There's something quietly radical about pulling on a pair of leggings made from organic cotton and actually moving freely in them. Not because it's a fashion statement, but because it brings together two things that, for most of history, were considered incompatible: comfort and natural fabric.
For the past fifty years, we've been told that performance means synthetic. That if you want to move, you need plastic. But here's the truth: for the first half of the twentieth century, women exercised in cotton, wool, silk, and linen, and the world kept spinning.
This is the story of how exercise gear evolved, who it served, and what we can bring forward from the past into a smarter, healthier future.
1900s–1910s: Movement in Modesty
Exercise in the early 1900s was not what we'd recognise today. For women, it was framed around "health" and posture - a polite, socially sanctioned form of movement that was more about grace than strength.
What women did: Walking, light calisthenics, cycling, tennis, swimming (modestly), posture drills.
What they wore: Long wool skirts hemmed at walking length, cotton or linen blouses, corsets or structured undergarments, bloomers beneath skirts, wool stockings, and leather lace-up boots.
Materials: Cotton, wool, linen, silk - all natural, all breathable (in theory), all quite heavy.
The irony? Women weren't sweating in plastic, but they were often sweating in layers of restrictive wool while trying to reach their toes. The fabric was natural; the freedom was not.
As fashion historian sources note, durable long wool skirts, hemmed at walking length, were paired with cotton or linen blouses — and by the mid-teens, a middy top inspired by men's sailor uniforms became widely worn for sport. It was modest, practical by the standards of the time, and entirely made from the earth.
Image: female basketball team in 1905
1920s: The Freedom Shift
The 1920s changed everything, not just for fashion, but for the idea of women in motion.
What women did: Tennis, swimming, dance, golf, gymnastics, cycling.
What they wore: Bloomers (shorter now), middy tops, sleeveless swimwear, looser jersey garments.
Materials: Cotton jersey, wool jersey, silk, and the arrival of rayon, the first man-made fibre, derived from plant cellulose.
Women began wearing shorter skirts and sleeveless tops for exercise routines - dancing, swimming, tennis - representing a real departure from the modest clothing of the past, which had been designed to conceal women's bodies.
Coco Chanel was pivotal here. She popularised jersey - traditionally an underwear fabric - as active, everyday womenswear. It was soft, it moved, and it was still entirely natural. Women were beginning to dress for their bodies, not against them.
image: Suzanne Lenglen in 1921 wearing a Patou tennis dress (pushing fashion boundaries for this era)
Image of a more typical 1920’s tennis attire
1930s: Function Starts to Matter
What women did: Gym classes, tennis, skiing, hiking, swimming, dance.
What they wore: Romper-style gym suits, shorts, pleated skirts, one-piece swimsuits.
Materials: Cotton, wool blends, rayon, and increasingly — satin for sport.
The 1930s favoured separates for serious sport players, with satin as the preferred material for sports clothing and khaki cotton as a durable alternative.
This decade marked a real turning point: for the first time, the question wasn't just “what's appropriate?” it was “what works?” Function was beginning to earn a seat at the table.
Image: sleeveless gym suit, 1930
Image: woman lifting barbell, circa 1930
1940s: War Changes the Wardrobe
World War II reshaped everything — including what women wore to move.
What women did: Industrial labour, home fitness, calisthenics, recreational sport.
What they wore: Shorts, utility separates, trousers, more streamlined sportswear.
Materials: Cotton, wool, rayon — and then, something new: nylon.
Nylon had been invented in the late 1930s and quickly found its way into the war effort. After the war, it filtered into civilian clothing. It was the first truly synthetic fibre to enter everyday life, and it arrived before polyester was even on the radar.
Women were wearing trousers in public. Moving more freely. The wardrobe was catching up with the woman.
Image: Marilyn Munro wearing shorts and short sleeve t-shirt, said to be doing yoga, 1948
1950s: Stretch Is Born
What women did: Calisthenics, dance fitness, home workout shows, roller skating, hula hooping.
What they wore: Leotards, pedal pushers, shorts, collared playwear.
Materials: Cotton, rayon, nylon — and then, in 1959, the world changed. Spandex (Lycra) was invented.
Polyester's commercial production took off in the 1950s and was first introduced to the American public in 1951, advertised as a technological solution to "nature's shortcomings." It was marketed as a miracle - a fabric that wouldn't wrinkle, wouldn't fade, wouldn't need care.
Women, still largely positioned as homemakers, were told this was progress.
But it was Lycra that would quietly transform activewear forever. The era of stretch had begun.
Image: Red Bloomer Short Gym Suit, 1950’s
1960s: Synthetics Become "Modern"
What women did: Early jogging, dance, aerobics foundations, gymnastics, skiing.
