The hoop itself is anything BUT accurate. There was no such thing as a one-bone hoop, and someone in Addy's social position wouldn't have worn one anyway. Working women and girls very very rarely, if ever, wore a hoop. For one thing they couldn't afford it, and for another it just wasn't practical. Addy also wouldn't have had a red tafetta petticoat. That was a status symbol. She definately would have had a flannel one to wear in the winter, and it might have been red, but probably not.

Addy would have never worn the hoop under her Meet dress. Hoops are not the type of thing one would want to wear when traversing the Underground Railroad, lol. Plus the Meet dress is a typical young girl's workdress. That equals no hoop.

The terms "hoop skirt" and "crinoline" are NOT interchangeable. They are two entirely different things. Crinolines are extra stiff petticoats. Hoop skirts are entirely different and give the dress a completely different shape. If Addy wanted to look semi-fashionable, she would have worn crinolines. But again, her family couldn't afford it, even after Poppa and Sam got jobs.

This is another reason why I think Addy's collection should have been taken back to the drawing board before going into production. We Civil War re-enactors are incredibly outspoken and can be vicious when the time period is mis-represented in the way it is in Addy's books and collection. As wonderful a doll as she, and as wonderful a story as she has to tell, they did a sorry job putting her accessories and clothes together.

When I was in 4th grade I was in a musical, and I had to wear a hoop...I'll never forget it...it was so hard to sit in...or move for that matter!
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Then somebody forgot to show you how to sit in it, lol. It's very very easy, you just have to watch what kind of chair you try to sit down in while wearing it. I personally love wearing my hoop, especially when dancing. (need to put a real waistband in it though, lol)

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ August 19, 2004 09:19 PM: Message edited by: Grapedy1982 ]</font>