The bustle effect- a somewhat forgotten fashion

Most people think late 19th century when you say bustle, but the fashion of fullness around the rear was popular in the late 18th century as well. When World War II ended and the restrictions on fabrics began to lift, the possibility of adding surplus fabric to fashion designs came back. Culminating in 1947 an emphasis on the back, sometimes just draped fabric, sometimes even a small bustle under the skirt, was part of the fashion silhouette. It’s often labeled under The New Look, but it seems to have been at its most popular just before The New look hit the world, even if it remained popular during it as well. I rarely, if ever, see it around vintage blogs; it is a fashion that seems to have drowned among the pencil skirts and wide skirts of The New Look.

Not quite a bustle, but the drapery put attention of the behind, The Chase, 1946.

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I think it’s a rather flattering look.


Day dress in cotton by Hardy Amies, 1947.

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Another 1947 day dress.

Striped silk dress by Victor Steibel, 1947.

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The same dress- I love when you get a glimpse on how it looked when worn!

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Evening gown by Charles James, 1947.

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A Janzen bathing suit, 1947.

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Sandra Mornay in a day dress with a draped bustle effect in Abbott and Costello meets Frankenstein, 1947.

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Black rayon crepe dress, late 1940's.

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Evening gown by Fath, 1948.

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Day dress, 1948

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Dior, 1949.

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You can find a pattern for a skirt with a bustle effect at Eva Dress



And a suit from 1950 at Vogue