The Dress Shape You Didn’t Know You Were Missing

I’m sure you’ve heard countless times that an A-line dress is perfect for emphasizing your waist and camouflaging the belly. And it’s true! But there’s another silhouette that I love even more for that slim, svelte look: the empire waist dress.

You’ve likely seen this silhouette before, and what might immediately come to mind are the Regency-era dresses from Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley. And you’re not wrong! But this style is far broader than that. It can be modern, and it actually has some advantages over the classic A-line.

This style often makes me feel more confident in my body than an A-line. Because the “waistline” is raised, it makes your legs look a mile long. And while it doesn’t emphasize THE smallest part of the waist, it highlights the bust and ribcage—areas many women tend to feel more confident about showing off. The empire waist also works wonders for camouflaging the stomach, as the skirt gathers higher up the body.

So next time you’re purchasing (or making) a dress, consider the empire waist shape. You might realize you feel attractive AND comfortable!

This placement means you need less skirt volume than with an A-line to drape gracefully over the stomach, hips, and thighs.

But really, where this silhouette wins for me is in comfort. A typical A-line is fitted from shoulders to the waist, while an empire waist dress is only fitted through the bust and high ribcage. This means an airy dress with tons of room to move. You can dance, sit, and eat without having to worry if you’re going to bust a seam.

You can adapt this style for any type of an event. I love it for a wedding or brunch, where you want to eat without worry about how you’ll look in your dress after your meal. As a Texas native, I turn to it in hot climates where I want as little fabric sticking to me as possible. Depending on fabric, this style can be dressy or very casual. It’s even a style that works with pretty much any hem length. My favorite interpretation of this style is a waist a couple inches below the bra line, in bold, casual cottons, with a floor length skirt.