A petticoat construction called a Spanish farthingale (after a popular Spanish fashion that influenced Western Europe) was worn with the corset in England. The farthingale which graduated in width from hip to floor supported voluminous skirts and had hoops which gave it shape. The hoops were made of wood, rushes, wire or whalebone. Consequently it was very uncomfortable and heavy in wear, but had major effects on deportment ensuring that the wearer could only move by gliding in an elegant way.
Bum Rolls
The farthingale was later worn with a roll of stiffened material called a Bum Roll.
Below - Sixteenth century lady adjusting a bum roll used to support the folds of skirt fabric surrounding the waist.
The bum roll could be used to add more width to the body, whilst spreading skirt fullness evenly. A famous Dutch engraving of 1595 satirises bum rolls. The Bum Roll had tapes which enabled it to be tied to the waist, settling over the farthingale. Sometimes it was worn without a farthingale. When the bum roll became too cumbersome, a rounder wheel style farthingale became popular, especially as Spanish influence lessened.
At the end of the 16th century the farthingale and larger bum roll as a fashion faded. It was replaced by the French farthingale and the female silhouette came to look like a tray was being worn on the hips. The construction was wide at the hips, but flat at the front. Only the Spanish continued to wear the Spanish farthingale until about 1630. Whilst some wore a more delicate bum roll for skirt support until 1640.