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Best friend’s wedding coming down the aisle? That probably means wedding dress shopping is in store! Helping your friend pick out her dress will be quite the undertaking, so it won’t hurt to have a little fashion knowledge on hand to help your BFF make an educated decision. So, we’ve invited a few classic wedding dress silhouettes to attend this affair of a blog post, and to bring their descriptions along as dates!
Princess – quite similar to the A-line, this silhouette is fitted at top and follows clean lines as it flares out through the skirt
Empire – a popular silhouette in the first quarter of the 1800s, this cut features a waistline just below the bust and a skirt that flows down from there
Mermaid – this voluptuous silhouette follows the figure down to the knee before flaring out dramatically
Ball gown – made popular by Queen Victoria, who wore a ball gown silhouette for her 1840 wedding, this silhouette boasts a fitted bodice and voluminous skirt often made of tulle
Sheath/Column – this silhouette flows straight down from the neckline, thus gently hugging the form
Basque waist – the most definitive feature of this silhouette is a natural waistline that angles down into a V; it generally accompanies a flared skirt
Ballerina– inspired by classical ballet, this silhouette flows straight down from the neckline, and features a voluminous skirt that falls to the mid-calf
If you’re having trouble memorizing all those definitions, don’t fret! We’ve created a free, downloadable chart of these silhouettes, so you can print it out and bring it with you to the bridal boutique.
Do you have any dress shopping tips? Do share!
style glossary, wedding week, who what wear wed
Ooh love! This was totally helpful! I’ve always been a fan of sheaths. Simple and classy!
http://yellowvoices.wordpress.com/
checked out your blog, fantastic.
i must say this was actually pretty informative and i now know more than i did 5 mins ago.
Woohoo! That makes me happy to hear. 🙂
For the shorties: Careful with the waistline. If you have short legs like me (I’m, 5′ tall), then a dress with a waistline that hits down at the hips (like the basque) instead of up at the the waist, may make your legs look even shorter.
i wish my bridesmaid dress was one of these… instead it looks like a column but with cling film wrapped around the waist to make us all look pregnant. i wish i’d known this 2 months ago – great information
Honestly, my advice is this: do your research. I looked online and found several dresses I liked so that I would have a starting point in the stores. Also, look online and find as many reviews as possible for local bridal salons. You do NOT want to end up dealing with one that has less than stellar customer service, believe me.
Where’s the image for the ballerina silhouette?
xo Maria Elyse
Hannah, Do you mind if we use your dress silhouette drawings for our school newspaper? We will credit your blog! Please get back to me ASAP!! We need your permission before we can use your images. Thanks! Kate
Hi, Kate!
You have my/our wholehearted yes to use the images! The credit can go to localhost/modcloth. Glad to see these images will see new life, and thank you for checking!
Hannah
Thank you so much! 🙂
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