This
was making the Facebook rounds recently:
“Hoops had to be removed before taking your seat in a carriage and then
they were hooked onto the back of the carriage.”
 |
| London. Life Magazine |
Umm… Nope! Not buying it. No respectable woman would have shimmied out
of her hoop—or crinoline—in public.
Heck, men aren’t allowed to see their boot-covered ankles! Check out the faces of the “gentlemen”
watching the woman, probably a servant or a working-class female, as she checks
out the merchandise.
And how the heck were they
to get it back on? Those things tie around the
waist, have petticoats that go over them, have tapes and buttons and… Just no!
More likely this was a
delivery service or an 1858 version of a sales call.
I remember way back in the early 1950's when some lunatic fashion designer decided to bring back crinolines and hoops. Hot, scratchy, crinolines are just about the worst, most uncomfortable thing to wear in the heat of summer. And hoops--mercy! If you sit on those things the wrong way, your skirt goes flying up to display all your underwear. I wouldn't blame these ladies if they decided to take off those horrible hoops, but I never would have wanted to put them back on. They could have ridden on the back of the stage (a display I cannot imagine any lady allowing) straight into the jaws of hell.
ReplyDeleteGood things to your corner of Mother Earth, Tracy!
I missed the crinoline come-back, but hoops were still a thing for prom, at least for some girls. I still laugh at the story my brother tells of trying to get his date and her hoop into his truck... Thanks for stopping by, Sarah!
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ReplyDeleteThey stories that get told when quick research is done. I've always had an issue with folks not thinking through how it might have been. Doris
ReplyDeleteExactly, Doris. I understand how tempting it can be, though.
DeleteThanks for clearing this up, Tracy. I'd seen the photo but clearly it was mislabeled.
ReplyDeleteJust to see who would believe it, perhaps?
DeleteI've not encountered this photo, so I appreciate your explanation. It's amusing, though, to think whoever wrote the caption really thought it was reasonable that women would undress in public. I had visions of taking off panty hose in public as a more modern day correlation. *snort*
ReplyDeletelolol, Kaye!
DeleteWOW. I had not seen this. No, I don't buy it, either! Can't imagine those ladies doing this. But I bet there are a lot of people who will see this and believe it. Thanks for setting us straight!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. lol
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