Word of the Day: Crinoline
Where We’ve Seen It: Jean Paul Gaultier Couture Fall 2014
Origin: From the 1840s until the 1870s, there was one accessory that made serious rounds under ladies’ skirts: the crinoline. A cousin of the pannier, the crinoline resembled a round skeleton cage that expanded the volume of a silhouette. Created out of horsehair, whalebone, and later metal hoops, it was worn by women across socioeconomic classes. Although the trend died out toward the late 1870s—it can’t have been comfortable to sit down in—it experienced a resurgence in 1948 thanks to Dior’s New Look (this time sans metal hoops). In its latest iteration for fall 2014 couture, Jean Paul Gaultier created a transparent version with life-size chain links encircling the gown, giving the prim and proper undergarment some risqué flair.