Bustle Dresses (from "Mode Pour Tous", 1888)

Fashion historians call the 1880s the "second bustle era" (as opposed to the "first bustle era" which was the 1870s).  The distinguishing feature of the 1880s bustle was the way it stuck out the wearer's lower back at a 90° angle—and, oh, have you ever seen any fashion so ridiculous?

No, seriously, it's a bizarre style.  And how was it created?  Well let's take a look:

Here we have a contemporary advertisement for a "dress improver" from Myra's Journal of Fashion.  This contraption was buckled around the wearer's waist, and it looks like a fiendishly uncomfortable Victorian torture device.  Notice the springs on the back: presumably they made it possible to push the bustle aside when the wearer wanted to do complicated things like sitting down.

Looking slightly less like a mad scientist's nightmare, is this "muslin skirt" offered for sale in an Altman's catalogue from 1886.  The "steels" holding it out could be removed for washing, which must have been a tedious washday chore.

Lastly, from Strawbridge and Clothier in 1885: another bustle.  This one is made of hair cloth.  It doesn't specify what species the hair came from (probably horse hair), but at least the article in question looks well padded and comfortable to sit on!