(MENAFNEditorial) women’s clothing for how we live today available at www.utusi.com and today announced it published a on: The Farthingale.  Unlike most women today who are pleased with the natural shape of their hips women of the 16th century were looking to expand shape and pad their hips sometimes up to 6 feet wide! The farthingale was a structure worn under a woman’s skirt to support the desired shape.  The word farthingale derives from the Spanish word ‘vertugado’ which means ‘green wood’ and refers to the original Spanish farthingales made from a wood frame. Did the noble ladies of the time feel like they were wearing a tent or a house?  Did the look redefine what we think of today as ‘child bearing hips’?

Catherine of Aragon is credited with having brought the Spanish farthingale to the Tudor court of England at the beginning of the 16th century. Not to be outdone in the fashion world the French had their own version of the farthingale believed to be made of a combination of whalebone ropes and cotton. Whether in London Paris or Madrid farthingales were worn only by the noble and wealthy. Commoners had to settle for their more lithe and slender silhouettes.

According to Eileen Sheikh Costumier and Museum Retail Consultant at London’s The National Gallery a farthingale in Spanish painter Diego Velázquez’s Portrait of Mariana of Austria is “…literally a huge panier shape so probably about five or six feet in width across from side to side and about three feet in depth.”

“Throughout the use of the farthingale in general sitting was a difficult matter.  Chairs were not wide enough to allow a lady to sit down.  At a party that Queen Elizabeth held in May of 1559 AD many of the Queen's ladies in waiting had to sit on the ground because of the lack of room at the table” writes   Christopher Thompson in his article titled “The Development and Use Of the Farthingale In the Middle Ages”

Fortunately American women today opt for comfort simple elegance and soft fabric that drapes the hips. Wood and whalebones are best kept in fashion history.    

Utusi offers today’s woman clothing as flexible versatile and resilient as she is. She can live in comfort and show off her hips in our and .  

About Utusi
Utusi is clothing for how we live today. It’s the go-to brand for classic simple pieces that are essentials for every woman. Created for women who live full and active lives Utusi designs are built for versatility to be worn at work and play. Comfort fit durability and performance Utusi is clothing as flexible as YOU. Utusi is available at www.utusi.com and Amazon.com (search term: Utusi). 

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