Petticoat

A skirt-like garment worn beneath a dress or skirt to add warmth, modesty, or shape. Some petticoats are designed to be worn visibly as outer skirts.

Farthingale: A structured hoop or padded support worn beneath a skirt, especially in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. It is a historical under-skirt support that shaped the silhouette beneath outer clothing.
Robe à la française: An eighteenth-century gown characterized by pleated fabric falling from the shoulders and a wide skirt. Its broad silhouette was often supported by petticoats and side hoops.
Modesty garment: An undergarment worn to provide coverage beneath outer clothing. A petticoat can prevent light or movement from revealing the legs beneath a skirt.
Slip (clothing): A lightweight undergarment worn beneath a dress or skirt to improve coverage and reduce friction. A slip prioritizes smoothness and coverage, while a petticoat often adds volume.
Bustle: A framework or padded support worn at the back to project and shape a skirt. Unlike a petticoat’s all-around fullness, a bustle concentrates volume behind the wearer.
Victorian fashion: Clothing and dress customs associated with Britain during Queen Victoria’s reign, from 1837 to 1901. Victorian fashions made layered petticoats central to many women’s silhouettes.
Thermal insulation: The reduction of heat transfer through a material or layer of clothing. A petticoat traps air beneath a skirt and can add warmth.
Skirt: A garment that hangs from the waist and covers some or all of the legs. The petticoat takes its basic skirt-like form but is usually worn underneath another garment.
Pannier: A framework worn at the hips to extend a skirt sideways. It shows how an undergarment can widen a skirt without adding equal volume at the front and back.
Crinoline dress: A nineteenth-century dress worn over a cage-like frame that expanded the skirt. It replaced stacks of heavy petticoats with a structured way to hold skirts wide.

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Ball gownRelated: Underskirts add structure and fullness beneath the gown.