Notice-I've changed my mind about this rhyme originating before the 1950s. See how fast I can change my mind? ;o)

While I still believe that the line "We wear our hair in curls" refers to the "bobbed" short hair style, the line about wearing dungarees dates this rhyme as being post 1950s. As I recall, before the 1960s, females (women and girls) didn't wear pants out in public. But then again as a child, I recall wearing shorts and "pedal pushers" (shorts that were below your knees in length, almost like contemporary "capris".)

Here's another trip down memory lane-

When I was going to school in the 1950s, in the winter time, the only pants that girls wore outside were snow suit leggings, However, those snow suit leggings were considered to be too babyish for pre-teens and teenagers, and so girls either braved the cold without anything on their legs but knee socks, or we wore pants underneath our dresses. But as soon as we arrived at school or wherever else we were going, we would quickly take off those pants.

See this second article from When did women start wearing dungarees?

"early 1960's"
"In the 50s? Maybe- if she was working on a farm. Women in the cities wore dresses and skirts. (And slips and girdles and stockings.)

In 1960, in NYC, there was a 3 foot snow fall - a lot of snow for NYC. The women at Brooklyn College petitioned the Dean of Women to allow them to wear slacks. (Slacks, not jeans or "pants".) The Dean relented to the point that women students were allowed to wear slacks under their skirts, but they had to remove them in the vestibules of the buildings, and put them back on in the vestibules. Rosie the Riveter didn't attend Brooklyn College.

Times were very different then. Seeing a woman in pants in the 50s would have been only slightly less strange than seeing a man in a skirt today. (Women also smoothed their skirts when sitting - something you seldom see today. It's a device sometimes used in time travel novels - she sits without smoothing her skirt, she's from the future [of the 40s or 50s].)

Beach wear and informal wear was different - but a decent woman didn't wear jeans. (Although they did manufacture girl's jeans - the zipper was in the side, in the pocket area. But I never saw them in women's sizes.)

In the mid 50s, crinolines were in style - in some schools they had rules about the number of crinolines a girl could wear, because 2 girls sitting across an aisle from each other, each wearing 3 crinolines, would block the aisle. Also Poodle skirts, cardigans and saddle shoes were big."
by: Houston_proud on May 19 2008

-snip-

And I agree with Houston_proud that it was more likely the 1960s rather than the 1950s. Maybe it was even the mid 1960s.

Of course, the question should read "When did women >i>in the United States start wearing dungarees or other pants out in public?


What answer would you give to this question?