IT IS FINISHED!
Despite having 365 days to make the cosplay, I started making it exactly six days before my local Comic-Con. Thankfully, I'd already finished the bustle cage and petticoats, but all visible parts of the costume were completed within a six day period.
I wasn't able to do all that I planned for it, such as the skirt trimmings, the ruffle pauldron, some of the braiding and embroidery, but I was able to get the majority done—enough to be convention ready, at least!
So, without further ado, I present my 1870's Victorian Loki Variant!
i hope this isnt too random and is something you can help me with--i'm needing a reference of someone around the 1870s-1880s running, like a dull on sprint, in a bustle dress. would that even be possible? would she just be lifting the dress part up and have the layers underneath be showing? would she pull up the crinoline (if those were worn at the time, i'm sorry i'm too lazy to research atm) as well? i hope the question isnt too broad or confusing. thank you so much!!!!
Hi! Not at all too broad or confusing question!
I'm assuming you mean the Second Bustle Era dress, since it's the more well known and iconic bustle style. The First Bustle Era was roungly the first half of 1870s, then there was Natural Form Era in the middle and the Second Bustle Era was most of 1880s. The two bustle eras were distinctive in style, but they mostly had similar layers. To illustrate the difference here's a fashion plate from the First Bustle Era and another from the second.
Yes you could run in a bustle dress. As you see especially in the Second Bustle Era dresses, the hem didn't quite reach the ground, which is really the the thing that will get in your way, if it would. As someone who has worn several different full length evening dresses (not very historical though but that's beside the point) and ran and danced in them, I can say the issues only really come when the hem reatches the ground. Then lifting the hem becomes necessary.
A type of cage crinoline was indeed used with the bustle dress, called bustle cage. Unlike the typical crinoline it was only in the back, shaped similarly as 18th century side panniers, because that's where all the volume was, so it wouldn't get in the way when running. There are though some examples of bustle cages that did go all around and simply were more volumous in the back, but I haven't seen any of them being dated into 1880s. The first bustle cage below is from 1887 and the second is from 1870-72.
A full crinoline though actually helps moving around and running. It was one of the reasons why it become so quickly so widely used in 1850s. It carries the fabric of the dresses keeping them away from the feet.
Even when lifting the hem isn't necessary, it's likely that while running the petticoat would show at least a bit. Shift hem wouldn't likely be seen as it was a bit shorter and the first layer. Petticoat was worn over the bustle cage and would help giving the fashionable silhouette, though some skirts would have a foundation skirt attached to them and then separate petticoat wasn't needed. It was most often white and had more volume in the back often in shape of ruffles. Here's couple of examples, first from 1883 and second from 1886.
I thought primary source references could be easiest to find regarding dancing and tennis. I thought it might give a nice range of different types of dresses. I didn't find useful painting of dancing in Second Bustle Era gowns, but this one from the First Bustle Era is close enough, I think.
I found two paintings depicting tennis in bustle gowns, one from the First and another from the Second Bustle Era.
Tennis was played in the typical summer day dress, which for tennis were traditionally white. So the outfit would have all of the layers like you'd normally have and the dress would be from light breethable materials, light cotton usually, and sometimes a little more loose fitting, so it does work as a good reference for how to move in an average day dress.
Lastly I'll link here a video from Prior Attire channel, where she dresses up in about 1885 dress for tennis and demostrates playing tennis in it. It shows really well how that type of dress moves and how you can pretty easily move and run in it without having to really do anything about it. The full demonstration starts around 23:37 mark, but the full video is useful in showing all the layers that goes into it.
Next instalment in the series - and we are looking at Victorian tennis dress, second bustle style! enjoy! also experimenting a bit more wit
Thank You for 6,000 followers! Here’s a red bustle (pattern taken from Corsets and Crinolines) This style of bustle would have been worn by women from the 1870′s to 1880′s
So, once again, I am on my bullshit and have waited until exactly one week to make my cosplay for comic-con this year. I started it last year, but ended up hating my fabric choice so much that I abandoned the project. I am now redoing it completely from the ground up.
I modified my Lobster Tail pattern (Truly Victorian TV163) to be longer, as well as have more of a slope shape to the back. I have also made the first of three petticoats ( TV170).
I... also somehow managed to sew the entire fucking bottom ruffle on inside out. I do not have the time or the will to go back and seam rip the bitch out, so it lives that way now. 🤡 There's always something.
Today, I make the green underskirt, which is the first part of the costume that will actually be visible.
I have seven days to make this entire fucking thing.
I am (once again) making this cosplay for Comic-Con this year! An 1875 Victorian-era Loki variant!
I began to work on it last year, but life got in the way and I ended up not completing it in time. I also hated my fabric choice, as well as some shortcuts I tried to make due to time. With a little under two months to go, I be remaking the entire thing from the ground up.
The sketches are a bit rough, and there are likely some design elements that will not survive the finished product, but I am very excited to be making this!
I am less excited by the 3000 miles of knife pleating I'll have to do.
Fuck, but I cannot tell you enough how not excited I am for that.
Why do I do this to myself? Someday, I'll design a costume that is a plain fucking cotton sack with holes for my limbs and that's it. Goddammit.
Finally made my bustle cage (lobster tail) for my Victorian Loki cosplay!
It ended up being a bit bigger than I thought, so I may have to make my costume more 1880s rather than 1870s! I used the 'Truly Victorian 163' pattern, which was super easy to make! Although, I somehow sewed the wrong edges of the back to each other and had to seam rip out five rows of bias tape and all the hems to redo it. I only cried a little! 🙃
