Petticoats

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sapphire
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Petticoats

Post by sapphire »

Several men have written that they wear petticoats. Would you please share with us the style and materials that you use for petticoats?

Is the material gathered at the waist or do you have a flat yoke with gathered fabric sewn onto the yoke? Gathering at the waist would cause poofiness starting at the waist, while the yoked version would lie flat along the belly and hips and then flare from the low edge of the hips.

Do you gather fabric or use pleats? Do you use an elastic waistband or a trational waistband with some sort of closure (buttons, hooks, zippers, etc)

DO you incorporate ribbons, lace or trims.?

What sorts of fabrics have you used?

What styles of skirts have you worn your petticoats with?

THanks!
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Post by Peter v »

Yes, Spphire, that is something that interests me too. The only petticoats I think of are those that make the skirt stand out, being very thrilly, voluminous. They do look very nice. 1950's - 60's rock and roll. But I don't think that many men will be wearing that much, unless it's for a ball.
I must admit, the petticoats look very comfortable, very nice to wear.
The ones I am thinking about would make many skirts, especially the longer ones, dance about very pleasantly. Which gives the skirt a whole new dimension. Skirts now are pretty static, not having any springy material under them. I would like to see the skirts make a comeback with petticoats, for the girls / women. And who knows, then men also.
And gives warmth in layers. Would be some extra work when visiting the toilet though :( :roll: :wink:

Peter v.
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AMM
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Post by AMM »

"Petticoat" calls to many people's minds something bouffant which makes your skirt stick straight out.

"Slip" or "half-slip" calls to mind a straight, plain nylon underskirt.

What I wear lies in between.

I have a few straight nylon half-slips, which I wear frequently, and one square-dance petticoat which I wear only for the mirror.

I also have a "prairie" petticoat which is several layers of soft nylon with lace (see Alamo Styles website) which I wear under a long skirt for warmth. (It's also fun.) I can tell that the skirt sticks out slightly more than usual, but I don't think anyone else would notice.

The rest are ones I have made myself, and they are all what I call "conical" and made pretty much like my skirts, but usually 2 gores and around 2 radians. Some are cotton, muslin and batiste, some are polyester voile, some are organza, and I plan to make some out of nylon. I even have one I made out of polar-tec. They all have elastic waists. Some have a ruffle at the bottom to make them thicker. Some have lace, some don't.

When I wear a skirt, I almost always wear a cotton or nylon slip/petticoat next to my skin, the idea being to have something easily washable to absorb sweat or anything else that would make it necessary to launder the skirt more frequently. The others are for warmth or to add "swirl" for dancing.

I have black ones that I wear under my kilt, and they have a little extra cloth in the front so they will fall down between my legs when I sit, to avoid starring in one of those infamous "kilt shots" you can find on the web.
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Post by r1g0r »

amm:

can you provide their website?

i googled them and the only site didn't have any skirts or petticoats.

thanks!
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Post by AMM »

r1g0r wrote:can you provide their website?

i googled them and the only site didn't have any skirts or petticoats.
They seem to have remodeled their web site, and there's a lot of stuff missing.

However, there are lots of other suppliers -- just look for square dance petticoat suppliers: http://www.petticoatjct.com/ or http://www.dancecenter.com/, among others. Amazon also carries some.

I push Alamo mostly because they come to dance festivals, so I sort of know them.
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As for me

Post by ChrisM »

I wear slips and half slips. Perfectly ordinary brands such as Vanity Fair, etc. I have no "petticoats" proprement dit.

I really like lace, so I find that I will choose a slip based on the attractiveness of its lace components....as well as practical factors like length, of course!

I do wish that I could find a full slip that had short sleeves (like a T-shirt) rather than spaghetti straps. I dislike spaghetti straps, but they are the price I must pay to find a nylon chest or bodice.

Chris
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Post by Peter v »

Thanks you guys, I'm a little bit better in the picture, but not actually seeing foto's of men ( seriously dressed) wearing petticoats, it is hard to visualise the image the man is trying to put forward.

Yes, under garments for women are generally made to show their beautiful smooth skin, and ofcourse an open neck line, encompassing their breasts is a logicical way to go, but not needed for us men. As more men wear skirts, and even dresses, there may be a producer of undergarmenst who will start making slip dresses and the like for men.

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Re: As for me

Post by Emerald Witch »

ChrisM wrote:I really like lace, so I find that I will choose a slip based on the attractiveness of its lace components....as well as practical factors like length, of course!

I do wish that I could find a full slip that had short sleeves (like a T-shirt) rather than spaghetti straps. I dislike spaghetti straps, but they are the price I must pay to find a nylon chest or bodice.
I admit this is an aspect I've never considered before. What a concept! A T-shirt based design with lace componants, designed specifically for men. How cool! Where would you like to see the lace? Would you like any gathers, or would you prefer it to drape more or less straight from the shoulders like an extra-long T-shirt? What kind of neckline would you prefer? What fabric would you prefer? Colors?

