Petticoat Juncture

My friend called to tell me that she had decided to leave work a little early so that she could go to the haberdashery store to buy fabric to make petticoats. Yes, I use the plural intentionally; and it was her use of it which got me thinking about petticoats. I must admit that it was a while since I had done that; think of petticoats, I wish to emphasise, to those of you that may have been considering something else!

So I set about to investigate further. Perhaps I really should have delved a little deeper regarding her manufacture of petticoats but there wasn’t time, as she would have missed the bus if she had stayed to discuss such important issues. I gather that there was an issue of dance involved. My mind began to wander …

The practice of wearing petticoats as undergarments was well established by 1585. Petticoats were worn throughout history by women who wanted to have the currently fashionable shape created by their clothing. The petticoat(s), if sufficiently full or stiff, would hold the overskirt out in a pleasingly domed shape and give the impression of a smaller waist than the wearer actually had. It would also complement the desired large bust. Was this the new bust enhancement for the noughties? There was a fleeting (thank goodness) thought of dancing nymphs with large petticoats and generous bosoms.

The voluminous, layered Victorian petticoats were not worn to hide the legs, as twentieth century commentators later claimed; they actually enhanced the stylish figure in the centuries before female attractiveness was defined in large part by how much naked leg was revealed, as has been the case since 1960.

Definitions:
pet·ti·coat – noun
· Also called pettiskirt. an underskirt, especially one that is full and often trimmed and ruffled and of a decorative fabric;
· any skirtlike part or covering;
· a flounce or valance fitting around the sides of a bed, couch, or chair, as to conceal the legs;
· Informal. a woman or girl;

- adjective
· of, pertaining to, or controlled by women; female; feminine: petticoat government, whether in politics or domestic affairs.

There goes that wandering mind again … Many years ago, another friend had a yachting buddy who owned a yacht which was named Petticoat Government. Such a name for a boat was quite progressive then, especially for a man with a wife and five daughters to be secure enough of himself to own and race a boat so named, even if it carried a full female crew!

Oh well, I am going to have to get to the bottom of this petticoat story tomorrow I guess.