8 APRIL 2019

STRUCTURED
BEAUTIES
FASHION DESIGN SEMESTER 6

Prepared by:
SHAMBHAVI DEO
SHIWANI PRIYA
8 APRIL 2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of this document required a lot of guidance and assistance and we are
extremely privileged to have got this all along till the completion of the document. All that we have done is
only due to such supervision and assistance and we would not forget to thank them.
 
As the completion of this assignment gave us much pleasure and knowledge, we would like to show our
sincere gratitude to Sr. Prof. Banhi Jha, our subject faculty for HODF, for giving us good guidelines for
assignment throughout numerous consultations. We would also like to expand our gratitude to all those who
have directly and indirectly guided us in writing this assignment.
In addition, we are also thankful to the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi for providing us with a
resource centre equipped with information and technologies which were useful in driving this paper to
completion.Many people, especially my classmates have made valuable comment suggestions on my paper
which gave me an inspiration to improve the quality of the assignment.
Thank you!

SHAMBHAVI DEO
SHIWANI PRIYA
8 APRIL 2019

INTRODUCTION

FASHION IS A FIELD WHICH IS The topic of research in this paper,

CYCLICAL IN NATURE, STRUCTURED BEAUTIES talks about the
REAPPEARING WITH TIME. TO development and evolution of structures
DESIGN FOR THE PRESENT, WE worn by women under their skirts from the
MUST LOOK BACK INTO THE 15th century to the 21st century is the
HISTORY OF IT, STUDYING HOW narrative of societal expectations of the
AND WHY FASHION EVOLVED TO
SPECULATE THE RE-OCCURRENCE
prescriptive female body. 
OF IT. The discovery of lingerie including a
brassiere with clearly visible cups in the
15th century Lengberg Castle in Austria in
2012 has surprised fashion historians as it
refuted the assumption that women
generally wore only chemises or shifts
under their clothes. This was the starting
point for this article which studies the
historicity of under-structures as
petticoats, underskirts and purses worn by
women under their skirts.
 
In order to gather the information required
for this study, the research methodology of
intensive Internet search was carried out
and the links for the sources are provided
at the end of the paper.
8 APRIL 2019

PANTALETS BEFORE UNDER-SKIRTS

Women wearing crinoline faced a great deal of inconvenience in their daily lives. Many travelling, riding,
and walking suits which included blouses, jackets and skirts had very few petticoats which were
convenient for many women. However, to appear at the grand balls or high society social functions,
every lady had to possess a few extravagant gowns which, in turn, required decent drawers also known
as pantalets.
Most drawers in the mid1800s were of knee length. Each leg was finished separately and joined
together at the waistband only, leaving the crotch seam open but with some overlap. The waist had a
drawstring and was tied or buttoned usually at the centre back but could sometimes be fastened in the
front also.
Drawers were made of various materials - white linen was popular and often trimmed with lace; plain
cotton was the most affordable. Linen was also stronger and could be washed with lye soaps. Open
crotch pantalets were a necessity because the layers of clothing on top made it difficult to draw the
pantalets down to use a chamber pot particularly when women were also wearing a tight corset.
Pantalets sans crotch were hygienic and comfortable as it allowed ventilation. Only after the mid19th
century buttoned closures were introduced on the crotch of pantalet drawers.
8 APRIL 2019

WHAT IS A STRUCTURED PETTICOAT?

A structured petticoat is a type of framework which was used to add fullness or support to the drapery
worn on the lower half of a woman’s body (usually a flared skirt). The purpose of the use of such
petticoats was to accentuate the hips of women which were considered to be an exaggerated way of
showing proper child bearing capabilities. Historically, wearing this under-structure created the desired
shape, displayed a textile most efficiently, and impacted a woman’s health, both negatively and
positively depending on the sources one consulted.
The various kinds of structured petticoats we will be reading about in this paper are:
·         Farthingale
·          Spanish Farthingale
·         French Farthingale
·          Wheel Farthingale
·         Pannier
·         Crinoline / Hoop skirts
·         Jupon
·         Bustle
8 APRIL 2019

