HOOP SKIRT

Woman wearing hoop skirt, Meissen porcelain figurine, German, 1741; in the Victoria and Albert also called Hoop Petticoat, garment with a frame of whalebone or of wicker or osier basketwork. Reminiscent of the farthingale (q.v.), the petticoat was reintroduced in England and France around 1710 and remained in favour until 1780. The French name panier (basket) was used for skirts distended at the sides rather than all the way around. They could be as wide as 18 feet (5 metres), and satirists talked of hoops 7 or 8 yards (6 or 7 metres) wide. Materials were lighter than in the time of the farthingale, and the skirt was more mobile. Only at court did the fashion persist until the end of the 18th century. See also crinoline.