Read the excerpt from Chapter 3 of Wheels of Change . Bloomers did gain some converts in the 1850s, but the backlash was so strong that Amelia Bloomer and her colleagues gave up the fight. Some like-minded women formed the Dress Reform Association in 1857, aiming to win women the right to decide what they would and would not wear. However, the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 stalled their efforts. Why did Amelia Bloomer stop advocating for bloomers? Other advocacy groups took up her cause. She changed her views on women’s clothing. The opposition to her cause overwhelmed her. Her ideas gained popularity within society.