Once upon a time, rich white ladies did not wear pants. That is what men did. And (snivel) laborers. No, rich white ladies wore dresses and skirts and stockings and high heels and did I mention girdles and corsets? And then film star Katharine Hepburn came along and scandalized everyone by wearing (gosh!) pants and (my word!) button-down blouses. It was all quite risqué. 

The exhibit Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen opened Thursday at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. It features khaki, yes, but also many dresses and skirts that this four-time Oscar winner wore throughout her career. Hepburn appeared in films ranging from Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? to Bringing Up Baby to Adam's Rib — worrying film executives about her feminist inclinations all the way. She saved all the costumes from her career and 40 will be on display at the NYPL exhibit, Yahoo News explains. After Hepburn's death in 2003, hundreds of her persona items were donated to the Kent State University Museum for preservation; the museum curated this current exhibit.

So ditch that girdle, pull on some "mannish" dungarees, and check it out.

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