hoop-skirt

A woman wears a hoop-skirt to a formal ball.

Definition

Noun:
A "hoop-skirt" is a women's undergarment consisting of a framework of flexible hoops (originally made of whalebone or later wire) worn under a skirt to give it a wide, bell-like shape. It was particularly fashionable in the mid-19th century.

Usage Examples

• (A wide, bell-shaped undergarment for a skirt.)
• (The rigid framework of the garment caused inconvenience.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be in a hoop-skirt": to be wearing a hoop-skirt as part of formal or period attire.

  • She felt elegant in her hoop-skirt, though she had to walk carefully through doorways. (Wearing the wide garment required caution.)

• "hoop-skirt era": the period (roughly 1850s–1860s) when hoop-skirts were at the height of fashion.

  • The hoop-skirt era is often depicted in films about the American Civil War. (The time when this garment was popular.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hoop (n): a circular band of metal, wood, or other material used as part of a framework.

  • The hoop in the skirt was made of flexible steel. (A circular support component.)

• Skirt (n): a garment worn from the waist downward, typically by women.

  • The outer skirt was made of silk, covering the hoop-skirt underneath. (The outer layer of clothing.)

Synonyms

• Crinoline: a stiffened petticoat or a similar hoop structure used to widen skirts (often used interchangeably with hoop-skirt, though crinoline originally referred to a stiff fabric).

  • She wore a crinoline under her gown to achieve the same bell shape. (A similar undergarment.)

• Pannier: a framework worn at the hips to extend the skirt sideways, popular in the 18th century (different from the full-circle hoop-skirt).

  • The pannier gave her dress a distinctive side profile. (A hip-extending undergarment.)

Related Idioms

• "to have a hoop-skirt mentality": (figurative, informal) to be old-fashioned or rigid in thinking, as if confined by the structure of a hoop-skirt.
  • His hoop-skirt mentality prevented him from accepting modern ideas. (A stubborn, outdated mindset.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Hoop up (rare): to raise or adjust a hoop-skirt for convenience.

  • She had to hoop up her skirt to climb the stairs. (Lift the hoop structure.)

• Hoop out (rare): to remove or detach the hoops from a skirt.

  • The costume designer had to hoop out the wire before cleaning the dress. (Take out the framework.)