Cream Silk Empire Waist A-Line Dress

Empire / Regency · 1800s · British

This Empire period dress features the characteristic high waistline positioned just below the bust, creating the neoclassical silhouette popular around 1800. The bodice has a square neckline with gathered fabric at the shoulders forming small puffed sleeves. Long fitted sleeves extend to the wrists with gathered cuffs. The silk fabric displays a delicate striped pattern with small floral motifs in pink and green on a cream ground. The skirt falls in straight, columnar lines from the empire waist to the floor, embodying the period's rejection of 18th-century artificial shaping in favor of natural body lines inspired by classical antiquity.