Corsetry & Couture

This is a fascinating blog, filled with useful information on fashion during our period.
Highly recommended.
Here is a sample of a post to "whet yer whistle".

Thanks for reading.
Victorian Society of Alberta
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Defining 1880s Style- The Silhouette

 When it comes to mid to late 1880s style, it’s easy for one to conjure up visions of dresses with severely sculpted lines that were largely defined by an extremely angular “shelf bustle.” Naturally, as with all fashions, they manifested themselves in both extreme and moderate versions but it was the more extreme versions that caught the attention of the press and assorted satirists. One of the most oft-repeated quips was “one could set a tea service on top of the bustle.” 

 

From Fliegende Blätter; Band LXXVIII (1883), p. 147.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s just one example from an 1883 German humor magazine in which the women is likened to a Centaur.

 

 

 

 

Interestingly enough, the above cartoon was made in 1883 when the bustle was re-emerging- perhaps they were ahead of the fashion curve? 😉

All joking aside, to a great degree, 1880s style was defined by the “shelf bustle” as shown in the picture below:

Evening Dress, American or European, c. 1884 – 1886, silk;
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.63.23.3a, b)

Structure was everything in Victorian fashion and below are some examples on how the distinctive 1880s silhouette was created:

Bustle, c. 1885; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.2007.211.399)

Please check out the rest of this excellent article at:

Lily Absinthe

Corsetry & Couture