Exercise 2: sample answer

The problem: long skirts, petticoats and corsets were awkward and could catch in the chain or wheel. Attempted solutions included divided skirts, shorter or looser skirts with guards, and bloomers or knickerbockers (check), and the Rational Dress Society campaigned for sensible clothing from 1881 (check). The reaction was mixed: newspapers, cartoonists and preachers attacked "the new woman", while others defended her, and some women were abused in the street for wearing bloomers (check).