Welcome to Part 2 of my Petticoat Programme! In this section I’ll be doing a compare and contrast of the different petticoats I own, and giving ratings (out of 10) for each based on comfort, quality, and fluffiness. You can find Part 1: Where to Buy here.

1. Vivien of Holloway

Features:

 – Adjustable waistband for length (you can re-thread the elastic in to make it anywhere between 25-27″ long) and waist size

 – 12 colours

 – 2 layers

 – Made from nylon chiffon

Ratings:

Quality: 10

Comfort: 10

Fluffiness: 8

Vivien of Holloway supply the crème de la crème of petticoats. These are Sam’s Manufacturing brand petticoats, which like Malco Modes have been making pettis for a LONG time so they know their stuff. Though these are up there in terms of price, they are worth it in terms of quality and durability. I bought my first Vivien of Holloway petticoat in September last year and I have worn it to death since, but it has still held up perfectly. Another good thing is that despite all the wear and my not knowing how to store petticoats properly (I’m working on that for part 3), it has maintained the same fluffiness it had when I first got it. I can also safely say that after many days of wearing them to a job where I am sitting down most of the day, they are not at all scratchy and I could even go so far as to say their fluffiness is cloud-like.

2. Malco Modes Jennifer

Features:

 – Adjustable waistband for length (between 19 and 21″ long) and waist size

 – 25 colours

 – 2 layers

 – Made from nylon chiffon

Ratings:

Quality: 10

Comfort: 10

Fluffiness: 8

The Malco Modes Jennifer petticoat is like a shorter version of the Vivien of Holloway petticoats; just as fluffy, and perfection in terms of quality and comfort. And they come in even more colours!  You can count on them to wear really well and hold their shape, so these are another perfect ‘investment’ petticoat.

3. Banned Apparel

Features:

 – Adjustable waistband for length (between 24 and 26″ long) and waist size

 – 10+ colours

 – 2 layers

 – Made from nylon chiffon

Ratings:

Quality: 9

Comfort: 10

Fluffiness: 8

I’ve taken a point off on the Banned petticoats for quality because they are just not quite as luxurious as those of Malco Modes and Vivien of Holloway – but rest assured they do come very VERY close. They are really fluffy are comfortable to wear all day. And they get an extra recommendation because while on the other adjustable petticoats here their elastic has one button, the Banned petticoats have a double-buttoning system which I find keeps the elastic in place really securely (no worries about popping a button) and I think it will allow the elastic to wear a lot better as it won’t be pulling on one button. New Zealand ladies, I got mine from Rockabilly Lane, but there are a number of Amazon and eBay shops, as well as other online retailers, who stock various lengths and colours too. I am wearing the Lifeforms (26″, can shorten up to 24″) petticoat in the pictures above, but you can also get the Banned pettis in 23″ (Starlite) and 21″ (Walkabout).

4. Hell Bunny

Features:

 – Adjustable waistband for length (between 23-25″ long) and waist size

 – Over 16 colours (they vary between stockists)

 – 2 layers

 – Made from nylon chiffon

Ratings:

Quality: 7

Comfort: 5

Fluffiness: 4

Hell Bunny is definitely a more affordable option for petticoats. However, though they’re a similar price to the Banned Apparel petticoats, I don’t feel they quite stand up in terms of comfort and fluffiness. They say to be made of 100% nylon chiffon like the first three styles I’ve discussed, but I think the weave of the chiffon must be different as the Hell Bunny petticoats are not as comfortable for me as the others; they are fairly scratchy, especially when sitting all day. These also do not compare in terms of fluffiness; I love a really full petticoat, and the Hell Bunny style does not give me this, hence the lower rating on the fluffy scale. There are positives though; I own a number of Hell Bunny skirts and I have found that their own petticoats sit best underneath them (as pictured above); they come in a wide range of colours; and they would be perfect if you only wanted a low level of fluff, which many prefer for everyday wear. Do note though that while the initial quality is fairly good, it might not wear so well for too long; I have noted that mine is even less fluffy than when I got it and the hem no longer hangs evenly. For these reasons I only now wear them occasionally and usually layered with another petticoat for extra poof.

5. Vintage

It’s of course hard to provide features and ratings for vintage petticoats because they are all so different! I can talk about mine but there’s a real range out there (I recommend using the searches I suggested here in Part 1), so please don’t take my experience as law on this one. Here’s a couple of examples though:

The orange petticoat shown above on the left is a vintage Malco Modes style, “Partners Please”, which often come up on eBay. This petticoat is the fullest I have at three layers, and it took  a LOT of calming down before I could fit it under that dress, as the dress had a skirt that was slightly less than full. The purple petticoat on the above right is from a brand called ‘Fashions by Nita Smith’, which I also found on eBay. Being only one layer this petti isn’t quite as full as the orange Malco Modes, but it’s more than a full circle and the fabric is fairly stiff, and so it puffs out a really decent amount, I would say about the same as the Malco Modes Jennifer. I was very lucky with both of these petticoats that they are in perfect condition, as they have obviously been well-looked after and the colours are still bright and beautiful. The only downside with these is that they don’t have adjustable waistbands; as both were a little big for me I had to unpick one of the waistband seams in order to get to the elastic and knot it smaller. There is also no way of moving the elastic to change the length, but I get around this by positioning the petticoat either on my waist for shorter dresses or on my hips for longer dresses. Problem solved!

A note on layering

If your dress is really full, or you’re like me and just love wearing layers of fluffy petticoats, don’t be afraid to layer! As I said earlier, I will often layer my Hell Bunny petticoat with a fluffier petticoat to really poof out a dress, or layer different colours that match with my outfit. The photos above all show examples of me wearing two layers of petticoats, and as you can see they are all with dresses which are more than a full circle and/or are gathered at the waist for extra fullness; that means more petticoats can fit under there nicely and they poof out more than the other examples I’ve discussed here (with the exception of the orange vintage crinoline because that has a mind of its own!). Not so fun on hot summer days, but highly recommended for winter!

I hope you have enjoyed my tour through a world of petticoats! Of course this is just a selection of what’s out there. I’m constantly finding new-to-me brands and acquiring new petticoats, so expect a second petticoat review in a few months once I’ve test-driven some more! In the meantime, Part 3 (Storage and Maintenance) will be coming to the blog in a few weeks. Please let me know if you have any questions, or tag me on Instagram next time you’re wearing your petticoat!

Miss Hero Holliday

xo