Katharine Hepburn wears the trousers: The decision that shaped an icon
It’s absurd to think that less than 100 years ago, it was incredibly taboo for a woman to wear trousers. Today, they are a staple part of every modern woman’s wardrobe, but before World War Two, women were rarely seen in them, and in some cases, they could even be arrested for wearing trousers in public. However, with the help of certain public figures like Katharine Hepburn, the idea of women wearing trousers eventually became less offensive in widespread consciousness.
The actor remains one of the greatest stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, celebrated for her appearances in classic films like Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, and The African Queen, but she is also admired for her boundary-breaking approach to presenting herself. While Hepburn certainly starred in many romance movies opposite iconic leading men like Cary Grant or Spencer Tracy, she was keen to assert herself as an independent woman.
So, she often wore trousers, reluctant to give in to societal pressures simply for the sake of them. She wanted to be comfy, and the androgynous appeal of wearing trousers as a woman certainly had some allure for Hepburn. She revelled in androgyny, regardless of the potentially ‘negative’ consequences it might have on her reputation. Many people were of the belief that women who wore trousers were lesbians, something that supposedly reflected a breakdown of social norms and order, which was incredibly taboo.
Hepburn didn’t care; in fact, many speculate that she was romantically interested in women. The actor wasn’t fickle enough to bow down to societal expectations, and she worked hard enough in Hollywood to give herself the power to convince studio heads to let her wear trousers in some of her films. She wears several pairs of trousers in The Philadelphia Story, despite initial opposition from producers, proving that women didn’t have to exclusively wear dresses or skirts to be taken seriously.
Over the years, Hepburn continuously defied the expectations placed upon her as a woman in the spotlight. She was political and outspoken, and besides her love for trousers, she could often be seen in public without makeup, going against the societal demands for women to be submissive, feminine, and conformist. Her insistence on wearing trousers really epitomised her fearless and headstrong attitude, which paved the way for many other women in Hollywood. Hepburn wasn’t necessarily the first woman in the industry to wear trousers – figures like Marlene Dietrich had worn them a few years before to simultaneous controversy and appeal – but Hepburn’s approach was a little different, more androgynous.
Hepburn always seemed to be interested in rejecting normality, and even as a child, she would dress up as a boy, enjoying the freedom that embodying the opposite sex would bring. This feisty and rebellious spirit never left Hepburn as she got older, and she brought this attitude into her career, where she became one of the first women in Hollywood to don trousers on the silver screen.
By the 1940s, women’s fashion shifted dramatically when it became more practical for women to wear trousers while aiding the war effort, but it was Hepburn who was among the first female celebrities to insist upon defying gendered expectations, which was really quite revolutionary.
