Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A petticoat is an undergarment worn under a skirt, also known as an underskirt, or under a dress. The petticoat is a separate garment hanging from the waist, unlike the chemise, which covers the torso. The practice of wearing petticoats was well established by 1585, and petticoats were worn throughout history by women who wanted the currently fashionable shape created by their clothing: a sufficiently full or stiff petticoat would hold the overskirt out in a pleasingly domed shape and give the impression of a smaller waist. By the middle of the twentieth century the petticoat was rare, replaced by modern undergarments, until revival in the following decade.
Petticoats were worn throughout history by women who wanted to have the currently fashionable shape created by their clothing. The petticoat(s), if sufficiently full or stiff, would hold the overskirt out in a pleasingly domed shape and give the impression of a smaller waist than the wearer actually had.
It would also complement the desired large bust. The petticoat was not worn to hide the legs, as twentieth century commentators later claimed; it actually enhanced the stylish figure in the centuries before female attractiveness was defined almost wholly by how much naked leg was showing, as has been the case since 1960. Petticoats were revived by Christian Dior in his New Look of 1947 and remained extremely popular during the 1950s, especially with teenage girls.
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Before engineered supports existed, skirt shape was built from cloth alone, and the petticoat was the building material. Fullness came first from layers: several petticoats worn together, each adding its own flare at the hem, in wool or flannel for warmth as well as shape in winter. Stiffness came next, from quilting the petticoat with padding held in stitched channels, from cording, rows of cord sewn into the fabric to make it stand away from the body, and from stiffened fabrics and horsehair cloth, the crinoline material that later gave its name to the steel-hooped frame that replaced petticoat layers altogether. The waist fastening was a simple band or drawstring, and because the garment hung from the waist as a separate piece, petticoats of different weights could be combined for different dresses, a wardrobe system as much as a single garment.
The petticoat's purpose was silhouette, not concealment. It held the overskirt in the domed shape fashion required, complemented the desired figure of its period, and its swish and rustle were part of a dressed appearance, the lace or embroidered edge of a fine petticoat sometimes allowed to show at the hem as a deliberate finish. That is the role Dior's New Look needed again in 1947: after wartime restrictions, the New Look's long, full skirts could only swing as designed over a supporting underskirt, and the 1950s petticoat, in net, nylon and paper taffeta, often in several tiers, became a standard garment, bought by fullness and length to match circle skirts and dress skirts.
Modern petticoats survive wherever a skirt needs building from beneath: bridal and formal underskirts that carry trained and full dresses, dance and costume petticoats cut for movement, and revival fashions built around a flared skirt. They are sold by waist size, length and fullness, from a soft single layer that merely smooths a lining to stiff, multi-tier constructions. Care follows the fabric: cotton and linen petticoats wash and iron like the cloth they are, net and nylon styles are washed gently and dried away from heat so the tiers keep their spring, and all are stored hanging or loosely rolled so the fullness is not crushed flat before the next wearing.
A petticoat is an undergarment worn under a skirt or dress, also called an underskirt. It is a separate garment hanging from the waist, unlike the chemise, and its fullness or stiffness shapes the skirt worn over it into the fashionable silhouette of its period.
A sufficiently full or stiff petticoat held the overskirt out in a domed shape, away from the legs, and by widening the skirt it gave the impression of a smaller waist than the wearer actually had. Layers of petticoats, or one stiffened petticoat, were adjusted to match the width fashion required.
Petticoats were revived by Christian Dior in his New Look of 1947, whose full, below-calf skirts needed support from beneath, and they remained extremely popular during the 1950s, especially with younger wearers, before narrowing fashions made them rare again.