What is the history of the bustle?
Bustle, lady's undergarment, England, c. 1885. A bustle is a type of framework used to expand the fullness or support the drapery of the back of a woman's dress, occurring predominantly in the mid-to-late 19th century. The bustle in its creation owes much respect to the late Saartjie Baartman for the planting of the vision of this design.
What is a bustle made out of?
They were created using a wide variety of materials such as metal, cane, or whalebone hoops or woven horsehair flounces. Bustles disappeared after two to three years, only to return to fashion in a more exaggerated form from the early 1880s.
Which designers have experimented with Bustle-like designs?
M odern designers have experimented with bustle-like designs. Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons presented contemporary twist of bustle style in Spring 2012 RTW (Fig. 8) and Christian Dior showed the elegant look of a bustle style dress in Fall 2014 Couture (Fig. 9).
When did bustle style supports come out?
Figure 4 to Figure 6 show the variety of bustle-style supports available between 1870s and 1880s. Figure 7 features a full bustle made in 1885. M odern designers have experimented with bustle-like designs.
Why was the bustle created?
Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. Heavy fabric tended to pull the back of a skirt down and flatten it. As a result a woman's petticoated skirt would lose its shape during everyday wear (from merely sitting down or moving about).
Who created the bustle dress?
Alexander DouglasAlexander Douglas patented the “new and improved bustle” on April 21, 1857, eventually reshaping what was seen as the ideal silhouette in the United States and Europe during the 1870s and 1880s.
When was the first bustle period?
1870-1875The first bustle period - 1870-1875.
Why is it called a bustle?
Even early-nineteenth-century neoclassical dresses often featured a small back pad—a socalled artificial hump—to give the high-waisted line a graceful flow. As waists lowered and skirts widened, the pad was retained, and by the late 1820s it was called a bustle.”
Why did the bustle go out of fashion?
Though the bustle was first patented in 1857, the popularity of crinoline prevented it from taking off until the 1860s, as the caged petticoat evolved and then disappeared to more appropriately accommodate the realities of women's lives.
When did females start wearing pants?
While there were some women who championed pants in the 19th century, pants as an acceptable everyday clothing option for women didn't truly catch on until the mid-20th century. The adoption of pants as a popular item of dress for women in Western society traces its roots to the mid-19th-century dress-reform movement.
How was the bustle made?
Bustles were constructed in various ways, often with a rigid support (for example, metal or mesh) as well as some form of padding (horsehair, down, wool, or even straw). Over the course of the decade, bustles became smaller until they all but vanished about 1878.
What replaced the bustle?
1890s women replace the bustle with a trumpet shaped skirt (fitted through the hips and flaring below the knee) and a return of large balloon like sleeves. The hourglass is rather top heavy (huge sleeves and wide collars).
Why did ladies wear corsets?
Corsets were worn, as both under and outer garments, to flatten the stomach and emphasize the fullness of the skirts and chest. In instances where corsets were worn as outer garments, decorative “stomachers” were worn over the laces on the front.
Why were Victorian dresses so big?
Women were literally carrying around yards and yards of fabric everywhere they went. With the invention of the hoop skirt, ladies could still get the enormous bell shape to their skirts without all that extra fabric. Because they were so lightweight, hoop skirts got bigger and bigger.
When was the corset invented?
1500–1550 | The first true corset is invented. Corsets are made out of rigid materials such as whalebone, horn, and buckram and are referred to as "whalebone bodies".
What was worn under corsets?
The front of the corset was typically covered by a "stomacher," a stiff, V-shaped structure that was worn on the abdomen for decorative purposes. In the Elizabethan era, whalebone (baleen) was frequently used in corsets so bodices could maintain their stiff appearance.
Who wore a bustle?
The bustle was a device to expand the skirt of the dress below the waist. Victorian Butles from the 1880s. These padded devices were used to add back fullness to the hard-edged front lines of the 1880s silhouette.
What replaced the bustle?
1890s women replace the bustle with a trumpet shaped skirt (fitted through the hips and flaring below the knee) and a return of large balloon like sleeves. The hourglass is rather top heavy (huge sleeves and wide collars).
When was the corset invented?
1500–1550 | The first true corset is invented. Corsets are made out of rigid materials such as whalebone, horn, and buckram and are referred to as "whalebone bodies".
What is dress bustle?
Put simply, your wedding dress bustle is when the beautiful train of your dress is buttoned up to floor length when you enter your reception. This is done so you can dance and move about freely without it getting stuck or caught, or stepped on!
What is bustle in fashion?
In the Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion (2010) the bustle is defined as: “Until the early 1860s, the crinoline cage retained its domed shape, growing in circumference and inspiring many satirical cartoons. After this time, it started to flatten in front, and, from the late 1860s, bustle structures were used to hold skirts out at the back.
