[Ansteorra] hoop petticoat

[Elisabeth B. Zakes]

Depends on the period, of course, but they are not dissimilar to the
Victorian structure except in shape and materials. I have seen stiffened and
twisted rope in a spiral, "bone" hoops, and twisted rope in circular
channels. The nice advantage to the latter is that if you use the right type
of rope, it does its job, yet is still soft enough to go through a narrow
doorway without difficulty ... and you can WASH IT! :) The major difference
from Renaissance to Victorian is that the Renaissance farthingale aimed for
a conical shape with straight sides, and the Victorians wanted a rounded,
bell-like shape -- the shape you would get if you inverted a nicely rounded
bowl.

To sit gracefully, find the hoop that is just below your backside, and lift
it slightly as you sit so that it rests on the chair behind you. (This works
best in a chair without arms, by the way.) Then you are sitting on the
skirt, not on the hoop (which makes the backs of your legs much happier, let
me tell you!), and pulling it up and back like that keeps the rest of the
skirt on the ground instead of over your knees. This gets mindlessly easy
with a short amount of practise, and you'll find you can do it without being
totally obvious. If you wish, you can also gesture in a ladylike fashion
with your fan, or offer a hand for a gentleman to bow over, thereby taking
attention away from what your other hand is doing to the back of your skirt.
:)

Aethelyan Moondragon
Bryn Gwlad

On 1/30/08, Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:
>
> Runa of the Thundering Herd asked:
> <<< I don't know your age but did you have to learn how to sit
> properly in a
> hoop petticoat?  Lord love a duck... first time I sat down in one it
> went
> over my head and I thought Miss Pat was going to have a stroke!>>>
>
> No, I can't say I have. :-)
>
> So, what is the trick to sitting down in one of those? I assume these
> are very much like the hoop skirts used late in our period of study.
> Or are these like the medieval corset and the Victorian corset?
> Similar, but having major differences in their construction and how
> they were worn?
>
> Stefan
>