Read the excerpt from Chapter 3 of Wheels of Change .But the bicycle craze had a more lasting impact on women’s clothing than just the use of bloomers. Thanks in large part to cycling, the innovation of rational dress reformers were starting to take effect by the end of the 1890s. Corsets were on their way out, dresses were getting shorter, and women no longer wore the heavy, bulky undergarments that gave them round, unnatural shapes. These changes went a long way toward unburdening women and setting the stage for them to be healthier and more active in the coming century.