Hoop skirt

“ Old Mother Hubbard wears a red skirt, an old-fashioned “polonaise” of some flowered material (large figures) , a bib apron, a white kerchief, and either an old-fashioned bonnet, or a ruffled cap. In either case, the strings are tied primly beneath her chin. She might carry a bone. She has black mitts.
The Bachelor’s Wife wears a hoop skirt, and a white dress, the skirt of which is covered with ruffles. The waist may be made in any way that goes well with the skirt. She has a white shawl, white mitts, and a white bonnet trimmed with pink ribbon and rosebuds. ”

“ Whether balloon-skirts are graceful is a matter of opinion. I know a good many persons of taste who regard them as the grossest violation of all the principles of grace and beauty exhibited in any mode of dress in our time. To say nothing of the necessity of some recognition of Use to the existence of Beauty in dress, as in furniture, the lines formed by the hoop-skirt and the upper part of the figure are pronounced by artists and other persons of educated taste ungraceful to the point of absurdity. ”

“ Utterly regardless of fashion, for its own sake, she always contrives to be in the mode, though I believe that if hoop skirts were suited to her, she'd have the courage of her crinoline, and wear one. ”

“ Women did very well without them, and looked quite as well, at least in my opinion. But some ingenious man conceived the idea of tempting them with a new want, and they were at once persuaded into believing that hoop-skirts were indispensable to a genteel appearance. They were adopted all over the country with a rapidity that outstripped that of the cuffs and collars,—not, perhaps, that as many were manufactured, because, if that had been the case, they could not have been consumed, unless each woman had worn two or three. ”

“ One day as I was examining the pass of a large, good-natured-looking woman with a fine broad smile, I heard a tinkling sound with every movement she made and noticed that she wore unusually large hoop skirts which made her look like an animated haystack from the waist down. ”

“ As in other countries, fashions in men and women are copied from the Court, and so the women from one end of Persia to the other, in the cities, took up the hideous custom. One of the principal points in the fashion is that the skirt must stick out at the sides. These skirts are occasionally very elaborate, with heavy gold braiding round them, richly embroidered, or covered all over with small pearls. The shape of the skirt is the same in all classes of women, but of course the difference lies in the material with which the dress is made. ”

“ I am angry still about the red fiddle, and I look scrutinizingly at her dress, and think how ugly is the mode. The skirt is white silk,—a brocade, I believe,—at any rate, stiff, and, though probably full to overflowing in the hands of the seamstress, who must compress it within prescribed limits about the waist, looks scanty and straight. Why should she not, she who comes before us tonight, not as a fashion, but an inspiration,—why should she not assume that immortal classic drapery whose graceful falls and folds the sculptor vainly tries to imitate, the painter vainly seeks to limn? ”

“ I notice that paddings for the back and hips are already for sale, and much advertised, but this tightly-fitted skirt is not for the short and stout, nor for the tall and very thin. On neither of them can it be esteemed a success. The dress in our illustration is in grey cloth, with black velvet trimmings and bands, and steel ornaments, a delightful combination of colour. The back of this dress is really princess, while the front has the style of a short double-breasted jacket, very short. ”

“ In a walking dress, as it should be to be in harmony with style and the present demands of fashion, the skirts should adhere closely all around the front and sides, leaving whatever fullness there may be at the back. In order to gain this, darts are required between the breadths, which reduce the size needed over the hips down to the size at waist. As the hips proportionately increase at a given ratio at the sides it must be evident that, in order that the skirt may fall down fairly over the hips, these darts at side must be larger there, while towards the front they must be smaller. ”

“ A slip of a girl, who really hasn’t very much figure, can wear an extremely tight skirt, but when you are older and have hips to consider, such a skirt is quite out of the question. However, there is no need to go to the other extreme and wear old-fashioned clothes. It’s a fact that conservative, medium width skirts are in style season in and season out.
I might add a word about comfort, too. Wear comfortable clothes. No woman looks her best if her corsets are digging into her side and her collar chocking her, or her skirt whipping around her ankles every time she steps. ”

