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Seaside Viewing, painting by Hugo Birger, 1883

How to Sit Pretty in a Bustle

  • May 22, 2022May 22, 2022
  • by Robinette Waterson

It can be done! There are any number of contemporary paintings, illustrations, and even photographs showing fashionable women wearing enormous bustles and still managing to sit. How do they do it?

At the piano, Le Journal des Demoiselles,1887
1887 At Piano, Le Journal des Demoiselles
1889 Student Brasserie, Jean Béraud
1874 The Englishwomans Domestic Magazine
1874 The Englishwomans Domestic Magazine
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat, 1884
1884, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat

Although there are other eras in recorded history where fashionable women displayed additional width in the rump area, the two bustle periods of the 1870s and 1880s took this concept to the extremes. As the billowing crinoline cages of the 1830s through 1860s fell out of favor, the fashionable silhouette collapsed. Skirts came closer to the body on the front and sides, but still flared out behind. In the Early Bustle Era, from about 1868 to 1876, the bustle was all about poufs and drapes.

1873 Le Journal Des Dames et Des Demoiselles
1870 Le Miroir Parisien
1870 Le Miroir Parisien
1872 Le Journal Des Dames et Des Demoiselles

By 1878, bustles had deflated, with the extra fabric bunched up to indicate where the frames used to be. Ladies swished about with scads of ribbons, ruffles, ruches, and bows following behind.

1877 La Mode Illustree
1877 La Mode Illustree
1881 Les Modes de la Saison
1881 Les Modes de la Saison
1877 Journal Des Demoiselles
1877 Journal Des Demoiselles

This was all well and good for a short time, but as we all know, fashion never rests. By 1882, the bustle re-emerged, bigger and bolder than before. Their dimensions grew progressively more exaggerated until the overly dramatic “shelf” bustles jutted out at a right angle from the body. It was joked that they could serve for tea tables! Even for sporting events, when safety concerns compelled clothing to be modified, hemlines were raised but bustles remained intact. By 1888, bustles had reached their zenith, and by 1889, they nearly vanished from the fashion record. Suspiciously the upper sleeve began to enlarge at this very same time, but the “leg of mutton” look is a topic for another day.

1888 Le Journal des Demoiselles
1888 Le Journal des Demoiselles
1888 Le Moniteur de la Mode
1888 Le Moniteur de la Mode
1887 La Mode Francaise
1887 La Mode Francaise

What kind of mechanics supported that unnatural hump? A bewildering array of contraptions, most made of sturdy wire and twill tape. One merchant was said to have complained that there were “more styles of bustles than herrings in a box.” Fortunately, most of these styles were designed with some form of collapsible frame which allowed the wearer to sit, although not necessarily comfortably.

1880s Bustles constructed of wire, twill tape, boning, and cotton
1887 Bustle Patent of fabric covered coils
1875-78 Bustle construction

There was also the infamous tournure (another word for bustle) known as the lobster tail. Note the one example is tellingly made up in lobster red cotton:

1870s Lobster tail bustle, side view
1870s Lobster tail bustle, side view
1870s Lobster tail bustle, back view
1870s Lobster tail bustle, back view
1885 Patent for bustle
1885 Patent for bustle

Not that any Victorian of good breeding would have mentioned the nature of a lady’s unmentionables in public. (Except maybe in patent applications.) Certainly a lady would never even whisper how difficult it would be to sit in one. There were many strategies deployed for the purpose.

Sitting on something backless was a popular option. Indoors piano benches and tuffets, and outdoors, a wall or the crest of a hillock, were suitable sitting surfaces. Then there was the popular Victorian style of perching, or sitting forward on the edge of a chair. Sitting sideways allowed the bustle to hang unimpeded. Leaning forward eased the fullness at the top where the wires shaped the crest of the bustle. Ladies could also lean forward and brace themselves against something, a closed parasol, a friend, or even the card table while gambling!

1882 Women At Train Station
Strategy 1: Perch on the edge
Strategy 2: Sit on something backless
Strategy 3: Sit sideways
1888 Le Moniteur de la Mode
Strategy 4: Bunch it up behind
Strategy 5: Tuck pillows for side support
Strategy 6: Let it stick up like a rooster tail
1872 Le Journal des Dames et des Demoiselles
Strategy 7: Lean forward
Strategy 8: Lean on the furniture
Strategy 9: Lean on a companion
Strategy 10: Let it hang through an open-backed chair
Strategy 11: Interact with a chair in an alternative manner
1885 Seated Woman in Yellow, William Merritt Chase
Strategy 12: Just admit it looks awkward


Quod erat demonstrandum, there are many illustrations offering proof that women did, indeed, sit while wearing bustles. Now that functionality has been demonstrated, shall we address the elephant in the room? Bustles look ludicrous! Did people of the time think they looked ridiculous too? The answer is a definitive yes.

Punch Magazine cartoonists, Linley Sambourne and George du Maurier, poked fun at the exaggerated silhouettes, which were unduly tight in some places and excessively bouffant in others.

