Everyone hates it when you are walking along and then all a sudden–RIP! You have stepped on your skirts and continued forward motion and something GAVE WAY! There are two big tricks to avoiding this situation and being able to move with ease both at a sedate pace and when moving with celerity. First, the walking gore. Second, the doppia.
This extant garment belonged to Isabella Sforza d’Aragona sometime prior to 1524. As can be seen, the skirt is not completely rectangular (and then pleated at the waist). The skirt has a triangular gore at the side that curves the skirt hem. This adds circumference at the hem without adding more bulk to pleat at the waist. The added circumference at the hem allows for easier forward ambulation without stepping on the front of the skirt hem.
The second important key to not stepping on your skirts is the doppia (double) or hem stiffening. The first image is from the Vittore Carpaccio painting, Two Venetian Ladies. This close-up of the hem shows the hem is stiffened at the bottom either with just the trim or with additional hidden mechanisms. The skirt above the stiffened band at the bottom collapses showing the doppia or stiffening only goes up to the top of the trim band.
The doppia or hem stiffening can be accomplished in a number of ways. You can use a stiff trim– alone or with other techniques; quilted felt bands; (synthetic) horsehair braid; or other options. In the wine red dress with floral trim, a combination technique was used. The skirt was hemmed, then two layers of horsehair braid were attached to the outside bottom edge of the skirt and then the floral trim was placed over the horsehair braid, completely encasing it.
The doppia and the walking gores combined allow for me to walk without fear of stepping on my hem. The stiffening keeps the edge from falling under my feet and the walking gores increase the hem circumference enough to allow for long strides.
