Empire Silhouette

Empire silhouette, Empire line, Empire waist or just Empire is a style in women's clothing in which the dress has a fitted bodice ending just below the bust, giving a high-waisted appearance, and a gathered skirt which is long and loosely fitting but skims the body rather than being supported by voluminous petticoats. The outline is especially flattering to pear shapes wishing to disguise the stomach area or emphasize the bust. The shape of the dress also helps to lengthen the body's appearance.

While the style goes back to the late eighteenth century, the term "Empire silhouette" arose over a century later in early twentieth-century Britain; here the word empire refers to the period of the First French Empire; Napoleon's first Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais was influential in popularizing the style around Europe. The word "empire" is pronounced with a special quasi-French pronunciation /ɑːmˈpɪər/ by many in the fashion world.