Iron Clad Humor for civilians

[sbl]

Dessin de Cham (1863)

Tiens ! Les vaisseaux qui vont avoir des crinolines en fer comme, toi, maman.
Est-ce que tu vas aller sur l’eau aussi, toi, maman ?

Loose translation....

Look A ship made of iron like your crinolines Momma. Are you gonna go on the water too, Momma?

[Spinster]

Scott,

Got anything on the decade earlier horsehair petticoats?

[sbl]

Was there anything funny or sexy about them?

[Spinster]

I doubt they were considered sexy.

My curiosity is just up. Horsehair petticoats were one of many devices used to broaden the skirt profile before the advent of cage crinolines. Multiple petticoats, startched, corded, and horsehair, were required to achieve the fullness that fashion dictacted, and they were heavy and hot. The advent of the steel petticoat was hailed for its improvement to a woman's health, as she did not have to carry around as much weight to achieve the same result.

What's got me interested is that I built a horsehair petticoat this winter, and had occassion to drag it around over hill and dale for about 24 hours during a deluge of Biblical Proportions. And when I say built, yes it was more construction work than sewing. At any rate, while heavy, it shed water like a duck's back. I really don't know why THEY quit wearing them for winter wear. Summer, most certainly.

But then, some folks probably didn't like smelling like a damp horse.......and therein may lie the funny part.

[sbl]

The hoop cartoons I've seen start around the 1850s (other than a few from the 1700s) The one I just posted was from a French site which included the inflatable hoops of the 1850.

I thought this cartoon was neat as the fire hazards of hoops made the employment of a female fireman "pompier" necessary. A side note is that French fire brigades had cantinieres.