Fashion — 1861-1865
Crinoline
'The Imperial Diamond Jupon' crinoline, patented by S. Osborne.
The fashion for crinolines or hooped skirts to support women's skirts between about 1856 and 1867 was fuelled by the increase in British steel manufacture. The same technologies that allowed engineers like Isambard Kingdom Brunel to build new suspension bridges and other inventive marvels saw lightweight, cheap steel bands being churned out of factories. When bound together by tapes and fabrics to form a crinoline cage, they provided a welcome alternative to the masses of petticoats needed to create the fashionable full skirts of the day. Women's legs could now move freely, although the swaying bell movement took some getting used to. Caricaturists gleefully recorded the way gusts of wind and accidents could flip up the whole structure.
- Category:
- Fashion
- Object ID:
- 53.130/1
- Object name:
- crinoline
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- S. Osborne (patentee)
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1861-1865
- Material:
cotton, metal, linen
- Measurements/duration:
- L 925 mm, CM 620 mm (waist), CM 3100 mm
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.