The Victorian Era was the age when The English were under the reign of Queen Victoria. Victorian Age has always been immensely popular about fashion and clothing. The women were fond of wearing stunning and spectacular dresses and designs.

One such clothing form was ‘The Bustle Dresses’.

For the ease of understanding and demarcation, The Victorian Era has been divided into stages.

The first Era is the Pre-Hoop Era (1840-1855)

In the 1840s, the full skirts were supported by vast layers of petticoats. These were worn and loved by women. It made the waist appear thinner and broadened at the tip.

The kind of Materials used

These petticoats were made up of horsehair. They were made thick and stiff by using cane and padding. In fact, it had many layers of padding and frill to give a fuller and thicker look.

‘The bustle dress’ in The Pre-Hoop Era was further divided into many kinds:

1840-Day dress and 1841- LA Mode Illustre

The Bustle Dress- In the Pre-Hoop Era

1841- LA Mode Illustre Day Dresses

The natural waist of the dress could be longer with front and back points. The dresses were designed in such a way that they were broad at the shoulders and neckline. They fitted near the waist and broadened near the bottom. This gave a broad and full look to the skirt.

High On Popularity

The Bustle dresses were popular because they helped to make the figures look beautiful and slim at the waist area.

 

The sleeves of the day dresses were narrow and the shoulder line of the dress ended below the natural shoulder line. This made the dress a bit revealing. It also fixed the arm down.

These bustle dresses looked extraordinarily pretty. They came in different colors and materials.

Materials Used

The most sought after were the ones with comfortable fabrics like silk, satin, muslin, cotton, etc.

Importance

Women chose to wear bustle gowns for weddings and got them custom made. Many women preferred to make Bustle dresses for parties and weddings themselves. Victorian women were very high on fashion and style. They led fashionable lives and enjoyed their freedom in the sense of fashion and clothing.

Queen Victoria- Promoted Fashion and Style

The high fashion of the age was a result of the reign of Queen Victoria– who was herself a fashionable and enterprising woman.

1841- Fashion Plate

The Bustle Dresses were every Victorian Woman’s ultimate fashion choice. They loved wearing Bustle Gown for parties and day Ceremonies.

During the parties, most of the women could be seen wearing very fancy Bustle Dresses in vibrant hues and luxurious fabrics mostly silk and satins.

1843- Evening Dress

These had plunging necklines and very frilly bottoms. They were mainly worn for balls and evening parties.

1842- Godeys

These had plated flounce and had multi stripes. They were made with pleated ruffles.

The Godey Bustle Dresses were easy to create, provided the person had some fashion sense and knowledge about stitching, the kind of materials used and the laces which went with the materials chose.

These were further divided between Godey morning and Godey evening ‘Bustle Dresses and Gowns’…

1848- Godey Morning Dresses

1848- Godey Evening Dresses

1850 Evening Dresses

These were inextricably beautiful and ostentatious.

High-class aristocratic women wore these, high on fashion Victorian Fashion Evening Gowns to show-off. The ladies and their extravagant dresses and costumes were highly pompous in nature. These were popular from the early 1850s- late 1880s

1850 Grahams

1850 Grahams – day time dresses: Daytime necklines could be more revealing and open than those of the later years.

 

The Bustle Dresses Represented Victorian Women and Victorian Fashion

They were the most fashionable clothing women preferred and were highly popular and worn extensively.