Costume Authenticity: Did Southerners really dress their little girls in the short hoop and long pantaloons that we see Shirley in, or was this design created just for this film?
shareThe rich ones did. My family were poor dirt farmers.
shareYes for formal wear but less hoop for everyday wear.
shareAdult women did not wear pantalettes but little girls did. Adult women wore black or white stockings which would show when the hoops bounced up. Hoops became popular in the late 1850s because a small waist was the goal everywhere in the Western world. It replaced the many petticoats worn for 35 years to make the waist look as small as possible by contrast and also accentuate the bust. Virgie´s hoop was stiffer and more exaggerated than was the reality for little girls.
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