After widening their hips to extreme
levels with Hip Panniers, the next step for the French fashionista was to put
on thier petticoats. This is where the actual outfit began to take form
(finally!). What did Rococo women love most? Layers! That’s where Petticoats
come in. An underpetticoat was sometimes worn to either add warmth in the
winter or smooth out bulges created by all those metal hoops sported on the
hips. Underpetticoats were not seen from the outside and were usually made of
white or neutral colored linen, these are comparable to shifts and are
basically another form of undergarment. Regular petticoats (layered on top), on
the other hand, were seen from the outside, especially when one was wearing the
popular Robe a la Francais- the most
stylish gown of Rococo. With this type of gown, there was a gap or “window” in
the front of the dress and the petticoat would show in this gap. For this
reason, the petticoat could either be the same fabric, color, and design as the
outside dress part, or possibly a variation of the actual dress. Sometimes the
petticoat was an accenting color or had a different style than the outside gown
to add flair and uniqueness to one’s outfit. See “Last But Not Least- The Robe
a la Francais” to find out what kinds of fabric and decorations were options
for the petticoat.
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