Black bustle skirt and 18th century corset

I made the bustle skirt for the Xerox christmas party 2004, to go with my black 1860's twill and velvet corset. So when I finished the 18th century corset shown on the pictures i decided to take a picture of them together, even if they're not from the same period. The corset is fusion of the rococo era and the wasp waist of the mid-victorian era. It is too bad Dara (the owner of this masterpiece) didn't have the time to pose it for me, the dress form does by no means do it justice. It is made from cotton satin and the lining is light weight cotton canvas. It is double boned througout, to achieve the rigid front of the rococo corsets, and it has a scalloped bottom. The waist is reinforced with twill tape, and it is edged with bias satin binding. I decorated the bustline with knife pleated satin ribbon, same as I used for the fastening of the shoulder straps, it doesn't show very well on the pictures, but the corset is also decorated with black soutache trimming to accentuate the curves of the hips, waist and bust. This corset can be worn with only a tube top underneath ( to protect the corset), and it is by far one of the sexiest models I make.


The Skirt is made of a light weight wool crepe, and believe it or not, it is actually very cool in the summer. I wore it at Angelas wedding, and I was quite confortable (or rather as confortable one can get wearing a tightly laced corset on a summers day...) It is a one-piece skirt which has two darts in the front, and it is knife-pleated in the back. It has a double layered 30 cm silk organza ruffle at the bottom, and closes with a zipper at the side. There is a bum-pad under the skirt to create the bustle-effect, and the overskirt is bustled up in the back using a contraption of twill tapes. The overskirt is made of a very light weight satin lining, and is quite delicate. Next time I'll be using a more robust material.