Dress

The bustle, which took hold in the 1870s, was at its most exaggerated extension by 1885. At its extreme, it was almost perpendicular to the small of the back and appeared as padded and heavily embellished as a drawing-room hassock of the period. It was a popular conceit that the cantilevers of these bustles could support and entire tea service. To sustain the weight of the skirt, bustle pads were often worn under light and flexible hoops of wire, cane, or whalebone. Sitting was accomplished by shifting and collapsing the hoop.