What they wore: Stretch pants, unitards, sleeker swimwear, dancewear.
Materials: Cotton blends, nylon, Lycra/spandex, acrylics.
This decade saw synthetic fibres go from "convenient" to "aspirational."
Being modern meant wearing something that came from a lab. The cultural narrative around natural fibres was beginning to shift…. slowly at first, then fast.
Image: at home workout to the ‘Jack LaLanne’ show, 1960
1970s: Polyester Enters the Chat
This is the decade that changed activewear's DNA - and not necessarily for the better.
What women did: Jogging boom, Jazzercise, dance cardio, weight training, studio fitness.
What they wore: Tracksuits, short shorts, tube socks, synthetic sets.
Materials: Polyester, nylon, Lycra, velour blends.
Invented by British chemists in 1941, polyester was brought to the United States by the DuPont Corporation and became a popular choice for manufacturing apparel by the 1970s. Cheap petroleum, easy washing, bright colours, and mass production made it irresistible for brands.
The use of these man-made fabrics became widespread in the 1970s due to their vivid colours and wrinkle-free texture.
This was the moment.
Exercise gear shifted from natural fibres to plastic performance culture — and it stuck.
Images: 1970’s cloth outfits in changing room, and leotards and tights
1980s: The Plastic Performance Explosion
What women did: Jane Fonda aerobics, step classes, dance fitness, gym culture.
What they wore: High-cut leotards, leg warmers, Lycra tights, nylon sports bras.
Materials: Polyester + Lycra + Nylon
In the new fitness culture and the desire for strong, healthy bodies in the early 1980s, women turned to synthetics with Lycra for leggings and other sportswear as a sign of empowerment and freedom.
It felt liberating. And in some ways it was - women were claiming gym space, owning their bodies, sweating in public without apology.
But the materials they were doing it in were, quietly, plastic.
Image: women in 1980s exercise gear
1990s–2000s: Technical Fabrics, Total Dominance
What women did: Running, yoga, Pilates, gym training, spin.
Materials: Polyester microfibre, moisture-wicking synthetics, nylon blends.
"Performance" became synonymous with synthetic.
If it wicked sweat, it was good.
If it was cotton, it was old-fashioned.
The marketing was total, and it worked.
Image: Woman out walking, 2000’s
2010s–2020s: Athleisure, Awareness, and Questions
The athleisure era brought activewear out of the gym and into daily life… and with it, a new wave of consumer curiosity.
Materials: Polyester, recycled polyester, nylon, elastane.
But now, people were asking different questions:
- What are these fabrics actually made of?
- What's touching my skin while I sweat?
- What happens when I wash them?
The answers were uncomfortable.
Synthetic fabrics are created from chemical compounds. Polyester contains dyes, solvents, phthalates, and PFAS - per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are virtually indestructible. These chemicals can disrupt the skin's natural microbiome and enter the bloodstream, posing more serious health threats.
A 2025 peer-reviewed study estimated that people may inhale tens of thousands of microplastic particles each day, many small enough to reach deep into the lungs, carrying chemicals such as BPA, phthalates, and PFAS.
Our workout clothing sits tight against our largest organ - our skin - with our pores wide open as we sweat, taking everything in.
During exercise, heat and friction from movement can amplify chemical absorption.
This is not a scare story.
It's a question worth asking: *if we lived well before these chemicals, do we need them now?*
Image: Woman wearing 2010’s - 2020’s fashionable activewear (how fun are those bright colours since the 80's!)
The ODAAT Perspective: The Best of Both Worlds
We're not suggesting anyone head back to bloomers and wool stockings. (Though a good tennis skirt is super cute.)
What we *are* saying is that the wisdom of the past and the demands of the present don't have to be at odds.
For the first sixty years of the twentieth century, women moved in natural fabrics. Cotton, wool, silk, linen.
Yes, some of it was heavy. Yes, some of it was restrictive, but not because of the fibre, because of the design.
The design problem of the past was freedom of movement.
We've solved that.
The design challenge of now is bringing natural, low-tox materials into genuinely high-performance activewear. Fabric that moves with your body. Breathes. Doesn't shed microplastics into your bloodstream or the ocean. Doesn't carry PFAS against your skin while your pores are open.
At ODAAT, that's what we're building. Organic cotton with a touch of spandex. Low-tox dyes. Real performance, real materials, no compromise.
Not a step backward.
A step forward…. informed by a hundred years of knowing better.
Change doesn't happen overnight. But it does happen - one day at a time.
image: the benefits of modern activewear, with centuries worth of natural fibre wisdom... One Day At A Time Active was born
Explore the ODAAT collection → www.odaatactive.com