Reconstructed bustle day dress from the 1880’s. In Europe this period is also known as the second bustle era. This dress is constructed like it used to be constructed back then and is made to fit a corseted body that also would be wearing all of the appropriate underwear layers of the time, just like it used to be.
For upper / upper-middle class people there were multiple types of outfits, each worn at the appropriate time of the day and / or activity. This outfit is more appropriate for day wear, leisure walks or yachting. I based this design on several fashion plates and portraits from 1880’s (see few examples below). The inside as well as the outside is finished appropriately for the period. Other than the underwear layers this outfit consists of an underskirt with a velvet trim around the hem, a draped overskirt and a bodice that also is flatlined and boned. The bodice creates an illusion that it consists from a shirt, vest and a jacket with velvet lapels resembling a men’s suit while actually the bodice is all in one – a popular women’s bodice style at the time. The back of the bodice has cascade folds that helps to finish off the typical silhouette of the second bustle era and when the outfit is viewed from the side the bustle sets a 90 degree angle from the back. The overskirt’s folds and drapes create extra volume at the back part only, while the sides and front remain slim. The underskirt has a hidden side pocket.

© Baiba Rieber