How long did it take for bustles to disappear?
They were created using a wide variety of materials such as metal, cane, or whalebone hoops or woven horsehair flounces. Bustles disappeared after two to three years, only to return to fashion in a more exaggerated form from the early 1880s. They then grew in size to large horizontal protrusions.
When was the bustle invented?
The bustle was patented in 1857. However, the crinoline’s popularity persisted for a few more years before the bustle took off. The first iterations of the bustle were worn low and somewhat similar to a flowing train. The bustle was typically constructed of cotton and steel.
When did the bustle become a fashion feature?
By the early 1870s, the bustle had developed into a fashion feature of its own, which was situated over the posterior and usually tied around the waist. Fullness was still considered a top consideration to make the waist look smaller, and the bustle eventually replaced the crinoline completely.
What is the bustle in women's clothing?
Just like the corset or the crinoline, the bustle is made to give a flattering silhouette to a woman’s body. The bustle is one of the clothing trends that became popular ...
When did the bustle come back?
However, the bustle reappeared after that period and became popular once again from the mid- to late 1880s. The size of the bustles became so exaggerated to the point of being ridiculously huge to other people.
When did the bustle become outmoded?
Whenever women wanted a more desirable silhouette, that should be up to the corset. Despite several innovations, the bustle became outmoded at the beginning of the 20th century.
Is the corset out of fashion?
Among the fashion trends of old, the corset is the only one to have maintained a presence in modern Western fashion today. The bustle, meanwhile (along with the cri noline and the crinolette), has practically gone out of fashion. Nowadays, it is worn only as part of a “period” costume ensemble or as part of bridal fashion.
When was the bustle invented?
Though the bustle was first patented in 1857, the popularity of crinoline prevented it from taking off until the 1860s, as the caged petticoat evolved and then disappeared to more appropriately accommodate the realities of women’s lives. The first versions were worn low, made to encourage a flowing train (see images to the right). They were typically constructed of steel and cotton and worn by tying or buckling around the front of the waist. The focus of the dress was largely on the train, ruffles on the bottom of the dress, and the bodice.
What was the bustle of the 19th century?
The bustle was worn on top of a tightly bound corset and designed to support the weight of as many waves of cloth as could be managed and embellishments to go along with it. We’re talking pleats, ruffles, bows, and all manner of fabric explosion. The bustles of this era were what I call industrial-strength made to support the weight of the rear and it’s flounced appearance. The bodices would have come in a variety to suit the figure and style of the wearer, but almost always worn with a high neck.
What is bustle in art?
A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles were worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging.
When did the bustle become a feature of fashion?
The bustle later developed into a feature of fashion on its own after the overskirt of the late 1860s was draped up toward the back and some kind of support was needed for the new draped shape. Fullness of some sort was still considered necessary to make the waist look smaller and the bustle eventually replaced the crinoline completely. The bustle was worn in different shapes for most of the 1870s and 1880s, with a short period of non-bustled, flat-backed dresses from 1878 to 1882.
What is a bustle with brown and cream stripes?
Bustle with brown and cream stripes, 1870s. A criticism of the bustle fashion. Satirical image comparing the look of a woman wearing a bustle to that of a snail wearing a dress. Caricature of Charles Darwin contemplating a bustle as a curiosity of natural history, from Fun, 16th Nov, 1872.
What is the bustle on a Sherman Firefly?
Bustle was also the term used for an additional external space at the rear of a tank 's turret used for storing extra equipment, a notable usage being the added box at the rear of the turret on the Sherman Firefly variant. Its positioning on the vehicle resembling the similar placement of the bustle as used on the dress item.
When did the bustle come back?
Woman wearing a dress with a bustle, USA, about mid. 1880s. The bustle reappeared in late 1881, and was exaggerated to become a major fashion feature in the mid and late 1880s, in 1885 reaching preposterous proportions to modern eyes, as used in the play Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw. The fashion for large bustles ended in 1889.
When did the bustle disappear?
The bustle had completely disappeared by 1905, as the long corset of the early 20th century was now successful in shaping the body to protrude behind.
When did women wear bustles?
The bustle was worn in different shapes for most of the 1870s and 1880s, with a short period of non-bustled, flat-backed dresses from 1878 to 1882.
What was the bustle made of?
Throughout the mid-nineteenth century full skirts were enhanced by a small bustle made of padding, whalebone, or even inflatable rubber. In the 1870s and 1880s, however, both the skirt support and the silhouette created by the bustle became the focus of fashion.
What material was used to make bustles?
