Hoopskirts

Freshly starched, crisply rustling clothes.. . I starch. I've been exploring various ways to starch my period clothing. Currently I starch petticoats and cotton dresses. The dresses receive a lighter coating of starch than the undergarments. I started out, as many do, with spray starch. Niagra Light - then moved up to heavy. I was unsatisfied. Spraying too heavily led to scorching and sticking on the iron soleplate. Never did I obtain the quality I was searching for - the crispness I had read about. Why starch? First and foremost, to my way of thinking, is because "they" did. Without starch, my petticoats were limp, even though they were ironed. Of course it is easier just to wash and dry your underpinnings, but it wasn't giving me a sense of recreating the proper look. Starch adds body, which should be self-evident. When you think about the bell shape of a woman's skirts, the importance of loft and body becomes clear. Since I wear a ...