Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1857-01-01
RON the View rort Even.ns rOst. Dec. lsth-l
hoops. SKIRTS AND CRIKOLINEH

of divers kind-bustles, starch and numerous
thicknesses OF cloth-were employed 70 give
that graceful expansion to the figure below the
waist SO much desired by the fair sex, but in
vain. Bustles did not exactly answer the pur-
pose, starch was a very unsatisfactory expedi-
emit. and the multitude of skirts was a positive
evil, interfering with the freedom and grace of
the movement, and inpairing the health of the
wearer. Still something must be done. There
is not one woman in ten Thousand, who, like
Rachel, shows to advantages il the simple lin
Der drspery of the classic ages, and who can
walk apparently unincumbered by her flowing
skirts. A happy accident brought RELIEF. To
the Empress of the French was il reserved to
revive the hoOped skirts j fashion which had
subsidized for many years before the Unceasing
assaults of the wits and gallants VIII took a
dislike 10 il. /
No one csnhave forgotten the censures which
it provoked in the days OF Addison. 81 con-
slider woman" says the great e~ssayist, "a
BEAUTIFUL, romantic animal, that may be adorned
with fuTs and feathers, pearls and diamonds,
ores and silks. The lynx shall cast his skin at
her feet 70 make her a tippet; the peacock,
parrot and swan shall pay contributions to hsr
muh; the sea shall be searched for shells and
the rocks for gems and every part of nature
shall furnish out its share towards the embel-
ishment OF a creature that is the most consum-
mate work OF It. All this | shall indulge them
in but as for the petticost / have been speak
ing of, | neither can nor will allow it."
There were other reasons besides popular sa-
tire and ridicule, which contributed to the
downfall Of the monstrous hoops of former
times. They were as heavy with cordage and
buckram as the multiplicity of skirts which
thew supplanted. Their unwieldiness and ex-
pensiveness also have helped to drive them from
the fashion.
Fortunately, the inventive genius of our age
has supplied the defect and removed most of
! the objections which were chargeable to the
hoped skirts of an earlier pattern. The skirts
which are manufactured by Messrs. Douglas i
/ Sherwood, Of this city, combine lightness with
strength and fexibility, to a degree which can
hardly be exceeded. Not long since, q "skele-
ton shirt " was sent by mail from their estab-
lishment, folded up in a letter envelope, weigh
ing only four ounces, and yet, on being taken
out, il was found as good a. new-bursting open
and expanding its bell-shaped proportions like
a fresh blown morning glory, and exhibiting the
elastic tension Of a well spread umbrella. Such
is the convenience Of wearing them, that the
first woman of this country thus emancipated
from her swaddling clothes-a woman over
eighty years of age-confessed that size never
had enjoyed the free use Of her limbs before.
The styles of skirts are quite numerous, vary
ing in shape, size and cost. Not less than sew
~ehty-fve kinds are sold at the establishment
referred to, the wholesale prices Of which range
/ "a 1AAoA ~ 1INNANN ~ n 4oLN1s AAEAE
are, for example, the skeleton skirt, several
varieties Of the zephyr skirt, the la Grange
skirt, the Congress, la Sylphide, and the Union
skirt. silk, muslin, haircloth, cactus cloth,
and other materials, are employed in their man
u~facture, besides the tape, cord, bone and steel
which are needed to give them their set. In
the matter Of hoops, a general preference is
expressed for the round whalebone, which,
when boiled in oil, loses that brittleness which
has been the main objection to its use. Some,
however, prefer steel, aid others insist upon
cord, which, witt crInol.ne, constitutes a sort
Of compromise fashion.
The most popular styles of skirts at present
appear to be the union, the skeleton and la syl-
phide. The latter is a simple, tasteful article,
bell shaped, and in size a Just medium between
the ungrsceful straight petticoat, with its folds
collapsing round the hips and legs, and the full
blown ultra mode which is such an annoyance
TO the wearer's companions in the theatre or
the omnibus. L has three bones, the length of
which are ffty-six inches at the top, seventy
four in the middle, and ninety-fiye at the bot
tom. These are considered the proper proper
tions, though we have seen some skirts at Cen
in's which, at the lower bone, MEASURE no less
than one hundred and fifteen inches in circ1m-
ference. AS for the number of hoops, tastes
differ. Some ladies' go as high as six, whue
few are content with less than two.