“ The back seam is also open, faced for several inches, stitched and closed by patent fasteners. Snug bloomers of the same material are worn underneath. The simplicity of this habit is its chief charm; there is no superfluous material to sit upon—oh, the torture of wrinkled cloth in the divided skirt!—and it does not fly up even in a strong wind, if one knows how to ride. The skirt is four inches from the ground—it should not bell much on the sides—and about three and a half yards at the bottom, which is finished with a five-inch stitched hem. ”

“ Otherwise my third and last would be a silk skirt and jacket—the skirt of black and white up and down stripes with white chiffon blouses, and the jacket black. The taffeta should be of the heavy soft variety that does not crack and muss. The skirt should be unlined and cut with straight seams gathered on a belt; a dress that folds in a second of time and in a few inches of space. With the coat on, it is a street dress; coat off (with a high girdle to match the skirt) , it is whatever the top of the blouse you wear makes it.
A duster is, of course, indispensable. ”

“ The long falling sleeve also has the same qualities, giving a greater fullness of shape, a variety of colour (by a difference of lining) , with a winglike motion, besides softening the angle of the elbow.
I think the next garment for high esteem is the chasuble-shaped tunic (with or without sleeves) . Falling cleanly from the shoulders, it stops at a charming length for the skirt to take up the flow of line. The delightful effect of partly-laced or clasped sides was not missed by the ablest designers. How refined, too, was the character of decoration of the old period! ”

“ Turn both pocket pieces up above the slash and stitch the lower pocket piece to the material at the ends of the slash. (See Fig. 70.)
Turn the two pocket pieces so they hang down and stitch around the outer edges. On the outside the welt will appear as in Fig. 71.
Regulating the Hang of Your Skirt: The curve that your skirt takes at the waist-line, regulates the hang. If your skirt buckles across the knees and swings out the back, it's because the run at the waistline is wrong. In the reverse case, where the skirt pokes out in front, the slant at the waistline needs altering on the pattern. ”

“ Just as many blouses have been worn as ever this winter underneath the ever-fashionable coat and skirt; and at the sales there has been quite as great a rush for the remnants of silk, which are always prepared for those occasions. Nothing can be more ornate than some of the blouses and fancy tea-jackets; and there seems to be a very generally united opinion that, having a proper skirt to wear with them, they are not an extravagant purchase, as they perform so many parts and are suitable for a variety of occasions. ”

“ The thin skirt of the book-muslin party coat, delicately held out at the sides by the very tips of her fingers, and lightly caught by the soft wind, spread like the wings of a white bird. The slippers, heel-less and yellow as buttercups, were thus brought bewitchingly into view—with the narrow ribbon daintily crossed over the instep and tied around the ankle—as they darted in and out beneath the fluttering skirt. Her golden hair, loosed by the dance and the breeze, fell around her shoulders in a radiant mantle, growing more beautiful with every airy movement. ”

“ Skirts made to the ankles would protect little girls' legs; but the disadvantage of long skirts is, that they are in the way when children are running and romping as they ought to do. About the best dress I know of for girls from three years upwards consists of a sort of smock over a divided skirt. Next the skin combinations of thick or thin material, according to the weather, should be worn. Next this a flannel body, on to which two sets of buttons are sewn, one above the other, to the lower buttons the suspenders of the stockings, which should be woollen, are to be fastened ”

“ By the common practice and consent of all womankind, it appears that the lower portion should be loose and flowing; and that the upper should be so conformable to the contour of the body, as to show that contour to the best advantage; these must be taken as the fundamental definitions upon which all laws of female dress are to be tried. And, first of all, of the skirt; if its form is to be loose and flowing, it should be made to derive its beauty from the curves and breaks and folds which drapery, partly suspended, partly at rest on the ground, will afford. ”

