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What were the different types of "skirt shapers" through the ages?

Many and sundry! I’ll cover some of the best known in western fashion (which is, as previously stated, my specialty), but do pardon me if I miss any, followers.

Farthingale:

(I can’t find images of surviving examples. 16th-17th century. Originated in Spain. Almost exclusively the purview of the wealthy. Would probably be worn with at least petticoat between them and the actual skirt to prevent visible dents and breaks in that top layer, and probably more petticoats for decorative purposes.)

Bum roll:

(Another replica example. This one is 18th century and rather extreme, but they lasted pretty much from the 15th century through the 18th, and came in different sizes. Too poor to wear a farthingale? Have a farthingale but want to soften the line a bit? Living in an era where volume at the top of your skirts is trendy but the shape created by wire/cane/reed skirt shapers isn’t? Bum rolls to the rescue! Again, at least one petticoat goes between it and the outer skirt.)

Panniers:

(Oh hey, our first extant example! 18th century. Came in widths ranging from “fairly reasonable” to “smuggling a flatscreen.” Once again, mostly just for the wealthy, with the largest sizes being almost exclusively worn at formal court events. Varied in size throughout the century, depending on the then-fashionable silhouette, and at times disappeared altogether. Petticoat worn over top to prevent blah blah blah. These are from LACMA, c. 1750-1780.)

Pocket Hoops:

(18th century. An option for if you’re not well-off enough for panniers, the fashions have changed such that a more subtle silhouette is in vogue, or it’s a time and place when panniers are a Thing but would not be appropriate for your specific situation. Petticoat. Don’t think I need to say more on that. These are clearly from a museum, but I can’t find the source.)

Corded petticoat:

(1830s-early 1850s. An option for getting the popular skirt width before cage crinolines came along. Sometimes worn in conjunction with more layers of petticoats for as much floof as possible. This one is a petticoat; does that mean we can ditch the top petticoat? Nope. Example is from the MET museum and seems to be 1830s based on the mannequin’s sleeve plumpers.)

Horsehair petticoat:

(1830s-early 1850s. Made of a stiff fabric called “crinoline.” Yep, here it is, folks- the O.G. crinoline. Could be an alternative to the corded petticoat; could be used in conjunction with it, depending on personal preference. The over-top petticoat has not vanished, either- some of these had ruffles that would need to be covered to make a smooth line under the outer skirt, and anyway, you’d want all the volume help you could get. Example is from Augusta Auctions.)

Cage crinoline/hoop skirt (round):

(late 1850s-c. 1866. The one people know best. These were revolutionary, dramatically reducing the bulk of women’s skirts and enabling the silhouette to get even more bell-shaped than before. The first known model was patented in 1856, and with new mass production methods, they were available to pretty much all classes of society. Rich women wore them, middle-class women wore them, working women wore them in their scant free time- even enslaved women in the southern United States made hoops for parties and church services, sometimes out of dried grapevines. Fun fact: the invention of the cage crinoline led dress reformer Amelia Bloomer to declare her fight won and return to wearing mainstream clothing. No joke. And as always, gotta prevent that Visible Hoop Line with a petticoat. Example from the collection of Anton Priymak, early 1860s.)

Cage crinoline/hoop skirt (elliptical):

(c. 1865-1870. Pretty much the same, except the skirt bulk has shifted from being the same all the way around to concentrating more at the back. Precursor to the bustle. Just assume petticoats with all of them from now on, okay? Example from LACMA, 1865.)

Crinolette:

(Early 1870s. Same thing, different shape. Used to create the definitely bustle-esque but still somewhat full skirts of the First Bustle/Soft Bustle era. Example from freaking Pinterest, Land of Zero Sources, but I can tell it’s extant.)

Bustle Pad (1870s-80s)

(Dates above. Could be used in conjunction with a crinolette or, when bustles began to shrink as the silhouette moved toward the late 1870s-early 1880s Natural Form silhouette, by itself. From the Vintage Textile collection.)

Bustle:

(c. 1883-1889. The thing at the back there. Sometimes called a “lobster tail bustle.” Used to create the Hard Bustle/Second Bustle silhouette of the late 1880s. No, I have no idea why bustles suddenly came back and got even more pronounced than before, but here we are. Example from LACMA, c. 1885.)

Bustle pad (late 19th century):

(1890s-early 19th century. Perfect for a bit of subtle skirt shaping at the back, and to help keep the skirt from dragging or getting pulled down by its own weight. The great-granddaughter of the bum roll. Example from Marzilli Vintage on Ruby Lane. Side note, I legit want to buy one of these now that I know they can be had for not a ton of money. Could I make one? Yes. Do I still want to buy one? Hell yes.)

Panniers II: Electric Boogaloo

(Oh, you thought we were done? Nope. And you might want to be sitting down for the date on this one: early 1920s. Yes, you heard me- some of your free-wheeling #flapperfaves were wearing panniers. The briefly popular “robe de style” was an evening gown with a wide skirt and a slightly higher waistline than we now associate with this decade. Some of them had skirt volume achieved only through strategic gathers over the hips, but others were worn over these babies to get the desired oomph. And some of the panniers even verged on the old Smuggling A Flatscreen territory. Everything cycles around again. Example from eBay.)

Crinolines But Plastic:

(1950s. Oh hey, Dior; how’s it going? Nothing says “throwing off the sober silhouettes of wartime austerity” like Big-Ass Fluffy Skirts. And boy, were these skirts fluffy. Obviously other silhouettes were also popular in the 1950s, but the massive full skirt is a classic. According to my mom, who had the kid version in the latter part of the decade, these could be REALLY itchy depending on what kind of synthetic fabric they were made of. Possibly the only thing on this list still popular for everyday wear today, in certain circles, though the bustle pad might enjoy a niche revival shortly thanks to the magnificent Bernadette Banner and Cathy Hay.)

Attached tulle underskirts:

(1980s-early 1990s. Nope, you’re not imagining things- we are STILL not finished. My big sister had to suffer through these itching her legs under her piano recital dresses when she was a kid, so I’m damn well mentioning them. Plus I have a 1980s prom dress by Scott McClintock that I currently use for 1840s events that has this layer to mimic an early Victorian silhouette. Let’s call it part of the brief Victorian revival movement of the late 1970s-1980s and move on.)

Formal hoop skirts:

(Present. Yes! Skirt shapers, and cage crinolines in particular, are still a thing! They’ve become isolated to special occasions for the most part, but they haven’t totally vanished. This one from David’s Bridal appears to be several layers of tulle over…well, I assume there’s a cage in there. There might not be. But whatever; I know people still wear them for weddings sometimes. Hell, my own round cage is a modern bridal one I found online and modified.)

The Bustle Bar:

(2013. I adore this so much. Made by the amazing Mieljolie of All Things Crafty, this is the spiritual successor of the woman who was caught in 1886 trying to smuggle untaxed rum into Florida from Cuba inside a hollow tin bustle and that’s awesome. Source, along with plenty of info about how it was created. This isn’t common at all but you deserve to know that it exists. And source about the rum smuggler.)

I think that covers most of them. Sorry this answer was so long; I got a bit carried away.

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