The Purpose of a Hoop Skirt

Women of the mid-19th century wore large, thick dresses for modesty.

When compared to the women of today, 19th-century women spent a great deal of their day getting ready and dressed. Women during this time were required to wear as many as seven layers of clothes to be considered presentable. However; throughout the 19th century, changes in style and inventions allowed women to be acceptable by wearing fewer layers of clothing. One of these inventions was the hoop skirt, which appeared in use in the 1850s.

Petticoats

Petticoats were a staple in Victorian fashion. They were essentially long dresses with the inclusion of excessive ruffles at the bottom. These ruffles added an appearance of fullness to the petticoat. Petticoats of the early to mid-19th century were usually lightly trimmed, which allowed them to be easily washed and starched. Repetitive starching, like the inclusion of ruffles, allowed Victorian petticoats to appear full. Many petticoats also had exuberant colors, which were fashionable at the time. To get a desirable appearance of a bell shape near the buttocks, Victorian women wore up to seven petticoats at a time.

Hoop Skirt

The hoop skirt, also known as the caged crinoline, was invented in the 1850s. It was essentially a skirt with a series of loops that laid parallel to the ground and wrapped around the wearer. At the waist, hoops in the caged crinoline were small. Hoops gradually increased in size the further they were placed from the waist. The hoop skirt eventually led to the crinolette, a device that made improvements on the caged crinoline and further increased the fullness of petticoats. Crinolettes were commonly used in the 1870s.

Hoop Skirts and Petticoats

The hoop skirt was adapted for use by many women and became a mainstay. Women liked using the hoop skirt because it required them to wear fewer petticoats and still have a modest appearance. With the hoop skirt, women wore one petticoat underneath the loops. They wore either one or two petticoats on top of the hoop skirt, to cover the metal rings. Because they required less petticoats, women wearing hoop skirts were subjected to carrying less weight. Less clothing also allowed women to keep cooler during hot summer months.

Hoop Skirt Use

The hoop skirt was typically worn by unemployed women. They allowed women to properly present themselves in the presence of guests to their homes. Here, hoops skirts could be easily managed and were not cumbersome. Many working women, on the other hand, did not wear hoop skirts. Nurses could not wear them because they needed to quickly navigate between crowded patient quarters. Broken hoop skirts could also prick a patient, potentially furthering their injury. Women working for farms, kitchens or laundry facilities rarely wore hoop skirts as well.

References

• Fanny and Vera's Helpful Hints and Timely Tips; Petticoats and Hoops; Sue Rhodes et al.
• Public Broadcasting Atlanta, This is Atlanta History: The Hoop Skirt