Hoop Skirts of the Eighteen Hundreds

The late eighteen hundreds marked a change in women's fashion. Dresses grew larger and the undergarments used to maintain their belled shape did not diminish. Petticoats, which were several starched layers of cotton coming down to the ankles and tied from a drawstring at the waistline, were required to keep the dress shape. The skirt garment when layered produced a sense of fullness which could be accentuated with flounces or bows. However, the large materials in fashion, such as flounces of silk, weighed down the waist. Through both innovation and necessity a sculpted hoop was put in use to replace petticoats. The layers needed to maintain a fashionable dress shape were often very heavy. The hoop took away extra weight from the mounds of fabric and still emphasized a small waist; the contrast it created between the trim waist and large hips was sharp and was liked by men. The hoop also protected the undergarments from prying eyes when women's voluptuous skirts swung, which was often. This enabled modesty to still be in fashion.

The emphasis on modesty and a small waist was due to the ideal personality expected of woman which was that of a docile doll. The doll-like waist was shaped by both the confining corset and the flared hoop skirt which created a bell form. The overall effect was that of an hour glass, long shoulders, small waist, and large skirt that flared when women took dainty steps. The hems of the skirts could reach the floor and range anywhere from four inches off the ground before modesty was abandoned. However, the lengths all depended on both the climate and the appropriate time of day a dress was worn. There were certain rules of decorum for women's dress before noon and in the afternoon. As a general rule the fullness of the bell was 50% to 70% of the wearer's height. However, this rule did not apply to nurses because a hoop would hinder their ability to walk between cots and assist their patients.

Walking was constricted because of the hoops' materials. These were whale bone, steel bands, or watch-spring steel which were looped together to create a rigid dome structure the women could slide on and off. Piping was used to give added shape as well as more flexibility to pass through doorways. This also added a cheaper, at-home alternative. Though worn at home as well as outside, hoops without inside and outside petticoats,(the hoop was surrounded by two layers) would look lumpy. Though the creation of the hoop made way for less petticoats, two were still needed to maintain a smooth skirt line. The under-petticoat also served as a method against having to wash undergarments repeatedly and the over-petticoat served as a way to keep a view of undergarments from chivalrous eyes.

This was a necessity because of the hoop's large build, which swung in tantalizing arc's which showed the ankles and the bottoms of women's bloomers. The swing of the arc was much like modern day high heels in that it hinted at the allure of child bearing hips through visual stimulation. Men found this particularly appealing. Women in the upper classes were not allowed to show certain parts of themselves before the afternoon, and much from the cleavage to feet was hidden at all times of the day. It was un-ladylike to not conform with the decorum which women's fashion attended to and a women's virtue could easily be brought to question.