Victorian Crinoline: 1850s Steel Hoop Skirts & Social Satire

Fashion Overview. The sobriety of the 1840s gradually gave way to more flamboyance and frills during the mid-century decade, and skirts developed numerous tiers and flounces. As skirts extended further still, they required more support and the new cage crinoline, made from hoops of steel, provided a light and voluminous solution from 1856. Some fabrics were light and delicate, contrasting with some of the darker colours of the previous period, and a disposition fabrics were also very popular. These were cottons and fine muslins that had a printed border design along the selvedge.

They were deliberately printed with this border which was intended to be used with this edge at the hemline of the skirts and sleeves, and they are often found in the tiered flounce skirts from the 1850s, with the border stripe at the edge of each tier. Waistlines rose slightly and became straighter whilst sleeves grew wider, many flaring at the cuff and some featuring large pagoda sleeves. Others were cut quite wide but gathered into the wrist at the cuff, depending on the dress.

Finished replica project of the front fastening printed cotton mid Victorian day dress

Fig. 7.3. Wedding fashion plate from La France Élégante, 1857, showing the low, off-the-shoulder neckline in the bridesmaids’ dresses which has been filled in for modesty on the bridal gown: it is likely that these dresses would have been supported by a cage crinoline

The cage crinoline. When we refer to the crinoline we often think of the cage crinoline, but the petticoats that came before it, stiffened with horsehair, or crin, were also known by this name. They were advantageous over standard frilled, flounced and corded petticoats as the horsehair padding provided a stiff, wide supporting shape that was lighter than more cumbersome layers of cotton petticoats.

By 1856, advancements in steel manufacturing allowed for the creation of the cage crinoline, which was made of rows of steel hoops connected by tapes. These allowed for the same overall effect, but without the weight and tangling bulk provided by the multiple layers of cotton petticoats. Originally the steel hoops were placed inside the petticoat, but the cage version, which just used tape connectors, was even more liberating. To prevent a harsh outline, one petticoat was normally worn over the top and under the main dress so that the steel hoops were less obvious. A smaller petticoat was also often worn underneath, and must have seemed very spacious in contrast with the layers of petticoats women were used to wearing.

Like many extremes of fashion, the crinoline was satirized in the popular media. It grew to extreme proportions, and at its biggest it was about 5.5 metres (6 yards) in circumference around the hemline, but in most cases it was much less than this, despite the impression created by fashion plates of the era. Nevertheless, the fabrics needed to cover the crinoline could be extensive, especially as many skirts popular in the 1850s had multiple gathered flounces. And despite their inherent impracticalities, the cage crinoline was worn by women of all classes in the pursuit of fashion, leading to a lot of ridicule, with cartoons showing domestic servants struggling to do their work in unwieldy dresses.

The gaps in the cage crinoline did lead to some common mishaps, with women tripping over their own skirts or catching them on carriage doors, leading to a less than graceful descent. Their huge size was often depicted as preventing any male suitors getting anywhere near their object of desire. In some more serious cases they were proclaimed a health and fire hazard, as the wearer would be unaware of how wide the circumference of her skirt was. And whilst the lightness of the frame was very liberating, it did also mean it had a tendency to sway and catch the wind, leading to some more immodest moments as legs and underwear were revealed. It is thanks to the crinoline that long-legged drawers, previously considered fast and immodest, became necessary to protect women from this unfortunate scenario.

Fig. 7.8. The circular circumference of the skirt in this photograph would indicate the presence of a cage crinoline, which provided the width without the bulk of numerous petticoats