Which type of sentence is this?
Throughout most of U.S. history, pants were considered shocking attire for women, but
the mid-twentieth century saw increased acceptance of this once-controversial clothing
item.
simple
compound
complex
Submit

The sentence provided is a complex sentence.

Complex sentences contain at least one independent clause (which can stand alone as a sentence) and at least one dependent clause (which cannot stand alone as a sentence). In this case, the independent clause is “the mid-twentieth century saw increased acceptance of this once-controversial clothing item,” and the dependent clause is “Throughout most of U.S. history, pants were considered shocking attire for women.”

So, the correct answer is:
complex