Why were Victorian Hips Controversial?

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The curvaceous hips at the turn of the 20th century have long been an iconic part of that fashionable silhouette. But where did they come from? And when did they deflate? Answering these simple questions led me into learning about yet another controversial Victorian garment. As it turns out, the return of the bustle and the addition of hip pads was relatively short lived. At least in terms of the obvious and heavily padded versions. But that didn't stop newspapers from printing articles lamenting the damage they were doing to women. Nor did it stop men from adding in their own hip padding just a few years later.

Turns out, the prominent hips that had emerged by the end of 1897 were considered downright dangerous by some and necessary by others. They developed as a response to the changing silhouette and emphasis on the waist. Along with the new flat fronted corsets, the fullness of the body had shifted its location over the last few years. And despite our modern day connotations of hips being a feminine feature, some (men) even took to accusing the new hips of being mannish! Something about Greek Gods and the like.

This era was often concerned with ANY bodily adjustments- whether it was corsets, high heels, hair pieces, or heavy skirts. This sort of fashion was claimed to be dangerous to morals and health. Hip pads were claimed to be stifling and restrictive when it came to medical health, for example. As for ethics and morals? They said too much interest in fashion signaled vanity and weak will. These women looked "unnatural" and angular- or to some, completely comical!

Even when the hips did deflate to a "natural" figure and tight skirt, they were still often lightly padded. Advertisements for bustles and hip pads (or hip girdles) continue well into the Edwardian era of the 1900s. They just emphasized shaping and subtlety. But padding for women had established itself by that point, not just as a way to achieve an extreme fashionable silhouette, but as a way to smooth and correct or simply augment. The complaints seem to have dissipated by that time, and the complainants of previous years were content with the return to a more "natural" silhouette. Though I'm sure they found some other issue with tight skirts or large hats soon after.

🖼 Black bustle pad: http://www.antiquedress.com/item4989.htm
🖼 Wire bustle: https://augusta-auction.com/auction?v...
🖼 Bustle pad: https://fidmmuseum.pastperfectonline....
🖼 1774: https://collection.maas.museum/object...
🖼 Princess Gown: https://www.thehenryford.org/collecti...
🖼 Hip Girdle: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6...
🖼 NYPL: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/
🖼 Met: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/librari...

00:00 Introduction
03:04 Big Sleeves
05:57 Return of the Bustle
08:06 Dangerous Curves
16:18 Deflation
18:15 Men Too?
20:34 Building the Figure
25:34 Making a Hip Pad
27:24 Poetry

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