Broadside entitled 'Answer to Ladies Crinolines'

Commentary

Verse 1 begins: 'Come all you young ladies and listen awhile, / I'll sing you a song that will cause you to smile'. There are no details attached to this publication, although 'answers' were usually published in reply to a letter or text and so can often be found in pairs. The partner of this is, unfortunately, untraceable. There are no publication details given, but this is one of two songs - printed by James Lindsay - on this sheet.

Women's fashions are a popular topic amongst broadside authors, especially criticising or satirising them. Any sort of hooped skirt meant that men had restricted access to a woman's body, which often hindered his amorous intent. Farthingales were another fashion which caused outrage.

There is also a comment here about fainting. The ideal waist size to wear a crinoline was only 18 inches. This was accomplished by tight corsets, nervous eating habits and occasionally by breaking the bottom two ribs. As a result, many women fainted due to pain or constricted airways.

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