Hello, Great shot of “Pedal Pusher” pants for girls and women from the late 50s to the time when bell bottom pants came onto the scene. These days, they are called cropped pants or a take on the 60s pants, the Capris. As early as the late 50s, the capri pants have been around and come/go with the current trends. But, why were they called Pedal Pusher pants? It was difficult to ride any bicycle with a full Poodle Skirt style outfit. The long material usually got caught in the chain or pedals. So, pants were worn. But the straight leg pants were also, floppy material and did get caught in the sprocket, pedals and chains. So, within no time, girls and women were wearing the latest designed pants with skinny tapered legs and now, the “catching in the chain, sprocket or pedals” was history. At the time, the pin pointed pants were not “officially” accepted as daily wear or wearing out in the general public unless one rode bicycles. But, gradually, the style was accepted and today, fall into the category of skinny leg pants, jeans or high activity pants. No pants clips were necessary to keep the material out of the sprocket/pedals or chain. Jnaki Note: The height of the end seam of the Pedal Pusher Pants were not as long as normal pants for women. So, they were not in the dressy category. That style came to be accepted as normal, daily wear much later. But, they served their purpose for bicycle activity. Cuffs, no cuffs, just a seam or mini cuffs were all added later as the styles changed with the styles. For men, Levis, regular pants, were all accepted and still got caught in the sprocket or chain. Such sacrifices in styles went along with the old hot rod style of big cuffs for Levis. That style was old hat by 1958. The no cuff edges or very narrow cuff if any, was the new look. Note 2: As clothing goes in style, in the mid to late 60s and into the early 70s, the bell bottom craze came into being with the widths ranging from mild width to wild 14+ inches around, flopping around as girls/women walked around. Those definitely needed bicycle clips. But the pedal pushers were still popular, too. Go figure… So, what about the men’s bell bottom pants, those were definite chain grabbers and clips were the obvious choices. Straight leg Levis to flared wide bottom versions, back to wide straight leg, and finally, back to the normal Levis we all wore in the 60s. Now, that is called style changes. Ha! Some of us followed the styling cues as necessary, but, the obvious answer became evident, surf shorts or styled shorts to eliminate all chain grabbing incidents. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
