In the 1860s women wanted their skirts to be larger in the back but more flat in the front. To get this look women wore bustles, which were “pads that were placed over the buttocks, framed and stuffed with various kinds of material.” under their skirts. On top of that women occasionally bunched up the back of their skirts for even more volume. This lasted from the 1860s to the 1880s with almost no change, only very minor ones. Eventually dresses became tight bodices with large skirts and style for everything was about volume, even hair; which can explain why this bustle style lasted for so long unchanged.
Fukai Akiko, Tamami Suoh, and Miki Iwagami. The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute FASHION A history from the 18th to the 20th Century. Vol. 1. TASCHEN, 2005. Print.
