Bustle dress
A dress with a strongly projecting back – the most characteristic silhouette of the 1880s.
When the crinoline disappeared, the volume of the skirt moved to the back. The bustle, a pad or frame behind the waist, came in two waves, around 1870 and in the 1880s, when it was at its largest.
The shape is easy to date: the first bustle was soft and low, the second high and almost horizontal. Around 1890 it vanished and skirts became smooth and bell-shaped.
Materials: Wool or silk; bustle of steel, horsehair or padding
Manufacture: Made by dressmakers or, increasingly, with the sewing machine; the bustle was bought ready-made.
The back projects almost horizontally below the waist, especially 1883–1889.
Draped overskirts and several fabrics and colours in one dress.
Machine stitching and factory-made buttons show the spread of the sewing machine.