Crushing Fashion: Crinoline’s Other Hazard
Crinoline also caused deadly industrial accidents, where a crinoline-puffed skirt would become tangled in machinery, but wouldn’t be noticed until it was too late, resulting in injury or death. One such unlucky woman is Ann Rollinson, who worked at the Firwood Bleach Works in Cork, Ireland, who became entangled in steam-powered machinery that rotated fifty times per minute.
The Cork Examiner of June 2, 1964 details Rollinson’s death: “Her dress was caught upon the shaft, and she was pulled into it, and revolved with the shaft two or three minutes before the machinery could be stopped…She died at home in two hours after the occurrence.” A witness said the accident would have been avoided if her skirt hadn’t been so puffed out with crinoline.
