Petticoats

[Peter v]

I too think the undershirt is very nice, and would love to wear under garments with lace like that. Especially because this one has a T shirt sleeve shape instead of the more usual spagetti bands ot the thin shoulder bands. Only unfortunately I have a very full hair growth on upper body, my breast hair being thick and curly.

So unfortunately these undergarments are not so suited to me.
But they are "refined"garments, which as I have stated elsewhere, can be worn by all who appreciate refined clothes. And has nothing to do directly with being feminine. I think it is not that many men don't appreciate such clothing, but are cautious not to be associated with "wanting to be feminine". which is as we here know is not the case. And even if it were, that's no big deal, because it still does not mean that the man in question wants to look like or be seen as a woman. Only in the latter case, would it then go beyond this forum.

Like sleeves, widening out, hanging from the lower arm, often croche, sometimes a bit ruffly, I like that, but as yet have not been able to find a suitable garment, like a vest with that, at least not for an acceptable price.

Why would they put "for women" between brackets???????
Are they affraid that otherwise men would buy them? Or is it as with many articles of clothing, to do with the woman's fit, which is somewhat smaller than men's fit in comparison.

Peter v

[ChrisM]

Thanks for the idea Sapphire and Emmy! I prefer the silky fabrics that Emmy suggested, but teh mode of assembly suggested by Sapphire sounds eminently do-able!

I will caucus with my seamstress (viz: "wife") on this subject!

It's going to be 35+C today here in Fremantle Western Australia, and I do wish I could wear some of the light stuff I see on the ladies hereabouts, but I'm not sure my client is ready to meet his expensive American consultant in anything but 'the uniform.'


Chris

[crfriend]

It's going to be 35+C today here in Fremantle Western Australia, and I do wish I could wear some of the light stuff I see on the ladies hereabouts, but I'm not sure my client is ready to meet his expensive American consultant in anything but 'the uniform.'

Ah, what I'd not give to trade places. It went from 60 (F) yesterday to 35 (F) today, That was a bit of a shock to the system -- and it's not going to get much better any time soon.

I thought you were on holiday, not at work.... (But, then again, how else does one afford to get to the antipodes in this day and age?)

[AMM]

In a previous post, I wrote

I have ... one square-dance petticoat which I wear only for the mirror.

Since my only audience today was my mirror (I'm apartment-cleaning, as mentioned in another post in a forum far, far away), I thought I'd try it on again (http://www.dancecenter.com/Shoppe/petti ... chor-14210.) Two issues came up; are there any folks here (of either/any gender) who have experience with square-dance-style petticoats?

1. I've been storing it in the box it was shipped in, but it only fits if you sort of fold it up. It ends up being pretty crumpled when I pull it out. What's the best way to store a petticoat, if you don't have a lot of space? And is there a way to un-crumple it?
2. When I sit down while wearing it, it feels like the part I sit on is getting creased. Is there a correct way to sit in these petticoats? Or do you just not sit down very much?

[sapphire]

I used to do a lot of square dancing as a teenager.

The crumple factor has a lot to do with the material. If it isn't made of crease resistant fabric, sometimes your only alternative is to iron the dang thing.

What you might try is to hang it on a skirt hanger and run a hot shower and let the bathroom fill with steam. Hang the garment in the steam filled room until the heat from the shower is gone. Often this will takes the wrinkles and crumples out of a garment. This is a trick I used when I had to travel on business. No, I wasn't bringing along petticoats, but my dresses, skirts and blouses would often crumple in transit.

Sorry but the best way to store this is on a skirt hanger.

Sitting? Well, with some fabrics and with some styles, sitting worsens the garment. The best you can do with a petticoat like this is to try to smoothe the garment as best you can.

[ChrisM]

Actually Carl, when the consulting opportunity came up, what I put to my wife was: "How would you feel if I accept this $5k consulting opportunity and we agree to blow it all on a visit to Australia?"

So what we've done is to 'anchor' the trip with the client-paid portion of it, and then added almost two weeks of lolly-gagging on the beach. The consulting fees will cover her ticket and the hostel, while of course my ticket and the business-hotel are directly billable.

This is one of the GREAT delights of being 'retired.' I've previously had numerous apparently-similar business trips over the past twenty years, but upon their completion there is always this demand to return to the office as promptly as possible - after all, we only get 10 days of vacation a year, etc. etc. So in 'the old days' (last year) I would have sucked it up, made the trip, missed my wife / wished she was here. But it would have made no sense to bring her because we'd be separate all day, and neither one of us would actually have as good a time as possible.

Now, I get 360 days of vacation a year (if I don't mind starving) and I can allocate them however I please. I can extend my stay in whatever venue for as long as I can afford.

And thanks to the miracle of internet communication, I'm really not even that far out of touch.

