Women in Paris Banned From Wearing Pants Thanks to 200-Year-Old Law - StyleList

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Women in Paris Banned From Wearing Pants Thanks to 200-Year-Old Law

by Erin Donnelly (Subscribe to Erin Donnelly's posts), Posted Nov 17th 2009 at 2:01PM
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Filed under: Fashion, News

France's First Lady, Carla Bruni, breaking the law. Photo: Javier Soriano, Getty

Quelle horreur!

France may have a reputation for being fashion-forward and eternally chic, but the country's legal code seems to be stuck in the Stone Ages. Turns out, it's illegal for women to wear trousers in Paris, as reported by the Telegraph.

Does First Lady Carla Bruni know about this?!?

But don't start fretting about having "les cops" on your tail if you decide to go wild and don a pair of jeans, you daredevil, you.

The antiquated law has reportedly been on the books since 1800, but isn't enforced... probably because, as the paper notes, French policewomen wearing pants don't have much of a leg to stand on.

According to the source, the law states that a woman daring to wear trousers "must present herself to Paris's main police station to obtain authorization."

Adjustments in 1892 and 1909 allowed flexibility for women holding the reins of a horse or riding a bicycle, the paper notes.

Efforts have been made to get rid of the rule, both in 1969 (shocker!) and in 2003, when the minister overseeing gender equality argued that it was simpler to essentially ignore the rule rather than change it.

(We'll remember that should we ever act disorderly over a Birkin bag at Hermes.)

Pants on women are controversial in Indonesia as well. Read about one province's ban on tight trousers.

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