A hoop skirt or hoopskirt is a women's

undergarment Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

worn in various periods to hold the

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts ar ...

extended into a fashionable shape. It originated as a modest-sized mechanism for holding long skirts away from one's legs, to stay cooler in hot climates and to keep from tripping on the skirt during various activities. Small hoops might be worn by farmers and while working in the garden. Hoops were then adopted as a fashion item, and the size and scale of the hoops grew in grandeur, especially during the mid-nineteenth century transition from the 1850s to the 1860s.Fogg, Marnie: ''Fashion: The Whole Story'', 2013, Prestel, New York, New York, As the society of consumerism evolved, the roles of men and women changed and so did their dress. As male dress became tailored, the female costume of the period made women practically immobilized due to the cumbersome amount of petticoats needed to suit the era's style. In the mid-19th century, the fashionable silhouette was a small waist with large, dome-shaped skirts. More and more petticoats were added to make the skirts appear even larger. When the circular

crinoline A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a woman's skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was ...

came out in 1856, it was a revelation not only of technology but of convenience for women. The crinoline supported the weight of the numerous skirts and allowed the woman to wear fewer petticoats while still achieving the desired silhouette.The invention of the sewing machine allowed crinolines to be mass-produced at a lower cost, thus making the crinoline available for all classes. The mania for large bell-shaped skirts phased out through the mid-1860s and slowly shifted to emphasize volume in the posterior. The crinolette came into fashion, which was basically a narrow crinoline with a flat front and cage hoops in the back. By the 1870s, the cage of the crinolette became a cage only at the rear of the woman's undergarments. This is known today as a

bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. ...

. Hoop skirts typically consist of a fabric

petticoat A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', in current British En ...

sewn with channels designed to act as casings for stiffening materials, such as

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similar ...

, osiers, whalebone, steel, or, from the mid-20th century,

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pe ...

. The crinoline of the mid-19th century was constructed from collapsible steel hoops. This allowed for easy storage and increased agility for the wearer. Hoop skirts were first introduced to the United States by David Hough, Jr. in 1846. Hoop skirts are called by various names in different periods: * Farthingale (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

''verdugado'') (16th century) *

Pannier A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from a Middle English borrowing of the Old French '' ...

s or "side hoops" (18th century) *

Crinoline A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a woman's skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was ...

or crinolette (mid-19th century) Lightweight hoop skirts, usually with nylon hoops, are worn today under very full-skirted

wedding gown A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo-Sa ...

s. They can sometimes be seen in the

gothic fashion Gothic fashion is a clothing style marked by dark, mysterious, antiquated, homogenous, and often genderless features. It is worn by members of the Goth subculture. Dress, typical gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, exotic hairstyles, dark ...

scene. Reproduction hoop skirts are an essential part of

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

costuming, especially

American Civil War reenactment American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known (in the United States) as Civil War reenactors, or living historians. Alt ...

References

Sources

* Arnold, Janet: ''Patterns of Fashion: the cut and construction of clothes for men and women 1560-1620'', Macmillan 1985. Revised edition 1986. *Arnold, Janet: ''Patterns of Fashion 1 (cut and construction of women's clothing, 1660-1860)'', Wace 1964, Macmillan 1972. Revised metric edition, Drama Books 1977. . *Arnold, Janet: ''Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomen's Dresses and Their Construction 1860-1940'', Wace 1966, Macmillan 1972. Revised metric edition, Drama Books 1977. *Arnold, Janet: ''Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd'', W S Maney and Son Ltd, Leeds 1988. *Fogg, Marnie: ''Fashion: The Whole Story'', 2013, Prestel, New York, New York, . {{Historical clothing, state=expanded 16th-century fashion 17th-century fashion 18th-century fashion 19th-century fashion 20th-century fashion History of clothing (Western fashion) Gowns Undergarments Skirts Women's clothing ms:Skirt gegelang