Bustle

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The 1870s witnessed the collapse of the hoop skirt and an increased focus on the derriere. It is as if all the volume of the skirts of the previous decade had been pulled close to the body in front, with all the resulting excess gathered up in the back. With the exception of a brief hiatus, this bustle silhouette was to persist until the end of the 1880s. Some bustles were padded cushions; others were basket-like tubes of cane or wire. Almost always, they were fabric-covered, whether made of wire coils or whalebone sticks. In every instance, they were attached only by a waistband, so that they could shift or lift when the wearer sat. Frequently, they were collapsible, but even in those cases, a woman was required to move her bustle to the side and perch on the edge of her seat.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art