MovieChat Forums > Lonesome Dove (1989) Discussion > After many, many years and many, many vi...

After many, many years and many, many viewings ...

posted 8 years ago by henrytree
1 reply | jump to latest

I'm watching 'Lonesome Dove' for maybe at least the millionth time in my life. (And I almost read the book as many times too.)

One thing I have just noticed tonight and I don't know how I missed it before in the film:

In the scene titled "Near The Platte River Nebraska" where Sheriff Johnson's wife, Elmira, arrives at Clara's house and the scene then goes on to the birth of the baby etc.

What I need to know is:

Is Clara wearing a bustle in those scenes? I know the bustle was a common garment in those days but surely it was only worn on "dress days" like Sunday Church Day etc. I really cannot imagine a working mother wearing such a thing in normal day-to-day living, especially if she was running a horse ranch and also tending to a bedridden husband.

Any views, please?

[–] theaogrady-31997 8 years ago

I went through those scenes and she is wearing a bustle with her green dress in her opening scene. She also appears to have one when she is bending over the kitchen table making biscuits and in the scene where she invites Diane Lane to stay. The costumer has used the bustle selectively. The skirt and blouse are very full and cinching with a belt give the illusion of a bustle, like in the scene where Clara is pricing the horses. What an awful contraption to have worn during this period in women's fashion especially with the work load in the pioneering west.