Fashion as Freedom - The Bustle and Women of the Late Victorian Era

Authors

Sydney A. Everett, Kennesaw State UniversityFollow

Name of Faculty Sponsor

Thomas Fish

Faculty Sponsor Email

tfish2@kennesaw.edu

Author Bio(s)

Sydney Everett graduated from the Theatre & Performance Studies program at Kennesaw State University in 2021. During her time at KSU she was a Design and Technology student focusing on costume technology and worked at the costume shop on campus. In the fall of 2021 she will begin a master's program in Dress and Textiles Histories at the University of Glasgow. She hopes to go into living history and museum work.

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

In contrast to the general bias of Americans, the First- and Second-Bustle periods allowed the women of the time to find freedom through changes in the Victorian fashion. The women of the 19th century were able to achieve freedom through the bustle periods between 1867 and 1889 by gaining freedom of movement more so than through any of the other fashions, first by gaining social and economic benefit through smuggling items in their bustles and finally, through being able to remove the bustle for athletic wear. This research uses primary research sources and contemporary scholarly essays to analyze how these women used fashion for their own freedom, and this research also challenges modern-day views of Victorian fashion and provides better insight for media that portrays this time-period.