Bo Persson: An Attempt to Improve Construction of Guns that Changed the World of Women's Fashion
Textiles & Dress Historian
I want to discuss the crinoline fashion in the 1850-60s in the perspective of how technological innovations and developments made it possible and how it was received?
How was the innovation received?
The crinoline cage consisting of steel springs became immensely popular as replacement to the many layers of petticoats in 1856 and survived many attempts to ‘kill’ it. One who tried and failed was Amelia Bloomer in America.
In what way have technological breakthrough influenced the design and economics?
The crinoline cage consisting of steel springs had not been possible without the invention of making steel out of iron. The design of the huge doom-shaped skirt would never have taken place? The sale of crinoline frames had a huge impact on the economy as both the iron and the textile industries benefited from it. It happened that manufacturers of other items made of steel experienced shortage of supply due to high demand from crinoline manufacturers.
Not only made the steel springs it possible to make the skirts even larger as the steel frame could be made larger and support a larger weight that the masses of fabrics produced that was not possible with petticoats. The steel spring made life easier for women as they could reduce the number of petticoats that had supported the ever-growing skirt before. The crinoline frame became so popular that large factories were set up to produce them. Huge amount of iron was used to produce the frames. Much later the frames were melted down to support the production of canons during the First World War.
The crinoline was the first ‘democratic’ fashion. Every woman could afford to have one, from the chambermaid to the lady of the house. The difference was the fabric the dress or skirt was made of.
Another invention is closely related to the possibility to make the huge skirt democratic, the sewing machine. It became possible to make the skirt fitting over the frame affordable for most women.
The importance for the textile industry can be demonstrated by the occasion when couturier Charles Frederick Worth for the first time presented a dress of his for Empress Eugénie of France. The Empress had first refused the dress. Her husband, Emperor Napoleon III happened to enter the room. The Emperor realised what the huge skirt could do for the silk industry in Lyon that had been in decline for a long time. The Empress ordered a dress and made the crinoline high fashion. Without the crinoline frame of steel the skirt had never been able to become as large as it did. The weight of the petticoats would have done it impossible. The skirt would also have collapsed as later experiments have shown.
Both the invention of making steel and the sewing machine was made by men but benefited women of all classes. It also benefited the iron/ steel and textile industries.