Bustle Silhouette

バッスル・シルエット / late 1860s–mid-1880s / Style / Fashion History

A late-nineteenth-century silhouette system concentrating pads, horsehair, cages, springs, skirt volume, and trim behind the waist. Front and sides stay comparatively narrow while projection, drape, and train are staged at the back.

Bustle Silhouette — American child's dress with bustle silhouette, ca. 1885, side view — Metropolitan Museum of Art, 62.97.5a–c — Wikimedia Commons / CC0
American child's dress with bustle silhouette, ca. 1885, side view — Metropolitan Museum of Art, 62.97.5a–c — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · CC0
Bustle Silhouette — AI-generated interpretation 1
AI-generated interpretation, not a reference work
Bustle Silhouette — AI-generated interpretation 2
AI-generated interpretation, not a reference work

At a glance

Visual cues

  • Rounded or horizontal projection immediately behind the waist
  • A comparatively flat front with cloth and trim gathered behind
  • Overskirt, pleats, drapery, and train flowing front to back
  • An elongated fitted torso contrasted with an asymmetrical side profile

Best used for

  • Making the shift from Crinoline to rear-focused 1870s–1880s dress legible in reconstruction
  • Building contemporary volume that stays restrained from the front and structural only in profile and rear view

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Dictionary entry

Type
Place headings on the quiet frontal plane; do not repeat the back drapery as typographic ornament.
Composition
Lengthen the fitted torso, keep the front flat, and concentrate support, folds, and train behind the waist in that order.
Material
Use breathable padding or a light frame on a strong waist tape, then fold the outer cloth over it without exposing the support.
Caution
Do not reduce the form to exaggerating a body part. Separate it from Crinoline's full-circumference structure, and test seating, load distribution, pressure, and assistance requirements.
Further study
first bustle period of the early 1870s / second bustle period of the 1880s / tournure structures, dress reform and modern revivals

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https://indexstyle.org/styles/bustle-silhouette
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