Side Hoop
1780 - 1789 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Women's underwear served two purposes in the 18th century. The first function, carried out by the shift or smock, was to protect the clothing from the body, in an age when daily bathing was not customary. Made of very fine linen, the shift was the first garment put on when dressing. Over the shift went the linen stays, heavily reinforced with strips of whalebone. Their purpose was to mould the torso to the fashionable shape and provide a rigid form on which the gown could be arranged and fastened. The hoops were also made of linen and stiffened with whalebone or cane. They shaped the petticoat of the gown to the appropriate silhouette. At various times during the 18th century, this profile varied from round, to square and flat, to fan-shaped.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Linen, silk and baleen (‘whalebone’) |
| Brief description | Side hoop petticoat covered in linen, retailed by A. Schabner, England, 1780s |
| Physical description | Side hoop petticoat covered in pink striped linen. Reinforced with baleen, and kept in shape with tapes inside. Hand-sewn. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by Mr and Mrs R. C. Carter |
| Object history | RF number is 1964/1383. Displayed in "Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear", 16 April 2016 to 12 March 2017. According to the original bill it was purchased on 16 February 1778 from A. Schabner Riding Habit and Robe Maker at his Warehouse in Tavistock Street Covent Garden by Miss Davis as a Pink Holland Hoop for 10s 6d. Given to the V&A in 1969, along with T.120A-1969, T.121-1969 and T.122-1969, the gift of Bobby and Deborah Carter [64/1383]. These items were initially lent in 1964, but later were given to the Museum. The family from which they originated were the Hodges of Slowwe House, Arlingham, Gloucestershire. |
| Summary | Women's underwear served two purposes in the 18th century. The first function, carried out by the shift or smock, was to protect the clothing from the body, in an age when daily bathing was not customary. Made of very fine linen, the shift was the first garment put on when dressing. Over the shift went the linen stays, heavily reinforced with strips of whalebone. Their purpose was to mould the torso to the fashionable shape and provide a rigid form on which the gown could be arranged and fastened. The hoops were also made of linen and stiffened with whalebone or cane. They shaped the petticoat of the gown to the appropriate silhouette. At various times during the 18th century, this profile varied from round, to square and flat, to fan-shaped. |
| Associated object | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.120-1969 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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