FARTHINGALE
“The farthingale became one of the first undergarments aimed at transforming
the general silhouette of the body” – Axel Mouliner and Sophie Vesi.
Farthingale derives from the Spanish term
‘verdugado’ which translates to ‘green wood’ out
of which it was said to be made of.  It first
appeared in the 15th century when Queen Joan
of Portugal wore a circular framework under her
skirt to disguise her pregnancy. The Farthingale
then arrived in England in the early 16th century
with the marriage of Catherine of Aragon to Sir
Arthur, Prince of Wales.
It was an under-structure fitted at the waist
and exaggerated at the hem in a conical manner.
The earliest pictures of the Spanish farthingale
show the hoops to be present on the outer
surface of the skirts. These hoops were
stiffened with cane, ropes, whalebone, wire etc.
The French Farthingale originated in the court
circles in France around 1570s. This type of a
farthingale varied from the Spanish variant as it
had a bum-roll tied around the hip. The bum-roll
was a stuffed round shaped cylinder stuffed
with cotton and rags held on the waist with a
tie-up and it had hoops supporting the skirt.
The Wheel Farthingale, also known as The Great
Farthingale became famous in the late 16th
century. It had a flat platter like shape around
the waist which resembled a wheel and it was
generally supported with a bum-roll.  This
farthingale, unlike the other, was worn at an
angle, lower at the front and higher at the back
to ensure that the torso looked elongated and
thinner.
The Spanish and wheel farthingale were
reintroduced time and again throughout the
18th and the 19th century in the form of
panniers and cage crinolines.
8 APRIL 2019

PANNIERS
Panniers first appeared in fashion during the 18th
century.  Similar to the Spanish Farthingale,
Pannier was a hooped skirt, shaped in a conical
structure. The distinguishing character of the
structure of a Pannier included the exaggerated
waists on the sides with an exceptionally wide
structure around the hips. It created a sharp
angled silhouette, preferred for the upper echelon
in society.
Panniers were worn as an indicator of the social
status because of the structure, embellishments
and the fine craftsmanship of the seamstresses,
turning a woman into a fine piece of art.Panniers,
since wide at the sides, restricted movements
through the doorways and women often were seen
passing them sideways to avoid spoiling their
garments.
The panniers gradually grew shorter and wider
eventually splitting into two giving rise to the
pocket hoops. These were two separate set of
hoops attached on either side of the waists and
connected together with cotton-twill ties.
8 APRIL 2019

DIMITY POCKETS
Before handbags became fashionable in the
19th century, there were Dimity pockets.
Dimity is usually a strong corded cotton
fabric in plain weave with woven stripes or
checks. Usually measuring fourteen inches
in length, this pocket was composed of
eight pieces of dimity sewn together with
an opening halfway down the front. Two ties
are attached to the top seams of
the pocket to be secured around the waist.
Dimity pockets were white or occasionally
printed. They were worn under the skirt,
accessed through a discreet slit in the folds
of the fabric. Later, women began to sew
the utilitarian pocket directly on the skirt.
There was also a short period of time near
the end of the 18th century, when women
started to favor Grecian drapes. Women
during this time even used to dampen their
drapes in order to resemble the Greek
marble statues. This turn towards
embracing the natural curves of the body
however did not survive much and corsets
made a comeback right after.
The desire of having an hourglass figure
soon arose amongst the women which gave
rise to the comeback of corsets holding the
waist in and skirts to exaggerate the lower
half. The skirts then introduced were called
crinolines.
8 APRIL 2019

CRINOLINES
The name crinoline is derived from the Latin words ‘crinis’ (hair)/’crin’ (horsehair) and
‘linium’(thread/flax), which was an ideal way of describing the materials used in the original textile. These
variations of the under-skirts had stiffened ruffles at the waist of the petticoats to enlarge the top of
skirt to affect the fall of the outer skirt. There were also variations of quilted petticoats stuffed with
cotton and feather, stiffened petticoats with horsehair and various layers of petticoats worn together
at the same time to give more structure. There was also an availability of corded cotton fabric which was
used to make light petticoats instead of using the horsehair textile.

The artificial crinoline with hoops, also known as cage crinoline was introduced in the late 1850s by RC
Milliet. Given the various layers of petticoats worn together to achieve the desired structure, women
often subjected themselves to carrying a significant amount of weight and heat which often resulted in
body ache and deformities. It was to solve this issue that Douglas & Sherwood, a manufacturing company
started to mass produce cage crinolines with an adjustable bustle and light weight crinoline made of just
one layer of steel structure.
Although the introduction of steel for cage crinoline happened earlier but the patent was first acquired by
RC Milliet who termed it as a ‘skeleton petticoat’. Milliet utilized light and flexible steel spring, a material
used inside watches to create adjustable hoops. The steel spring provided it with the strength and
flexibility needed and took the weight off from the bodies, freeing women from a lot of pressure and made
crinolines more accessible and widely accepted for most part of the society.
“Ladies will possess a sous-jupe or under-petticoat incapable of being put out of shape but so flexible as
to yield to every movement or pressure” – RC Milliet.
8 APRIL 2019

