 Petticoats made of horsehair crinoline appeared around 1839, proving so successful that the name 'crinoline' began to refer to supportive petticoats in general, rather than solely to the material. By 1847, crinoline fabric was being used as a stiffening for skirt linings, although English women preferred separate crinoline fabric petticoats which were beginning to collapse under the increasing weight of the skirts. One alternative to horsehair crinoline was the quilted petticoat stuffed with down or feathers, such as that reportedly worn in 1842 by Lady Aylesbury. However, quilted skirts were not widely produced until the early 1850s. In about 1849, it was possible to buy stiffened and corded cotton fabric for making petticoats, marketed as'crinoline,' and designed as a substitute for the horsehair textile. The artificial crinoline with hoops did not emerge until the 1850s.
