Catalog > Early Bustle Era
The Early Bustle Era is characterized by a full "caged " piece accentuating the silouette's posterior, moving away from the hoop entirely. This allowed the ladies to still wear their hoop dresses with only slight modifications so that they were fashionable for the time. The cage bustle was still constructed much in the same method as the hoop with channels of whale bone and wire, but changed to get the desired look. Ladies' hats were fairly small and dainty looking, but the hairstyles were big with lots of curls and braids. Fancy trims of all different types and styles ornamented the dresses from this era. In the photo above, I am wearing a dress from the latter portion of the Early Bustle Era. I used a fashion plate from Godey's Lady's Book (I believe November), the second image from the left. My dress is constructed of embroidered linen and silk taffeta, and flat lined with symphony broadcloth. It is trimmed with gimp, silk ribbon, and vintage box pleated organdy. The hat is vintage and has been recovered in white silk taffeta, and ornamented with gimp, silk ribbon, and an antique buckle brooch. The parasol is from this same time period, and I recovered it to match the dress.
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