarn I used.

After everything was said and done, we exchanged Ravelry information (I am not very active on there, but apparently she is!) and phone numbers. She invited me to get in touch with her if I need any help with any of my projects (socks or otherwise), and that we can meet at one of our many local libraries.

I don’t know where I’m going with this, other than to say that I am thrilled to have met a fellow yarn/knitting enthusiast and made a new friend. I go to my LYS to take lessons and classes – and I meet a lot of people there. But this feels special and different, and kind of serendipitous.

Pam, if you’re on here – Hi!

Just wanted to share my little story.