Trial of the Hooped Petticoat By: Joseph Addison Published: 1710
Clothing in text: Hooped Petticoat
"Word was brought me, that she had endeavored twice or thrice to come in, but could no do it by reason of her petticoat, which was too large for the Entrance of my house..." (Mackie 483).
"The Girl I found had good Sense, and told me with a Smile, that notwithstanding it was her own Petticoat, she should be very glad to see an Example made of it; and that she wore it for no other Reason, but that she a had a mind to look as big and burly as other Persons of her quality" (Mackie 483).
Social commentary: Addison's commentary on fashion appeared often in The Tatler and The Spectator. Many feared the current trends of the upper class vices and the middle class imitation, and Addison put the hooped petticoat itself on trial. The garment functions as a representation of the ignorance of society, and the focus solely on physical traits.
While the petticoat is on trial, so are the women wearing them. This article particularly shows the 18th century attitude towards women's fashion from a moral perspective, as noted by Mackie: "Precisely because her lack of a self-identity leaves her vulnerable to outside influence and change, woman is malleable; she is open to good influence as well as bad" (Mackie 459). Women are not inherently stupid; they are influenced by other women and men to create an identity that is easily changed. The hooped petticoat removes female agency by making her physically and mentally unable to navigate her social sphere
Other Clothing References: "I consider Woman as a beautiful Romantick Animal, that may be adorned with Furs and Feathers, Pearls and Diamonds, Ores and Silks" (Mackie 485)
"I pronounced the Petticoat a Forfeiture...I ordered it to be folded up, and sent it as a Present to a Widow-Gentlewoman, who has five daughters, desiring that she would make each of them a Petticoat out of it, and send me back the Remainder, which I design to cut into Stomachers, Caps, Facings of Wastcoat-Sleeves, and other Garnitures, suitable to my Age and Quality" (Mackie 485).