A c. 1877 Natural Form Bodice

The pleats are about two inches deep. Unlike bodices meant to be worn over bustles, they only fold one time, so not much extra room is created by them.

To allow room for the elbow, the top portion of the sleeve is gathered which creats a curved shape. The bottom half of the sleeve is cut with a slight curve below the elbow.

The bottom two inches of each sleeve seam is left open for a cuff. The bottom of the sleeve is faced with self-fabric and then turned back. There are five stitch marks indicating the position of the removed decoration.

Three buttonholes were left unfinished at the bottom. The first of the three was sewn shut, the two below that were whipstiched so they wouldn't ravel. The front corners were then turned in to create an inverted V shape at the bottom.