Bustles
According to Fashion: The Century of the Designer by Charlotte Seeling, a bustle is a pad, stuffing, or hoops serving as a base over which the rear of a skirt is draped so as to emphasize the derriere. They came into fashion about 1785, but reached the height of their popularity at the end of the Victorian Era. The bustle acted as a transitional undergarment from the bell shaped crinoline hoop skirt to the more streamlined, narrow silhouette of the Edwardian Era.
According to Fashion: The Century of the Designer by Charlotte Seeling, a bustle is a pad, stuffing, or hoops serving as a base over which the rear of a skirt is draped so as to emphasize the derriere. They came into fashion about 1785, but reached the height of their popularity at the end of the Victorian Era. The bustle acted as a transitional undergarment from the bell shaped crinoline hoop skirt to the more streamlined, narrow silhouette of the Edwardian Era.
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Bustle, c. 1880
This smaller bustle is an example of what would be worn with the dresses below.
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Cigarette card, c. 1888
This cigarette card from Richmond cigarette manufacturer, Allen and Ginter, depicts a fashion plate of the bustle from around 1888.
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Evening gown, c. 1878
Shown here with its day bodice, this dress also included an evening bodice. As the bustle became smaller, the train of the dress was also extended in length, particularly for evening.
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Wedding gown, 1879
Many brides opted for a more “traditional” wedding gown such as this. Before QueenVictoriawore the first white wedding dress in 1840, brides preferred a dress they could wear throughout their first year of marriage, regardless of their means. After Queen Victoria wore a white wedding gown, white came to symbolize not only purity, but the finances to purchase such and impractical color.
The bustle returned to popularity in the 1950s through the designs of Christian Dior and Charles James; quickly, other designers incorporated the bustle into their eveningwear designs.
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