… and scary contraptions. They were made with wires, springs, mohair padding, tapes, and horsehair. Although some had lace on them, it looked odd on these scientific inventions.
While some of the early bustles and pads like the tournure were still suitable for athletic or walking events, only the extreme structures could hold up the voluminous trained skirts, especially those of evening wear, and heavy thick fabrics that were being used at the start of the 1880 decade.
(Photos: the 1870’s Natural Form tournure (left), while still useable for low fashion activities which had less draping, could not even begin to support the 1880’s heavy back ornamental “tapestry” (right)