…were all worn with the new bustles and skirts. There were basques, pointed waists, coat bodices, and round waists with belts.
Sleeves were placed very high on the shoulders making neck to shoulder seams very short, giving a narrow appearance to large women. The problem was the look was very bad on a very thin woman.
(Early 1880’s portraits: left – the narrow shouldered bodice balances out the body of a larger woman, while, right – it makes a very thin one look odd)