Empire style wedding dresses

The feminine attire of Josephine's time does not need special advertising - it speaks for itself, combining not only beauty and elegance, but also comfort. For example, for a summer wedding, Empire style dresses will be the best option, because they do not require a corset, underskirt or crinoline. But these are not all the advantages of the outfit. We will talk about them a little later.

At the wedding, it is very important for a bride to create a memorable, attractive, harmonious image of purity, freshness and nobility, and an Empire-style wedding dress will help in this as well as possible.

The Empire style, or imperial style, dominated Europe in the early 19th century. This manifested itself in everything: in architecture and painting, applied art and landscape design and, of course, in fashion.

Antiquity, the unique artistic style of Ancient Greece and Rome, has become the main model for artists, architects, and designers. In fashion, this meant abandoning the lush, intricate outfits that reigned in the 18th century.

Empress Josephine Beauharnais, the wife of Napoleon, can be considered the ancestor of the Empire style in fashion. In this era, the ideal of ancient simplicity was intensively implanted, and the robes of ancient Greek statues became the model for women's dresses. Therefore, Greek wedding dresses and Empire style dresses are often identified with each other.

Soon, with the light hand of Josephine and the court tailor Leroy, all the ladies of the imperial court were dressed in outfits stylized as ancient Greek tunics, and since France was considered the trendsetter, the style rapidly spread throughout Europe, including Russia.

It was in this dress that Natasha Rostova was at her first ball even before the start of the war with Napoleon.

It should be emphasized right away that the models in the Empire style only resembled an antique model in silhouette.For the ancient Greeks, the main thing in the dress was skillfully executed drapery, which gave it not only beauty, but also provided the woman with freedom of movement.

For dresses in the Empire style, smooth lines are characteristic. A fitted bodice usually ends with a sash to hide where the top joins with a loose hem. With such a laconic silhouette, it can look both emphatically simple and completely luxurious.

The laconicism of the Empire style dresses was bathed in rich decoration. Lace, bows, bouquets of natural and artificial flowers, as well as decoration with ornaments in the Egyptian, Greek and Etruscan style were used.

Over time, fashion changed, and Empire style outfits began to look hopelessly outdated. But, as you know, fashion is back, and the updated Empire style made a real sensation on the world catwalks in the first half of the 20th century.

This time, sculptor and couturier Alix Gre took full advantage of the principle of antique drapery to create models of stunning beauty and elegance.

Madeleine Vionne also contributed to the development of neoclassical evening fashion, preferring flowing lightweight fabrics and unusual cuts. Such dresses made of silk and chiffon with soft folds and elaborate drapery turned a woman into a kind of ancient goddess.

Empire-style wedding dresses continue to retain their relevance in the 21st century, although, of course, there were some adjustments, in particular, in the upper part:

• the bodice can now be closed or asymmetrical;
• straps are used;
• an outfit with one open shoulder is possible.

In short, it justifies the opinion of fashion designers, who consider it one of the most promising trends in wedding fashion.

The length and style of sleeves can be very diverse: from a short lantern to a long lace and tight fitting, which is most suitable for a winter celebration.

This also applies to shoulder straps. There are many variations. For example, thin, wide, decorated with rhinestones, fitting the neck. As for the quantity, the strap can be one at all.

If we talk about the color scheme of wedding models in the Empire style, then they look most harmoniously in gentle light colors:

• pink;
• blue;
• ivory;
• vanilla.

They more appropriately emphasize the freshness and tenderness of the image of the newlywed.

Although floor-length is considered canonical for Empire-style dresses, they look very original in length below or even knee-deep.

Today, this antique style, with its clean lines and seeming simplicity of cut, helps to create a surprisingly feminine and, at the same time, noble image of a bride, which combines seemingly incompatible qualities - innocence and sexuality, purity and seduction.

