Empire silhouette
An Empire silhouette is created by wearing a high-waisted dress, gathered near or just under the bust with a long, loose skirt, which skims the body. The outline is especially flattering to apple shapes wishing to disguise the stomach area or emphasise the bust. The shape of the dress helps to lengthen the body. The word "Empire" here refers to the period of the
First French Empire.
The original empire line was seen on women from early Greco-Roman art when loose fitting rectangular tunics known as "Peplos" or the more common "Chiton" were belted under the bust, providing support for women and a cool, comfortable outfit suitable for the warm climate.
Encyclopedia
An
Empire silhouette is created by wearing a high-waisted dress, gathered near or just under the bust with a long, loose skirt, which skims the body. The outline is especially flattering to apple shapes wishing to disguise the stomach area or emphasise the bust. The shape of the dress helps to lengthen the body. The word "Empire" here refers to the period of the
First French Empire.
The original empire line was seen on women from early Greco-Roman art when loose fitting rectangular tunics known as "Peplos" or the more common "Chiton" were belted under the bust, providing support for women and a cool, comfortable outfit suitable for the warm climate.
The last few years of the 1700’s first saw the Empire dress coming into fashion in Western and Central Europe , and it evolved through the Napoleonic era until the early
1820's, after which the hourglass Victorian styles became more popular. The style was often worn in white to denote a high social status ; only women solidly belonging to what in England was known as the "genteel" classes could afford to wear the pale, easily soiled garments of the era.
Josephine Bonaparte was one of the traditional trend-setters or figureheads for the Empire waistline, with her elaborate, skilfully-decorated Empire line dresses. The complete and drastic contrast between 1790's styles and the constricting and
voluminous styles of the 1770's is probably partially due to the French political upheavals after 1789 . English women's styles followed along the same general trend of raised waistlines as French styles, even when the countries were at
war.
The 1960's saw a revival of the Empire silhouette, possibly reflecting the less strict social mores of the era .
See also
