At 10:55 PM 9/23/2005, you wrote:
So in short has anybody had success in using a readymade hoop? <snip> As a student I'm long on time and short on cash so making modifications is not something I'm concerned about, but buying something cheap that's going need replacing after five minutes is false economy. thanks Elizabeth
I have seen these very hoopskirts about the same price or more used by many of the ren-faire people I've been involved with, and seen them in the LA garment district as well.
They don't hold up very well over time. If your skirts are the least bit heavy (velvets or brocades), they droop. They are better for light wedding dresses, or for a one-day event. The boning is thin, often plastic, and not worthy unless you don't mind replacing them every so often (that throw-away "consumer" society mindset that I personally am disliking more and more, but that's me.)
And as you may have noticed, the whole page of them have pretty much the same shape to them. Yet different time frames have different "looks" to the hoops worn for that time. You could spend your time adjusting them to fit the proper look, but in that case, make your hoops from scratch if possible.
One suggestion for finding cheap metal hoopsteel is from thrift stores. My first one was from a few different hoops I found from a couple of thrift stores that I cobbled together into a small cage crinoline (Hunnisett pattern) and it cost me under $10. for everything I needed. The thing lasted a few years and now is being replaced with high quality coated steel from Farthingales.on.ca now that I have the money for better quality stuff.
Kimiko _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