“ Let me say right off that they are not old fashioned. Gores are the very thing that will give your skirt the smart straight line look. Fig. (3) Choose a gored skirt if you are inclined to be stout Of course, the modern conception of a gored skirt isn’t a sixteen or eighteen-piece affair. Six gores are permissible, yes stylish. This gives a panel front and back and a seam on the sides. (See Fig. 3.) Such a skirt makes an admirable accompaniment to the over-blouse. It is hardly necessary to add that for the stout woman the over-blouse is to be preferred to the tuck in variety of waist. ”

“ It is of a light plain cashmere, any shade that will suit the complexion of the young wearer. The skirt has two broad folds, or they may be imitated by two rows of trimming, a simple braid, galloon, or gimp. The waist is plain, with a basque opening on the hips; a cross piece is made to imitate a tiny pelerine, when worn on the street. The usual objection to a fashionable costume—overloading of ornament—cannot be urged against this extremely neat dress.
Fig. 3 is still another style for a child of the same age; it is the simple infant's waist, with a basque and sleeves of cambric embroidery. ”

“ There are two ways of hanging a skirt if you have no one to help you. Take a straight, flat stick or a yard-stick long enough to reach from the floor to a line on the skirt which you can reach easily without bending. Just below the fullest part of the hips is the best point. Stand the stick upright on the floor, with one end touching your figure, and place a pin where the top of the stick touches the skirt. ”

“ Their gown is long in the sleeves and short in the skirt—short as a Highlander's kilt, which it very much resembles, and is in most instances of a carpet-like texture. Plum-colour, blue, pink, and green, dotted with bright flowers or crossed by stripes, are the prevailing patterns; their gay tints relieving the sombre blue and black of the men. The skirt is made to fit pretty closely, much more so, indeed, than the men's breeches, and as it descends no lower than the knee, you can see that if Nature is niggard to the men she is generous to the women. ”

“ A bar of 5⁄8 lace from the centre of the waist to the bottom of the skirt, 8 buttons down the front, 3 on each flap, the top button on the flap behind being at the waist. The front, collar, cuffs, flaps, and bar of lace, and the skirts are edged with white cloth 3⁄16 inch wide. The Tunic is lined with white, round the waist a hand of white leather, 2 inches wide, fastening with 2 hooks and eyes, twisted round gold shoulder cords of the universal pattern, lined with scarlet and a small button at the top. ”

“ The Georgian dress for Fancy Balls is a satin skirt, plain or quilted, over-dress of brocade, velvet, or silk, with coloured embroidery. Sometimes the skirt has a petticoat and tunic, sometimes a train and front breadth trimmed with lace, flowers, pearls, and diamonds; the bodices pointed, low, or high square, with stomachers trimmed. Elbow-sleeves, with ruffles; jewelled necklaces, or floral ones, made with a puff of ribbon and a flower alternately, tied tightly round the throat. ”

“ The front-seam is the same as the upper-sleeve from C to E and N.
In drawing any sleeve use the measure of the arm-hole, and bear in mind that this manner of drafting has the seams already included.
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FIG. 11. SKIRTS.
Cutting and making a dress skirt, of any style and kind, is sometimes considered of very little importance. By many dressmakers the work is entrusted to inexperienced hands and blocked out by a pattern which will not fit the form. Many fine costumes lack style because the laws of cutting skirts for the different figures have not been observed. ”

“ The bodices are generally low. The following illustrate the style. White silk long skirt, and jacket of striped gold and red silk, long sleeves and low neck, finished off with a cambric fichu, showing the neck, a rose in front; the jacket is cut away in front, has gold buttons, and displays a full white under-bodice with straps of red across. The hair is powdered, and a small toque of red silk bordered with the stripe, a diamond aigrette and bunch of flowers worn on one side.——Long skirt and jacket of canary silk; deep flounced basque at back bordered with a ruche of the same. ”