JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
Please do not imagine there's an answer here.
A misery sandwich with Regency filling, hoops, crinolines, cages, struts, bumps, padding and flying buttress side bars impeded female movement for the better part of a century. I'm getting reports the whole event irritated men somewhat but that's one of those rare moments in History where we get to suffer together. It doesn't concern this topic except as an anomaly.
Please note, yes, ' hoops' and 'crinolines' are being used interchangeably. Yes, there was a difference. It's not important for the sake of this discussion, honest.
Think about it. We take for granted how ' lovely' these garments were, the floating grace of a young woman whose waist disappears into veritable foaming fabric crescendos consisting of lace, silk, flounces, embroidered hems and velvet. OH the visual poetry! And ouch. Beneath this vision- depending on year, a metal or bone or wooden frame, strapped to her waist. She's a little tired, not having been able to sit down since she was dressed ( with an awful lot of help ), stood in the carriage on the way, is struggling with the idea a trip to the lady's room is necessary but what an ordeal.... maybe it could wait another hour or so and she's chilly, too- but who can risk getting close to the fire after the last few deaths? Oh my. No, thank you sir, a stroll in the garden? How shocking to end like the poor Duchess of Manchester! Her under drawers were actually scarlet, for all the world to see when she fell over her hoops, head over hoops they said!
We'd been at this for awhile. Note ' horsehair '. Ever sat on a horsehair sofa? The military is missing the single, best tool, albeit inhumane, for extracting information.
"The predecessor to the crinoline was the farthingale, worn mainly in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and the cartwheel farthingale worn during the Elizabethan period (Laver, 2001, p. 178). The term crinoline has its origin in the French word “crin” meaning horse hair because the stiffening of the original crinolines or petticoats was made of horsehair and pads of rigid material. These materials were placed on a framework of bamboo or cane, whalebone, and metal hoops that were suspended from tapes. The framework was more or less circular in shape, and increased in width towards the hem. These early crinolines were burdensome to wear"........ ( I guess!! JPK )
http://www.fashionintime.org/history-womens-hooped-petticoats/3/
Here is what I mean when I refer to the misery sandwich with Regency stuffing.
This is thought to be Countess of Bedford, Lucy , replete with trapping of the peerage yes- but also a farthingdale.
Next, daylight breaks. Regency fashion jettisoned restrictive strap-on items, no leather straps, booster seats to feminine lure or hiding of feminine attributes for that matter. In point of fact Regency fashion ( IMO ) wwas the most attractive inclusive of anything we have out there today to ever grace the female form- ever.
This is cheating- picked an awesome painting. You can't find an un-awesome painting of the period, however. Regency filling, the best jam ever.
http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/regency/day-plates/
And...... back to the Dark Ages. Yards of fabric, oppressive weight- look, she's holding on to something just to stand up! ( that's a joke, nobody yell at me )
Again.
Laaa!!!
Critics and jokesters had a field day.
I think there actually was a system whereby one could inflate one's hoops? Honest. This was meant as a joke- probably pre- system!
" Suddenly, the woman “whose crinoline, although of ordinary dimensions, being not more than six yards wide, began to show symptoms of rebellion on passing between the chairs...and at last, [the skirt and its wearer] absolutely refused to move, although energetically urged to do so by the...[gentleman’s] cane.” As the woman struggled to loosen her dress and move forward, the crowd “all rose to gaze on the spectacle.” Waiters left their positions, diners flocked to the center of the restaurant, and crowds came pouring through the restaurant to see the woman whose foolish desire to be fashionable had led to her being cemented in place. "
http://www.ultimatehistoryproject.com/crinoline.html
You get the idea. It was not universally admired. There is a rumor out there Queen Victoria disliked the fashion? I'm seeing this hasn't been proven. It seems to have been taken from a request she made that women please not wear them to chapel services during her wedding as a space consideration.
Having ditched impossible, freakish standards
stumbled on the lovely, simple, unrestricted lines of Regency fashion
somehow forgot all about this and-
rocketed backwards-
all the way to this.......
well, how'd that happen?
Being a buff on this particular time period, it would seem necessary to be smitten with all era fashion. Not always. There was a lot that was quite wonderful, would rather not argue on the topic of hoops unless we all lived 150 years ago. It’s the single way it makes sense to do so.
