Fortunately, salvation was on the way in the guise of the false or cork rump, releasing women from twenty years of being ‘oblong’ to once more becoming rounder. It was in effect a ‘bustle’ before the Victorians had invented the concept and were pads filled with fabric or cork, tied at the waist and draped over the derrière, ‘poofing’ out the skirt at the back. As with all things the fashion lead to a flood of satire and derision. ‘Bum-shops’ sprang up all over London, encouraging ladies of all incomes to ‘get your false bums here’. It only added to gentlemen’s confusion as to what real women
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