Bustle

Bustle

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 between the mid- to late 1800s. Bustles were 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. Thus, a woman's petticoated or crinolined skirt would lose its shape during everyday wear (from merely sitting down or moving about). The word "bustle" has become synonymous with the fashion to which the bustle was integral.

History

Transition from crinoline (1867-1872)

As the fashion for crinolines wore on, their shape changed. Instead of the large bell-like silhouette previously in vogue, they began to flatten out at the front and sides, creating more fullness at the back of the skirts. One type of crinoline, the crinolette, created a shape very similar to the one produced by a bustle. The excess skirt fabric created by this alteration in shape was looped around to the back, again creating increased fullness.

Early bustle (1869 - 1876)

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.

In the early stages of the fashion for the bustle, the fullness to the back of the skirts was carried quite low and often fanned out to create a train. The transition from the voluminous crinoline enhanced skirts of the 1850s and 1860s can be seen in the loops and gathers of fabric and trimmings worn during this period. The bustle later evolved into a much more pronounced humped shape on the back of the skirt immediately below the waist, with the fabric of the skirts falling quite sharply to the floor.

Late bustle (1881 - 1889)

The bustle reappeared in late 1881, ["Punch"; December 6; 1881] and was exaggerated to become a major fashion feature in the mid and late 1880s, in 1885 reaching preposterous proportions to modern eyes. The fashion for large bustles ended in 1889. [Corset and Crinolines, Norah Waugh, page 127f]

1889-1913

The bustle then survived into the 1890s and early 1900s as a skirt support was still needed and the stylish shape dictated a curve in the back of the skirt to balance the curve of the bust in front. The bustle had completely disappeared by 1905, as the long corset of the early twentieth century was now successful in shaping the body to protrude behind.

Fashion

The bustle was a typically Victorian fashion. Although most bustle gowns covered nearly all of a woman, the shape created by the combination of a bustle and corset (accentuating the rump, waist, and bosom) resulted in a highly erotic and idealized conception of femininity, possibly inspired by the exaggerated images of the South African woman known as "Hottentot Venus" exhibited throughout Europe in the first part of the 19th century.

Bustles and bustle gowns are rarely worn in contemporary society. Notable exceptions occur in the realm of haute couture and bridal fashion. A dress in the bustle style may be worn as a costume. For example, in 1993 Eiko Ishioka won an Academy Award for her costume designs from "Bram Stoker's Dracula". The film features several extravagant bustle gowns created for female leads Winona Ryder and Sadie Frost..

Gallery



References

ee also

*1870s in fashion
*1880s in fashion
*Crinoline
*Corset


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bustle — Bus tle (b[u^]s s l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Bustled} ( s ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Bustling} ( sl[i^]ng).] [Cf. OE. buskle, perh. fr. AS. bysig busy, bysg ian to busy + the verbal termination le; or Icel. bustla to splash, bustle.] To move noisily; to …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bustle — Bus tle, n. Great stir; agitation; tumult from stirring or excitement. [1913 Webster] A strange bustle and disturbance in the world. South. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bustle — [n] quick and busy activity ado, agitation, clamor, commotion, do*, excitement, flurry, furor, fuss, haste, hubbub, hurly burly*, hurry, pother, rumpus, stir, to do*, tumult, turmoil, uproar, whirl, whirlpool, whirlwind; concept 386 Ant. laziness …   New thesaurus

  • bustle — Ⅰ. bustle [1] ► VERB 1) move energetically or noisily. 2) (of a place) be full of activity. ► NOUN ▪ excited activity and movement. DERIVATIVES bustling adjective. O …   English terms dictionary

  • Bustle — Bus tle, n. A kind of pad or cushion worn on the back below the waist, by women, to give fullness to the skirts; called also {bishop}, and {tournure}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bustle — index dispatch (promptness), industry (activity), turmoil Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • bustle — n flurry, *stir, ado, fuss, pother Analogous words: *business, commerce, trade, industry, traffic: movement, *motion: hubbub, clamor, racket, babel, *din Contrasted words: inactivity, idleness, inertness, passiveness, supineness (see… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • bustle — bustle1 [bus′əl] vi., vt. bustled, bustling [for earlier buskle < ME busken, to prepare, adorn < ON buask, to make onself ready < bua, to prepare ( see BONDAGE) + sik, refl. pron.] to hurry busily or with much fuss and bother n. busy and …   English World dictionary

  • bustle — I UK [ˈbʌs(ə)l] / US noun Word forms bustle : singular bustle plural bustles 1) [uncountable] a lot of noisy activity in a crowded place the bustle of the big city 2) [countable] something that women wore round their waists in the past to hold… …   English dictionary

  • bustle — bus|tle1 [ˈbʌsəl] v [I always + adverb/preposition] [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: Probably from buskle to prepare (16 17 centuries), from busk to get ready, prepare (13 21 centuries), from Old Norse buask to prepare yourself ] to move around quickly …   Dictionary of contemporary English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”