Cage crinoline

Crinoline cages were worn under skirts to distend them and preserve their fashionable shape. It is not difficult to see why some cage crinolines were known as "skeleton" petticoats. The undulating bands of spring-steel circle the void like a grotesque ribcage. Buoyancy is ensured by the lightness of the steel and the fact that each graduated hoop passes through a stitched opening in the vertical tapes. These tapes are attached to a waistband so that the crinoline sways with the movement of the wearer.

An advertisement in the Illustrated London News of 1865 extolled the virtues of a similar crinoline:

"…so perfect are the wave-like bands that a lady may ascend a steep stair, lean against a table, throw herself into an armchair, pass to her stall at the opera, and occupy a further seat in a carriage, without inconveniencing herself or others, and provoking the rude remarks of observers…thus modifying, in an important degree, all those peculiarities tending to destroy the modesty of Englishwomen; and lastly it allows the dress to fall in graceful folds."

By the late 1860s crinolines were becoming smaller than the earlier bell-shaped cages. The focus of the skirts has shifted to the back of the body with a distinctive flattening at the front and frequently a slight train at the hemline. To support this silhouette the crinoline diminished in size and, as in this example, sometimes gained a spiral coil of spring-steel at the waist to form a bustle.