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Popularized in the 1850s, the crinoline, or hoop skirt, was an alternative to wearing the many layers of petticoats necessary to attain the desired silhouette of the era. While crinolines did solve some problems—they kept the petticoats from entangling the legs while walking and provided women a measure of personal space in public—they created new ones. On display at the Richardson-Bates House Museum all season.