Dropping out of the Rat Race last year was one of the best decisions I've made in a fair while.

All the best,


Chris

[Gregg1100]

Hi All,
Saw these on fleabay and they reminded me of the girls wearing them under their skirts back in 50's.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RED-ROCK-N-ROLL-G ... otohosting.
Greg

[Emerald Witch]

I too think the undershirt is very nice, and would love to wear under garments with lace like that. ...

Why would they put "for women" between brackets???????
Are they affraid that otherwise men would buy them? Or is it as with many articles of clothing, to do with the woman's fit, which is somewhat smaller than men's fit in comparison.

In the case of this particular garment, it did have side gathers which would act like darting at the bosom, to fit a wearer with breasts. So it wouldn't fit most men properly. So in this case we can cross clothing sexism off our list of grudges against this manufacturer.

(sigh) I still really wish I could own one! Now that we've started the discussion, I think extending the garment with a skirt would make a lovely dress for summer, let alone a slip! Why cover up something so attractive?

[george]

I actually wear the more full petticoats often associated with sqaure dancing and the 50's. I actually enjoy them a lot. they do take some greater care when sitting but otherwise are very nice.

[sapphire]

Well, I gave the t-shirt slip/underdress idea a shot. This is totoally unadorned. I was at the craft store so they didn't have anything in the way of wearable lace (lace for crafts, yes, for wearing, no) I did get a scrap of eyelet fabric.

I went to the fabric store, but the oil light went on in my car so I went straight back to the garage. Evidently a seal or a gasket blew and the car can''t hold oil.

Lace will have to wait.

This prototype was made from 2 1/2 t-shirts. I haven't excavated my sewing machine yet, so this is hand sewn.

[Peter v]

That looks very prommising. Please show the end result when you have had time to get the finishing touches done.

Peter v.

[skirtpettiman]

I always wear slips and petticoats with my skirts for warmth, comfort, modesty and saves having to wash much heavier skirts so often. In warm summer weather I just wear a knee length poly cotton slip; not pure nylon as they don't breathe and can stick to my legs. In cold winter weather when I'm wearing a maxi skirt I'll wear one of my 12 yard white cotton gypsy skirts as a petticoat with my knee length slip underneath. This has four tiers and is quite ruffled at the hem so provides good insulation especially around the lower legs. I don't wear tights, pantyhose, or any other constricting underwear. With a slip as a base layer, followed by a petticoat, I only need to wash the slip on a regular basis. Saves on the amount of laundry that needs doing!

This is the skirt I wear as a petticoat:

gypsy white 1.JPG

And one with the denim maxi skirt worn over it:

denim 1.JPG

[moonshadow]

Well, this thread definitely has some vintage usernames...

Regarding petticoats, I don't actually have one, save for the knee length slip that I sometimes use to add a little shape to drapy skirts. I'd like to pick up a knee length and a ankle length that has good fluff to add to my collection of clothing. I'm wondering where one could check them out in a brick and mortar store? I know I can get them online, but I'm not really much into online shopping.

No "women only" stores please.... as I would like to try the thing on before I buy.

[crfriend]

Well, this thread definitely has some vintage usernames...

Indeed. When I looked back at the initial page wondering how it all got started I got a bit misty-eyed.

I'm wondering where one could check them out in a brick and mortar store? I know I can get them online, but I'm not really much into online shopping.

Recall that you're looking at an obsolete article of clothing that in any practical sense is something right out of a time-capsule. I very highly doubt that you'll be able to find them in any main-line brick-and-mortar chain. Even slips are becoming obsolete.

That said, one avenue you might experiment with -- although it'll potentially be problematic -- is find out where some of the more "Christian throwback" (for temporary want of a better term) types get their dresses and skirts as those designs may well pretty much require a petticoat underneath simply for control. If they're real traditionalists, though, they'll be making them at home.

No "women only" stores please.... as I would like to try the thing on before I buy.

What I just suggested may actually be a bit more dangerous, although if you could actually pull it off it'd be a remarkable achievement.

That having all been said, buying a petti is pretty much the same as buying a skirt. If you see one on the rack that meets your needs and tickles your fancy, hold it up to your waist to see how it stacks up size- and length- wise. Most of the petticoats I've encountered are either elastic- or draw-string- waist designs so are very accommodating; judging length and fullness will test your memory as you try to recall how long the skirt you want to wear over the petti is, whether it's full enough or not, and whether you want to have a sliver of the petti showing under the skirt (beware that hot-white looks a tad gauche showing, but a strong colour just peeking occasionally a little from under a black skirt can make a rig really pop).

[hoborob]

Just a quick search reveals that petticoats are indeed available on a fairly large number of sites. Just do a search for petticoats and you should easily have at least 10 or more sites to look at.