A farthingale is any of several structures used under Western European women's clothing in the 16th and 17th centuries to support the skirts in the desired shape. It originated in Spain.

The great farthingale (a.k.a. the drum or wheel or cartwheel or (rarely) Italian or Catherine-wheel farthingale in modern times) is the style of farthingale that evolved from the French Farthingale discussed above, and which became fashionable in the 1590s.

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