The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-07-31
Hoops and Things,

hooph ana IhinBh,
We confess 10 having had our share Of fu
, al the skirt-cXpnnders with which our wa
men set themselves out Not that we dslik
hoops or crinohe, but anything is Legitimate
material for satire, out Of which a goOd-na
turcd laugh can be eKtortcd, IN this hard an,
nNcr-seri0ns world, The women have en-
juyed the fun ~ well ns the rest Of us, nnl
40 no harm II done. That exaggerated am
plnuta OF skirt in which some Of our ladie,
indulge, who. don't know Vhen thoy have got
, enough Of good thing, is really ludicrous
and is proper theme FOR ridieule, These
J oNtr-inilntcd balloons remind us Of the pic
/ iure Of lhe srli-lnllaled frog in the fable, ana
We always feel an involuntary apprehension
/ That they may burst and break things.
/ But wo 90 for an expanded skirt, within
moderate and modest limits provided the
cone be gracefully shaped aud the frame work
Of the structure does not show through, like
the painful ribs Of a starved horse. IL was
at first supposed that crinoline would be- one
of the short-liyed fashiois, only surviving
for few brief months the. exigency IN the
private .lle Of the empress Eugenie Of France
to which Il owes is introduciion. But il
seems lkcly 10 bGcome one Of the permanent
fashions, and Il has advantages which recon-.
mend il very strongly both for comfort and
IL has displaced were q positive discomfort 10
the women and not only so, they we're "a
source Of phuienl pain aud wcakneaa. TAp
suspension Of such weight about tho loins
could not be otherwise thDn injurious, and
the physicians testify that many cases of dc,
bility and suffering IN their female patients
have been removed by the suhstitution Of the
elastic skirt for the mass Of heavy pe,liconts.
As 10 their comparative comfort there can
hc no doubt and the women are unanimous
IN their testimony on that point The cx,
pcricncc Of lady is given IN Gudcy's I.adlh
Book, who after wearing crinuline for n few
weeks was nearly entirely free from back ache
and the other uncomfortable feelings which
she endured while wearing numerous and
quilted pclticonts, and could be about the
house on her feet all day, and suffer less from
trcthcss, than she had previously done h,
the middle OF the forenoon. She said than
she had the curiosity, upon one occasion, to
weigh the Sct Of skirts formerly worn, and
those recently adopted, aud that the former
weighed somewhat over four times as much
as the latter, This weight. with the greater
freedom of motion, and exemption from an
oppressive heat about the loins, might be
suiiicic Of themselves 10 convince amy one,
that those suffering in the way referred "a
must cNpcrince relief from the adoption Of
same magazine says hd has hal quite mum.
Der Of cases Of the same sort. In n sanitary
point of view, therefore, the success Of the
expanded SKIRT may be considered us Well
established.
There is room for improvement, in the ma.
tcrial ant construction of the skirts Crino.
line is the best article. but il is very cxuen-
aud in many cases incon,cnieut. Some IN
gcuious mantuq'maRcr should set her wits
TO work to invent something that shall be
perfectly cIdStic, yct fiRht ann Tess rigid ttGH
anything now worn, something that will al.
low lady 10 sii down comfortably in the
seat OF railroad car or other narrow quar-
tvrs, without positive inconvenience or dis
comfort. lCinstcad OF a series Of hoops, the
elastic substance could hc suhdivded and
woven into the whole fabric. so as to produce
an equal expansion, vet yielding readily to
thr Fightrst pressure, II would be Iust the I
thing. IL we were in the vucanigcd rubber
business, we think we could get up the arti.
{ le, and so.secure the everlasting gratitude
of the better part of creation. hut unluckly .
that is not our mission, aud the ladies must
accept our good will IN place of more pracli
cal service.
On the whole, we believe in the EXPANDED
skirt, the tighter the better. aud il il could .
be in some way hung upon the shoulders in (
stead OF abouV The waist, better still. II we
were an inventor we would devote our genius .
to the perfection Of the hoopcd petticoat if |
we were poet its praise should bc one of .
our tayorito themes il we were woman,
We should wear the lghteSt and most grace.
ful expandcr we could find, and never more
covet the wearing of those awkward and un-
comfortable leg coverings in which men are
imprisoned--tthis especially for married wo-
mcnl--but being merely disinterested OBJ
server and outsider, so to speak, in respect
10 c,inoline and other fcmenine comforts, we
ran only say we like il and would stick to it
f we were a woman, even if the empress Eu-
genie and Queen Victoria should both drop
i on in n sudden freak Of fashion, as pretty
likely they will, and run about again with
The calico tapping around their ankles, like
bunting about flagstaff in :. calm. Fashion
lr no fashion, stick to the crinolinc, We say.
Republican.