A misery sandwich with Regency filling, hoops, crinolines, cages, struts, bumps, padding and flying buttress side bars impeded female movement for the better part of a century. I'm getting reports the whole event irritated men somewhat but that's one of those rare moments in History where we get to suffer together. It doesn't concern this topic except as an anomaly.
Please note, yes, ' hoops' and 'crinolines' are being used interchangeably. Yes, there was a difference. It's not important for the sake of this discussion, honest.
Think about it. We take for granted how ' lovely' these garments were, the floating grace of a young woman whose waist disappears into veritable foaming fabric crescendos consisting of lace, silk, flounces, embroidered hems and velvet. OH the visual poetry! And ouch. Beneath this vision- depending on year, a metal or bone or wooden frame, strapped to her waist. She's a little tired, not having been able to sit down since she was dressed ( with an awful lot of help ), stood in the carriage on the way, is struggling with the idea a trip to the lady's room is necessary but what an ordeal.... maybe it could wait another hour or so and she's chilly, too- but who can risk getting close to the fire after the last few deaths? Oh my. No, thank you sir, a stroll in the garden? How shocking to end like the poor Duchess of Manchester! Her under drawers were actually scarlet, for all the world to see when she fell over her hoops, head over hoops they said!
We'd been at this for awhile. Note ' horsehair '. Ever sat on a horsehair sofa? The military is missing the single, best tool, albeit inhumane, for extracting information.
"The predecessor to the crinoline was the farthingale, worn mainly in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and the cartwheel farthingale worn during the Elizabethan period (Laver, 2001, p. 178). The term crinoline has its origin in the French word “crin” meaning horse hair because the stiffening of the original crinolines or petticoats was made of horsehair and pads of rigid material. These materials were placed on a framework of bamboo or cane, whalebone, and metal hoops that were suspended from tapes. The framework was more or less circular in shape, and increased in width towards the hem. These early crinolines were burdensome to wear"........ ( I guess!! JPK )
http://www.fashionintime.org/history-womens-hooped-petticoats/3/
Here is what I mean when I refer to the misery sandwich with Regency stuffing.
This is thought to be Countess of Bedford, Lucy , replete with trapping of the peerage yes- but also a farthingdale.
Next, daylight breaks. Regency fashion jettisoned restrictive strap-on items, no leather straps, booster seats to feminine lure or hiding of feminine attributes for that matter. In point of fact Regency fashion ( IMO ) wwas the most attractive inclusive of anything we have out there today to ever grace the female form- ever.
This is cheating- picked an awesome painting. You can't find an un-awesome painting of the period, however. Regency filling, the best jam ever.
http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/regency/day-plates/
And...... back to the Dark Ages. Yards of fabric, oppressive weight- look, she's holding on to something just to stand up! ( that's a joke, nobody yell at me )
Again.
Laaa!!!
Critics and jokesters had a field day.
I think there actually was a system whereby one could inflate one's hoops? Honest. This was meant as a joke- probably pre- system!
" Suddenly, the woman “whose crinoline, although of ordinary dimensions, being not more than six yards wide, began to show symptoms of rebellion on passing between the chairs...and at last, [the skirt and its wearer] absolutely refused to move, although energetically urged to do so by the...[gentleman’s] cane.” As the woman struggled to loosen her dress and move forward, the crowd “all rose to gaze on the spectacle.” Waiters left their positions, diners flocked to the center of the restaurant, and crowds came pouring through the restaurant to see the woman whose foolish desire to be fashionable had led to her being cemented in place. "
http://www.ultimatehistoryproject.com/crinoline.html
You get the idea. It was not universally admired. There is a rumor out there Queen Victoria disliked the fashion? I'm seeing this hasn't been proven. It seems to have been taken from a request she made that women please not wear them to chapel services during her wedding as a space consideration.
Having ditched impossible, freakish standards
stumbled on the lovely, simple, unrestricted lines of Regency fashion
somehow forgot all about this and-
rocketed backwards-
all the way to this.......
well, how'd that happen?
Being a buff on this particular time period, it would seem necessary to be smitten with all era fashion. Not always. There was a lot that was quite wonderful, would rather not argue on the topic of hoops unless we all lived 150 years ago. It’s the single way it makes sense to do so.