1. Comfort. Compared to other models of wedding dresses, Empire style outfits are surprisingly comfortable to wear, which is important for a bride who will have to stay in it almost all day and look good at the same time. Such dresses, regardless of length, create a feeling of harmony and grace, even some kind of weightlessness.
2. Body shaping. Do not underestimate Empire-style wedding dresses because of the seeming simplicity of the style - it will not only emphasize the natural beauty and stateliness of the bride, but also perfectly hide some figure flaws, give her femininity, and make the image harmonious.
3. Thanks to the characteristic Empire cut, it is possible to emphasize the beauty of the neck and arms.
4. Despite the simple cut, the Empire style wedding dress gives ample opportunities for decoration. Particular attention should be paid to the belt under the bust. It is often decorated with all kinds of decorative elements that are at the height of fashion in this particular season. Thanks to the designers' imagination, the bride seems to be something like a graceful antique nymph who came to us from another world, where harmony, beauty and serenity reign.

For pregnant brides, it will be just an ideal option, regardless of the term. A bride in a wedding dress should be comfortable, and it should not press anywhere, because the discomfort of the expectant mother causes discomfort for the future baby. Note that with a solid tummy, the figure seems more proportional than in a wedding dress of any other style.

Empire style gives excellent opportunities to correct the figure.

An empire-style dress is a real find for petite fragile and plump brides with wide hips and excess fat at the waist, since vertical lines and folds, in addition to hiding fragility or extra pounds, they seem to lengthen the figure, make it taller and slimmer.

It is also able to correct the shape of the breast.

If it is too small, it can be visually enlarged with drapery. In this case, the top should be sewn from dense fabric, and the bottom, on the contrary, from lightweight. You can also use shiny fabric or lush trim.

But lush breasts can be emphasized with an original belt and choose a model with a square neckline or a V-shaped one.

Girls with wide shoulders should choose an asymmetrical one-shoulder bodice. This cut will visually narrow the shoulders.

In each season, couturiers present in their wedding collections Empire-style dresses, made mainly of natural fabrics:

• silk, which is a favorite;
• atlas;
• chiffon;
• organza;
• lace. It is most often used for decoration.

For the bodice of the dress can be used:

• brocade;
• muslin;
• tulle.

The combination of lace and chiffon looks no less elegant, and wedding dresses made of thin lace fabric, which imitates manual work, do not need any finishing at all.

The Empire style is truly universal: it allows you to create both completely luxurious, richly decorated toilets, and emphatically simple, but at the same time aristocratic in their elegance, wedding dresses.

Even with a minimum of finishing, an Empire-style wedding dress fully corresponds to high fashion, embodying noble restraint and genuine aristocracy with the severity and smoothness of the silhouette lines. However, for a more solemn and festive impression, trimmings are used to match the fabric, which looks especially elegant.

The main decorative elements are usually located on the bodice and on the belt under the bust. And here the couturier has huge opportunities for decorating such a seemingly simple style: you can drape the bodice (such a model is especially suitable with a small chest), you can decorate it or a belt with embroidery with gold or silver threads, beads, pearls, rhinestones, sequins, ribbons, flowers, even precious or semi-precious stones.

The Gossamer collection by Australian designer Anna Campbell is an example of the bodice and belt décor with stones, rhinestones and sequins.

The impressive design of open dresses in the Empire style, lace backs, interesting weaving of straps - all this does not prevent the bride from remaining feminine, modest and elegant.

To fully match the image, the bride can style her hair in a sleek high hairstyle or loose her hair in large curls, like in ancient Greek statues.

The diadem will harmoniously fit into such an image, light and graceful, and if the model is emphatically simple, without any decorative elements, then a necklace in the same style as the diadem will become a worthy completion of the image.

Gloves will be an interesting addition. Their length depends on the openness of the dress.

Jewelry depends on the preferences of the bride, the main thing is that they are not flashy. And the shoes can be both classic and in the Greek style (sandals fixed with straps or shoes without heels).