1876 Punch Cartoon, Linley Sambourne
1878 George Du Maurier cartoon

Oscar Wilde, an author famous for championing excess, was less tolerant of the bustle, proclaiming it the worst of the worst in female fashion:

…the most ungainly and uncomfortable articles of dress that fashion has ever in her folly prescribed, not the tight corset merely, but the farthingale, the vertugadin, the hoop, the crinoline, and that modern monstrosity the so-called “dress improver” [i.e. bustle]…Oscar Wilde, The Woman’s Dress, 1888

So far we have been looking at fashion plates, drawings, paintings, and cartoons. Surely real women didn’t wear dresses like that! Or did they?

1888 DaisyGreville, CountessofWarwick
1888 Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick
1887 Cuirass bodice suit shelf with bustle
1887 Mrs. Hughes, cuirass bodice suit with shelf bustle
1884-86 Bustled Dinner Dress
1884-86 Bustled Dinner Dress Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute

Note that none of these particular gowns are shown in a seated position.

Finally, as with any discussion regarding the extremes of fashion, waiting a few seasons will resolve the issue, for nothing stops the relentless progression of haute couture.

Steampunk Clock Divider Image
Tea by Tissot, 1872, Metropolitan Museum of Art

One Lump or Two?

  • January 10, 2022May 22, 2022
  • by Robinette Waterson

The British obsession with tea is said to have begun in 1662 when Catherine of Braganza married King Charles II and brought the luxury beverage with her as part of her dowry. Although tea was not unknown in Britain before this time (the diaries of Samuel Pepys first mention “tee” on September 25, 1660,) its popularity was assured when the new Queen served out the liquid in her fine porcelain tea accoutrements.

Catherine of Braganza by Lely, 1663-55, Royal Collections Trust
Catherine of Braganza by Lely, 1663-65, Royal Collections Trust
Samuel Pepys by Hayls, 1666, National Portrait Gallery, London
Samuel Pepys by Hayls, 1666, National Portrait Gallery, London

Soon tea drinking became a habit for all who could afford the expensive import.

At first tea could only be drunk publicly in the male-only coffee shops, but Thomas Twining opened his first shop in 1706, allowing women the chance to purchase tea. Early tea cups had no handles, the expensive product was kept in locked tea caddies, and sugar was purchased in cones or loaves, from which lumps were broken off for serving.

Still Life with Tea Cups by van Roestraten 1670, Museums Sheffield
Still Life with Tea Cups by van Roestraten 1670, Museums Sheffield

Tea drove innovations such as faster merchant ships (clipper ships which clipped days off the transport time from China to England). The demand for heat-resistant cups and serving implements benefited porcelain and silver manufacturers. The “teaspoon” was first mentioned in an advertisement in 1686.

Over time, tea, the taxes on tea, the smuggling of tea to bypass those taxes, and the trade deficits caused by satisfying the growing desire for the refreshing liquid would bring about wars, imperial oppression, and the rise of the “great milk debate” which rages to this very day.

The Tea by Cassatt, 1880. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The Tea by Cassatt, 1880. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

More relevant to the history behind the Steam Geared and Hotel Belladonna stories, the advent of afternoon tea began as a refreshment served in private chambers by Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, who served as Lady of the Bedchamber for Queen Victoria. In the 1840’s, when luncheon was served at noon and dinner not until 8 pm, the Duchess developed a “sinking feeling” in the late afternoon, and requested tea and some small comestibles be served around 4 pm. She made a habit of this, and began inviting other ladies to join her, including the Queen herself. The routine became a fad, then a custom, and then a tradition, where ladies might meet to catch up on recent news, discuss current events, and chat about the latest fashions.

Anna Maria, Duchess of Bedford, 1860, British Museum
Anna Maria, Duchess of Bedford, 1860, British Museum
Tea by Tissot, 1872, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Tea by Tissot, 1872, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Afternoon tea, or low tea as it was called because it was laid out on low tables, became more of a social event than a meal. The private nature of the event made it possible for women to entertain company at home, without their husbands. This freedom contributed to discussions of women’s rights, suffrage, and more than a little gossip.

Makers of feminine attire saw an opportunity to cater to these more intimate, indoor meetings, and made clothing to accommodate. Known as “tea gowns,” they featured less boning and underpinnings than the typical corseted and bustled silhouette of the era, and used light, flowing fabrics.

Tea Gown 1880, Metropolitan Museum
Tea Gown 1880, Metropolitan Museum
Tea Gown 1870-80, UNT Digital Library
Tea Gown 1870-80, UNT Digital Library
Tea Gown 1885, FIDM Museum
Tea Gown 1885, FIDM Museum
Tea Gown 1890, Metropolitan Museum
Tea Gown 1890, Metropolitan Museum

Whether the word “tea” is used to mean a beverage, a meal, or an occasion, it has made its mark on the lives of many throughout history.

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