BUSTLES
Bustles were introduced in the mid 19th century to support the fullness of the drapery on the back of
the women’s dress. The women’s under-structures used to flatten over time because of the weight of
the fabric or merely sitting and walking movements. Wearing a bustle compensated for the lost fullness
and added another visual element to accentuate the hip area.
In the early stages of the bustle, the fullness of the skirt towards the back was carried very low and it
was often spread out to create a trail of fabric behind. The transition from the voluminous crinoline was
seen as the bustle evolved into a pronounced humped shape only on the back of the dress right under
the waist with the gathered fabric falling straight to the floor.
These under-structures often consumed 5 to 6 yards of fabric for the draped over skirt and the largest
crinoline used around 30 feet of fabric solely to drape it around!
The crinolines and bustles were often associated with the southern belle image, a young American
woman from the slave-owning classes able to afford and carry it.  Although highly functional, bustle and
bustle gown were generally worn as a costume rather than in formal or occasional settings. It soon
crawled out of fashion towards the end of the 19th century.
8 APRIL 2019

HAZARDOUS ENCOUNTERS

Despite so many innovations to make these under-structures wearable, light and flexible, crinolines
resulted to be hazardous for a lot of wearers. There was a wide case of flammability issue with the
crinolines and about 3000 women across England were estimated to be the centre of these accidents
between the 1830s and 1890s. There were also cases when crinolines got caught in people’s feet,
carriage wheels or furniture or flying away with sudden gusts of wind, blowing the wearer with it. The
crinoline was also considered unfit for work as it got stuck in machinery often, took up space, and
bending or sudden movements put the wearer at risk of exposure. Considering this situation, a lot of
textile firms banned female employees in 1860s from carrying the cages to work.
8 APRIL 2019

MODERN DAY

There was a revival of the hooped crinoline

just before the World War II in the late 1930s
by designers like Edward Molyneux. He
decided to put the hoops under both the
evening and the day gowns. The film ‘Gone
With The Wind’, released in 1939, also greatly
inspired the American women to wear their
prom dresses with crinolines inside it.
The crinolines were once again revived after
the World War II by designers such as
Christian Dior, whose ‘New Look’ featured full
skirts and tightened bodices supported by a
corset and crinolines at the bottom. Crinolines
were widely popular through the 1950s and
into the early 1960s.The fabrics preferred for
hooped, tiered and/or ruffled crinoline
petticoats were nylon, net and cotton were
widely worn, as were skirts with integrated
hoops.
Vivienne Westwood revisited the crinoline in
the mid 1980s taking inspiration from the
ballet Petrushka and produced miniskirt length
versions that she christened the "mini-crini."
Fashion designers such as Alexander
McQueen and John Galliano in the late 20th
century often used crinolines in their designs.
Galliano's ball gowns for Dior in 1998 had a
skirt reaching a width of 9 feet. McQueen,
fascinated by the structure of crinoline, often
took inspiration from it to work on his
collections.
8 APRIL 2019

CONCLUSION
“One of McQueen's most notable crinoline
designs was modeled by the amputee
model Aimee Mullins in a series of
photographs by Nick Knight for Dazed and
Confused, in which Mullin's cage crinoline,
was deliberately worn without overskirts in
order to reveal her prosthetic legs, was
described as suggesting both a walking
frame and a cage to "contain the unruliness
of the unwhole".” –Vogue America
Crinolines were worn well into the 21st
century, typically as a part of formal outfits
like evening gowns, prom dresses, or
wedding dresses.

In some contexts, the traditional hooped crinoline may be seen as controversial, as it

caused deaths, deformities and harassment to quite a few women but, the 
designers of the present age are trying to challenge the symbolism of cage and
exaggeration by freeing the wearer from the control and embracing the fashion,
showing real proportions through it.
8 APRIL 2019

REFERENCES
1.    Bach, Emily, Structured Beauties: Evolution of Crinolines. Available at
http://blog.mdhs.org/costumes/structured-beauties-evolution-of-the-crinoline

2.    Bruna, Denis (2015), ‘Medieval Fashions, Bodies, and Transformations’ in

Fashioning the Body, ed. Denis Bruna, New York: The Coby Foundation Ltd. 31-32.

3.    http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/corsets-and-crinolines-in-victorian-
fashion/

4.    http://www.katetattersall.com/early-victorian-undergarments-part-4-
pantelettes-pantalettes/