Hughes in her memoir A London Child of the Seventies (Oxford University Press, p. 84) recalls that an acquaintance used The Times newspaper to achieve her effective bustle, saying, "I find its paper so good, far more satisfactory than the Daily News. " Petticoats, often with layers of ruffles down the back, helped smooth the line of the bustle pad and support bustled skirts.
When did women wear bustles?
By 1868, the fullness of women's skirts had moved to the back, and a bustle was needed to support fashionable puffed overskirts and large sashes. The high back interest continued in the early 1870s as the bustle gradually swelled in size. Although the back of the skirt remained the dominant feature, the silhouette slimmed down after about 1875, when the skirt and petticoats, drawn back low and close to the figure and usually flowing into a long train, were often unsupported by a bustle. In the early 1880s, the bustle returned in dramatic proportions, often forming a shelflike protuberance at right angles to the wearer's body. An examination of images of fashionable women in extreme bustle dresses would lead an impartial observer to conclude-as Bernard Rudofsky proposed in the 1940s-that skirts shaped in this peculiar way must contain a second pair of legs behind the women's normal ones.
When did bustles get smaller?
Bustles Get Smaller. After about 1887 the bustle reduced in size and skirts began to slim. The skirts of the early 1890s featured some back fullness, but emphasis had shifted to flared skirt hems and enormous leg-of-mutton sleeves, and bustle supports were not as fashionable.
Who wrote the Unfashionable Human Body?
Rudofsky, Bernard. The Unfashionable Human Body. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1971.
When was fashion and reality published?
Gernsheim, Alison. Fashion and Reality: 1840-1914. London: Faber and Faber, 1963. Reprint as Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1981.
What were bustles made of?
The various styles of bustles were made with wires, springs, mohair padding and fabric, appearing both archaic and torturous. Although lace appeared out-of-place on the bustle, it was often incorporated into the design.
When was the Muslin bustle made?
Muslin bustle with removable wires and the 'Estelle' bustle, c.1888.
What was the Victorian bustle?
Victorian Bustle: Hidden Secret Behind the 1880s Silhouette. By the 1880s, the soft curve bustle dresses of the early 1870s were replaced with a new distinct silhouette featuring a severely tailored figure from the front and added draperies to the back. The train had disappeared and a bustle or tournure with a fitted gored skirt produced ...
What were the two Victorian costumes that featured the bustle skirts of 1888?
Two Victorian costumes featuring the bustle skirts of 1888. Basques, pointed waists, coat bodices, and round waists with belts were all worn with the new bustle skirts; the selection of the particular style of top was made to suit the figure of the wearer.
When did bustles disappear?
It was amplified in size until 1887, then began immediately to shrink and by 1889 had disappeared altogether.
When was the bust silhouette in Victorian dresses?
Bustle silhouette highlighted in Victorian dresses from 1888.
What was the best way to wear a skirt in the 1880s?
The best way of providing a well-shaped foundation for the considerable skirt of an 1880s evening dress was to wear a jupon, a style of under skirt, with a shaped front piece, a side gore, pleated to fit the figure over the hips, and a straight breadth at the back.
What is bustle style?
This unique bustle style is quickly gaining in popularity and creates an eye-catching shape. Using this technique, seamstresses gather the gown fabric centrally, down the middle of the gown through the back creating a vertical illusion similar to ruching. Another benefit of this style? It's particularly easy for bridesmaids to help get into place for you.
What Is a Bustle?
A bustle refers to the process of transitioning a wedding gown to function as if it has no train. "Bustle" can also function as a noun, and refer to the style once it's sewn into the dress.
What is a ballroom bustle?
Ballroom Bustle. This bustle tends to transform the dress silhouette from the back, essentially making the train disappear. With a ballroom bustle, it doesn't even look like the dress has been bustled at all, but rather gives the illusion that it was a floor-length gown all along.
How much does it cost to add a bustle to a wedding dress?
The cost of adding a bustle to your wedding dress ranges between $75 to $250 on average, so don't forget to add that cost to your overall wedding dress budget.
How many pick up points does a bustle have?
This style can have one, three, or even five bustle pick-up points for an even more dramatic look.
Can a seamstress bustle a wedding gown?
Furthermore, there are many different ways in which the seamstress can bustle the dress —which brings us to the various kinds of wedding bustle types. Read on for a guide to the different styles so that you have a sense of what you might want for your gown.
Can you bustle a dress yourself?
Also keep in mind that it's very difficult to bustle a dress yourself (while wearing it, of course) so you will need to entrust someone with the task and make sure that they attend a fitting with you to learn the mechanics of how to execute the picture-perfect bustle—lest you dislike any back-shots of your dress, or (gasp) trip on the length of your train while busting a move on the dance floor.
