Two Fabric Labels - Balmoral Skirts - to be worn over Crinolines

Philadelphia, PA, c 1860. The balmoral petticoat was a coloured petticoat that was intended to show at the hem of a drawn-up skirt for walking and sportswear in the 1860s and 1870s. The balmoral petticoat could be worn over a hoopskirt or crinoline or have hoops built into the petticoat, and (according to some sources) include a horsehair stiffener as part of the petticoat itself. The most common Balmoral petticoat was red wool, often with 2-4 black stripes running around the hem. Later in the 1860s there are mentions of balmoral petticoats in plaid or striped wool, and even cotton balmoral petticoats in the Americas. The balmoral petticoat was most (truncated) popular at the height of the crinoline era, but quickly became a victim of its own popularity and practicality. Fashion has never loved sensible garments, and balmoral petticoats were eminently sensible: warm, durable, easy to walk and move in. They were adopted by all levels of society almost immediately (there are numerous mentions of slaves in the American South wearing balmoral petticoats in the 1860s), and quickly discarded by the upper levels of society. A variant of the Balmoral petticoat (sans hooping) remained popular with older women and the less fashionable for decades after the crinoline was discarded. As a result ‘red flannel petticoat’ became synonymous with provincial fashion and the elderly. - Source: Dreamstress.com. Two (2) different approximately 5 1/2" x 3 3/4" fabric labels for balmoral skirts, worn over crinoline or hoop skirts. The fabric was printed in bright colors and intended to be exposed beneath the outer skirt. The first advertises Bruner's Balmoral Skirts of Philadelphia and depicts a courting couple. The fabric was 144 x 45 inches. The second depicts an elegant woman lifting her skirt to expose her balmoral skirt. 144 x 43 inches. Both black and white litho with the only color being the exposed balmoral. Reverse is blank. (Inventory #: 28001551)