Conférence « Crinolinomania : ces femmes qui prennent de la place » par Mathilde Larrère | Journées du Patrimoine

Mathilde Larrère’s lecture focuses on the fashion for crinoline dresses, which were underpinned by flexible steel hoops to give volume to dresses from the 1850s to the 1870s. She invites you to explore the fashion for voluminous garments during the Second Empire through the phenomenon of ‘crinolinomania’. At the time, this fashion was mocked by men, who considered it too cumbersome. However, Mathilde Larrère’s recent research into crinoline dresses invites us to reconsider this fashion phenomenon. For it was also thanks to this skirt that women asserted themselves! The crinoline: a tool for emancipation? How were crinoline petticoats made?
Mathilde Larrère is a lecturer and researcher in history at Gustave Eiffel University in Paris Est Marne-la-Vallée. Her work falls within the fields of the history of social movements, citizenship and women’s rights. Committed to popular education, she ensures her books reach a wider audience than just teachers and students, and regularly leads training sessions for trade unions and community organisations on the history of rights and struggles. She is notably the author of *Rage Against the Machisme* (2020, Éditions du Détour) on the history of feminist struggles, and of *On s’est battu.es pour les gagner*, a history of the struggle for rights in France (2024, Éditions du Détour). She has also been a member of the board of the Fonds pour la Presse Libre since 2023.
This lecture, part of the ‘Bicentenary of Photography’ programme, forms part of the 2026 Journées du Matrimoine organised by HF+ Normandie. Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes; subject to availability.

• Free for all