The skirts most universally worn last sum
mer, were the " skeleton Skirts" They were
first made of round whalebone hoops, held to-
gether By tape but these were complained Of
as being apt to trip up the wearer. A deep
border Of muslin was then added, which rer-
dered them all that could be desired. TheIT
great merit consisted in Q1eir extreme light
ness. During the busy season, three thousand
a day were made of this kind alore. Another
style is called the Union Skirt" It is made
OF white or dark cloth, with the lower part
] ,.-flN.A -. 1ar-n Asnn~nlz ErfahoI $500 A.
bottom with jute cord. Above the quilting is a
whslebone hoop, and about a quarter of a yard
above that, another. The back is then finished
by three small hoops Of whalebone, which form
skirts one above the other, and extend over the
hips. These are joined by tapes a quarter of a
yard in length, which were suspended from the
front of the binding and attached to the hoop
in front Of the skirt.
With regard to hoops, we are told that every
day adds something to the novelties which are
said to combine all the advantages, with none
Of the difficulties, of those which proceeded
them. The g~utta-percha hoops, a late mven-
tion, have proved quite impracticable in wear
ing. They break Immediately, and will not
} bear stretching twice in one place. Another
strong objection is the fact that, on becoming
warm, they emit an unpleasant oior, which
soon readers them intolerable. The steel hoops,
4 still later production, are free from some of
these objections, but are neither SO elastic or
flexible as the round whalebone boiled in oil,
! which is the best material for hoops we have
seen. Made Of very highly tempered steel,
they are also very expensive, 50 each being the
price asked fer some, which were only of CON
mon materials. They are also very apt to break,
and example of which was afforded a few even
ing's since at one of Thalberg's concerts. A
lady's steel hoop broke and sprung into her leg
nearly an inch deep I; the wound was very Sc
we're, and may max amputation necessary.
Few persons are aware Of the extent to which
the business of making hooped skirts-a bust
ness scarcely three years old-is now carried
In this city. Messrs. Douglass & Sherwood,
No. 343 Broadway, besides their establishment
in Connecticut and other places, occupy three
floors Of a building in Broadway, two hundred
feet deep and thirty wide, in the manufacture.
In the busy season, three hundred girls, "a
charming congregation, by the way, to the ad-
mirers Of female~b eauty,) earning from FIVE and
a half to ten dollars each a week, are employed
in cutting out and sewing skirts, three thousand
of which are turned out in a day. One hundred
and fifty Of Wheeler & Wilson's sewing ma
chimes, and a variety of Ingenious labor-saving
inventions are constantly IN play, so that a sin
gle skirt is made in ten minutes. We have
known a husband enter the store, give an order
for bis wife's skirt, have it patterned and made,
and receive it all done up and ready to be car
ried home before be had half smoked his cigar.
n ~ VI NOlQ IL NDhoNhC0 Al n NNCA IN NhN
manufacture, and not less than ST 5000 worth Of
whalebone in a month ; and then what acres
of muslin and rinoline-wha lengths Of thread
and tape-what enormous quantities Of little
braZen tubes to unite the hoops, will in process
Of time be consumed, il has not entered into the
head Of man to estimate. The imagination
fairly breaks down in the contemplation.
Though the new fashion has not triumphed uni
Versally, it is irresistibIy contagious. Wher-
ever it is seen it is admired and adopted. Per-
haps it is not extravsgant to conjecture that
the day may yet come when, secure in these
moving towers of bone and steel, our invincible
wives and daughters will laugh at the exploded
theories Of female frailty, and when every wo-
mans ~petticoat will be her castle.
The impregnability Of such a defense is thus
Illustrated by a Philadelphia poet:
ALL ABoUT ooP
BT M~AEY-LATERs.
at cannot belt cannot be
Fain would ! grant the claimed kiss,
But, dearest, you must surely see
IL never can be done in THISfO