By the 1870s skirts had become flat in front with all their drape and fullness gathered behind the wearer. In order to make walking easier, the excess fabric was pulled up, and the resulting pouf came to be supported by a variety of pads, springs coils, and assorted inventions known as bustles or tournures. The bustle style lasted until the mid-1870s, and returned to popularity in an even more exagerated form in the 1880s. This gown, with its separate underskirt and draped knee-length overskirt, is typical of the earlier bustle style.

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