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This
is an absolutely essential item. You must have a petticoat--you
really need two! Petticoats of the period were very full at the hem, and
often had a ruffle on the bottom for added fullness. They were also heavily
starched for even more fullness. The petticoat was secured by means of
a drawstring through a casing at the waistline.
The petticoat was a functional garment designed to provide fullness in the skirt and to keep dresses clean by avoiding skin contact. They were not heavily trimmed so they could be washed & starched frequently. They were sometimes made of colored fabrics (solid colors), the Victorians loved color!
Sutlers sell petticoats if you don't have time to sew, but they are rarely full enough. Petticoats are VERY easy and inexpensive to make, so plan to construct your own.
To get started quickly, use the link above to access project instructions for making your very own petticoats for less than $1.00 (really!). Easy to follow diagrams and instructions make this an easy project for even novice seamstresses.
Don't
run to the nearest sutlers and purchase a hoop skirt right away. Hoops
are pricey, and were not always necessary or practical for certain activities.
I got by for over a year without ever wearing a hoop at reenactments--I was
a scullion for the camp cook, and a hoop would have been quite a liability (not
to mention darn dangerous) around a cooking fire. I did not get one until
I attended a ball in somewhat more fashionable attire.
The hoop was a FASHION item, to be worn with fashionable dresses. Working women would NOT wear a hoop at certain occupations. Nurses were forbidden to wear hoops, as they needed to walk between rows of cots and could not have a boned sweep of skirt flogging the wounded as she passed. Laundresses, farmwives, and especially cooks would avoid hoop skirts as a hazard to their employment.
However,
the hoop was a desirable item of undergarment for fashionable Civil War women.
It was hailed as a superb invention! Previously, to attain the fullness
of skirt so desirable in the current fashion, a woman would have to wear numerous
starched petticoats-several extra pounds of clothing. Now a woman only
needed a hoop and two petticoats!
Period hoops were shapped with boning made of watch-spring steel, steel bands or whale bone, with low-cost models of rattan. Modern hoops are made with fabric-encased steel boning to be firm yet flexible. Another style used piping to give shape to the skirt. Piped hoops were softer to wear, more yielding to doorways and could be homemade without purchasing expensive boning.
One petticoat was worn underneath the hoop for modesty, the other was worn over the hoop to mask the boning and give a smooth line to the skirt. The over-petticoat is as essential as the under-petticoat. Hoops can give a harsh, lumpy look to an otherwise lovely skirt if it is not covered with a petticoat or flounces-better to go without a hoop until you have enough petticoats. Avoid hoop heartbreak!
It takes some practice to learn to wear the hoop skirt. Don't be too ambitious on your first outing - even sitting down will require a few tries. When you finally add the hoop skirt to your wardrobe, be sure that you have a petticoat to wear under it. When that skirt starts swaying, everything you were born with can be exposed underneath.
To hoop or not to hoop? It depends on the social standing and occupation of your persona. A smaller hoop or no hoop would be worn by working women. Nurses needed to walk between rows of cots, and could not have a boned sweep of skirt flogging the wounded as she passed. Laundresses, farmwives, and especially cooks would avoid full skirts as a hazard to their employment.
You may want to purchase this item from a sutler, ladies. Hoop skirts are very time consuming to construct from scratch. I've made a few, and those purchased hoops at any price look pretty good to me now. McCalls and Past Patterns have very good hoop skirt patterns as well as patterns for skirts made with piping. Very, very rarely have I seen hoop skirts (although much narrower than Civil War era hoops) at thrift shops, remnants of some prom gown from days past. Please purchase a cotton hoop - synthetic hoops are a fire hazard if you will be near a campfire.
Photos from the collection of Fanny & Vera, Animation courtesy of: Graphics by Victoriana.com, A Victorian Antique Marketplace