Inquiring minds want to know! :)
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Post by sapphire »

Emmy,
I think what you describe would be a perfect variation of the chemise that you mentioned before. Certainly, the idea of the chemise could be "riffed" into various bodice styles, long of short sleeeved, plain bodice, pintucked, ruffled, high neck, low neck or what have you: the new underdress.
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Post by AMM »

Peter v wrote:Thanks you guys, I'm a little bit better in the picture, but not actually seeing foto's of men ( seriously dressed) wearing petticoats, it is hard to visualise the image the man is trying to put forward.
Well, with my petticoats/slips, I try not to make it obvious to casual observers that I have one on, so there's not much to visualize. When I'm just standing, the skirt covers the petticoat/slip, and they're not thick enough to make the skirt stick out noticeably. (This is in contrast to wedding or square-dance petticoats.)

One of the main functions of the slips/petticoats is to allow the skirt to swing freely as I move. My skirts are all pretty full compared with the pictures I see posted here, and part of the fun is the way they swing as I move and slide over me as if they had a life of their own.

With my dancing skirts, which are nearly full circle skirts, you would see something of the petticoat/slip if I twirl. My dancing skirts have linings in a voile (somewhat sheer), usually in a lighter color than the skirt itself. I then usually have another slip in the same material, and a cotton slip under that. The outer layers are fuller than the inner ones, with the idea that if I twirl and everything stays smooth, you should see the separate layers sticking out at different angles, and nothing above about mid-thigh should be visible in any case. I usually add some lace or something at the hem of the petticoat(s) to give people something interesting to glimpse when the skirt flies up (in honor of the contra dance tradition of flirtatiousness.) In practice, the skirts tend to flap around a lot when I twirl, so you don't really get the intended effect, but people still end up seeing the inner layers at times.

With the others, I would expect that you couldn't see anything under the skirt unless I do something like sit down on the floor or step up on a bench or something. Especially this time of year, I tend to wear extra slips/petticoats for warmth as much as (or maybe even more than) for the "slippy" feeling.

There may come a time when I'll have the nerve to wear a square-dance style full petticoat, but it'll be a while, and it will only be for dancing. Full petticoats somehow don't seem appropriate as day (street) wear.
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Using the toilet

Post by Since1982 »

peter v wrote:Would be some extra work when visiting the toilet though
for a real appreciation of how difficult that might be for a man, if you get a chance, see the movie "The King and I" starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. Ms. Kerr wore huge very wide dresses and skirts throughout the movie with many many super wide petticoats under her dresses and skirts. People had to stand up to 15 feet away from her to keep from stepping on her garments. Her ability to keep the floor clean was very easy, as she only had to walk over it to sweep everything ahead of her.
The King's children constantly were getting lost under her skirts, disappearing on one side and popping up on the other. Or hiding from the King while Ms. Kerr walked. :oops:
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Lace T-Slip

Post by ChrisM »

I mentioned my desire for a t-shirt-top full slip. The nearest I have seen is this one:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,159 ... For_Women)

Imagine that garment extended to include a knee-length skirt component, probably with a complementary lace hem, and marketed as a full slip.

In general the nearest I find are garments marketed as sleepwear.

Gotta run...off to the airport.

Chris
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Post by cessna152towser »

Well, with my petticoats/slips, I try not to make it obvious to casual observers that I have one on, so there's not much to visualize.
I'd agree with AMM on this. Keep the casual observer guessing what's worn under. With heavyweight wool kilts you don't need an underskirt for warmth, and an underskirt would impede the modern Utilikilts or Union Kilts where the overlapping front aprons fall over opposite legs when you sit, creating the impression of wearing long shorts. That said my wife prefers me to wear a slip for modesty and hygiene so when I do wear one it is a plain cotton or polyester half slip in a matching colour to the kilt/skirt and will have no frilly or lacy borders. Some of the skirts for men made by Midas Clothing come complete with a nylon underskirt in matching colour already attached by stitching at the waistband and hemmed to four inches shorter than the skirt, which makes life easier - only one garment to pull on and no need to make any adjustments.
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Re: Lace T-Slip

Post by Emerald Witch »

ChrisM wrote:I mentioned my desire for a t-shirt-top full slip. The nearest I have seen is this one:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,159 ... For_Women)

Imagine that garment extended to include a knee-length skirt component, probably with a complementary lace hem, and marketed as a full slip.
Wow, that is a beautiful garment! I wish I had the sewing skills to put one of those together myself. It's out of my price range to splurge on buying one, but I can see why you'd want it. The details are splendid.

I'm not sure what it's made of, but I can imagine something really phenomenal, like a silk/lycra knit. That would give it the breathability you'd want, and the right slipperiness for an undergarment, and...I don't know... something about wearing silk just says RICH to me! It's a secret passion. Rayon is almost as nice, but just doesn't have the same ring when you say it. :)
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Post by sapphire »

Hmmmm.......

It realy should be pretty easy to duplicate. The fabric is a high quality cotton, but if you settle for a more work-a-day version:

Get a t-shirt that fits well. Go to the bridal section of a fabric store that has a really full line of merchandise. They will have lace inserts. Pick what you want. You may have to buy a pair of inserts.

Put the inserts where you want them on the neckline of the t-shirt. sew them into place, sewing close to the of the lace.

Cut away the t-shirt fabric in back of the lace that you don't want.

On the reverse, finish the attachment with a buttonhole stitch.

You'll probably have to sew the project by hand.
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