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 Mid 19th century satirical fashion cartoon depicting the ridiculously over sized crinoline When it comes to the crinolines of
the 1860s, bigger is not always
better. Contrary to popular belief, the crinolines worn by women of
this period were not as wide as folklore (or Scarlett O'Hara) wants us
to believe. While the largest period crinoline I have found documented
measures a whopping 225" in circumference, the majority of 1860s era
extant cages
only measure between 90-105" in circumference.
   (From left to right) Crinoline c. 1860, 1862-1863 Era Crinoline, Royal Worcester Corset Company, Mid 19th century crinoline images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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There is photographic
documentation amongst the upper class and European nobility's
preference for the larger cage crinoline during the 1860s. However,
numerous 1860s era photographs support the idea
that the average middle class European and American woman of this
period chose to include the the more modest sized crinoline in her
wardrobe (see extant images below).
       (Images c. 1860s/courtesy The Lady's Resource ) |
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| To determine what size
crinoline you need for your 1860s era middle class impression, I have
devised a simple algebraic equation. The average waist size in the
1860s was around 26". Let's use the smaller extant crinoline
circumference for our equation. Take your waist measurement and plug it
into the following equation: 26/90=Waist/X
Here's how it works: Let's say you have a 32" waist. Plug 32 in the equation where it says Waist. Now do the math: 90x32=2880. Divide 2880 by 26. The answer is 110.76. So that means you would need a 111" circumference crinoline (or there-abouts). |
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 Mid 19th century elliptical crinoline (image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art) |
 19th century fashion icon, Empress Eugenie of France, c. 1865 sporting the larger elliptical shaped crinoline |