 My early 1870s summer bustle dress that I wore on Friday at Costume Con 23 in Ogden, Utah. The dress is made of Swiss voile and trimmed with silk satin ribbon from Farmhouse Fabrics. I'm wearing it over the Mantua Maker combinations, Laughing Moon Silverado spoon busk corset, the Corsets and Crinolines 1872 bustle, and two petticoats. The pattern for the bodice and corset cover is the early 1870s bodice from Period Costume for Stage and Screen, the sleeves, underskirt and overskirt are from the 1870-1871 day dress in Patterns of Fashion 2. The bodice lining is darted and the voile is pleated over it |
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| The back of a dress and a close-up of the bustling in back. The overskirt closes on the left side back and is pulled up with five tapes and pulled back with two that attach between the front and side back seams and tie over the bustle to keep the front pulled back. The peplum is a 45" width of fabric with rounded ends that I gathered to fit the back of the bodice. In additon to being decorative, it serves a useful purpose. As the bodice waistline is slightly raised, it hides any gapping between the bodice and skirt. |
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| A somewhat side view of the dress. The belt is a 2" wide ribbon that hooks together at the back with a bow covering the closure. |
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| The bodice up close and a progress picture. I wore the dress to the Friday night social, as well as during the day. At nighttime, I just added the flowers to my hair and gloves. I didn't take many pictures of the construction of this dress, as it was fairly straightforward. You can see my corset through the bodice though, which is why I needed a corset cover for the dress! |
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| The hat from Truly Victorian that I decorated with flowers and a hummingbird from Lacis. Unfortunately, it didn't fit with my hair :) |
My Costumes
The Bustle Era
