Have you ever wondered how Victorian women managed to sit down in those beautiful gowns that were so full at the back? This fullness was provided by the bustle, a type of framework that also supported the weight of the drapery of the back of the dress. During the 1870′s and 80′s, they became the height of fashion.
Sitting down with that kind of cage around your body must have been impossible, you think. Wrong. Bustles folded up, allowing them to be lifted whenever a woman needed to sit down or just pass through a narrow space, like this video demonstrates: