Wedding dress silhouettes: ball gown, A-line, sheath, mermaid and more

The six silhouettes at a glance

A silhouette is decided by two points: where the dress stops following the body, and how far the skirt then stands away from it. Everything else — neckline, sleeves, fabric, train — is added on top, so the silhouette is the first choice to make.

Ball gown: the most formal shape

A fitted bodice and a full skirt that starts at the waist, held out by petticoats or layers of stiff tulle. An evening gown can take any shape, but a ball gown always combines a fitted bodice with a full skirt, and the full-skirted ball gown remains the most formal choice for a white-tie or evening wedding.

The volume comes from underneath. A petticoat is an underskirt, today most often made of cotton, silk or tulle, and several layers of stiff tulle are a common way to puff a gown out. The crinoline began as a stiff fabric of horsehair and cotton or linen; from the mid-1850s the name passed to the steel-hooped cage that held Victorian skirts out, and stiff nylon crinoline tape is still used to line hems today.

A-line and the princess line

An A-line wedding dress is fitted above and around the hips, then flares gently to the hem, which gives a streamlined, quite slim look. The term was first used for a Paris couture collection in spring 1955; by the late 1990s “A-line” was used loosely for almost any dress wider at the hem than at the waist.

Many A-line dresses have princess seams instead of a waist seam: long curved seams run from the shoulder or underarm over the bust point down to the hem and do all the shaping. With no horizontal line across the body, the effect is long and slimming.

Sheath and Empire: close to the body

A sheath is a fitted, straight-cut dress, often nipped at the waistline with no waist seam: the bodice and skirt darts are combined into one. It follows the body from top to hem, so it relies on fabric that drapes and on a careful fit. As a day dress it usually stops at the knee; as a wedding dress it runs to the floor.

An Empire dress has a fitted bodice that ends just under the bust and a long skirt that skims the body instead of standing out on petticoats. The style came into fashion in the 1790s; the name, after the First French Empire of 1804–1815, was only coined in early-20th-century Britain. Because the high waist leaves room below the bust, the Empire line has been a favourite maternity shape since it first appeared.

Trumpet and mermaid: fitted, then flared

The two are often confused, and some shops call any gown that is fitted below the hips and then flares a “mermaid”. The difference is where the flare starts: a trumpet dress flares from mid-thigh, like the bell of a trumpet; a mermaid dress flares at or below the knee, into a fishtail.

• Walking. The lower the flare, the shorter your stride. Try a mermaid gown on a step and on a dance floor, not just in front of a mirror.
• Sitting. A skirt fitted to the knee pulls tight when you sit; ask the fitter to check you can sit for dinner.
• Fabric. Both shapes need fabric with some body below the flare, or a layer of tulle or organza under it, so the fishtail holds its shape.

Where the waistline sits

The waistline is the seam between bodice and skirt. It usually sits at the natural waist, but fashion has moved it from just below the bust to below the hips, and where it sits changes the proportions of any silhouette.

Maternity and short wedding dresses

As more brides are pregnant when they marry, some maternity and bridal makers now produce wedding dresses cut for pregnancy. Empire waists, stretch fabrics and lace-up or adjustable backs leave room to grow between the last fitting and the day; ask how much the dress can be let out, and book the final fitting as late as the maker allows.

A short wedding dress — knee or tea length — suits civil ceremonies, daytime and city weddings, or a change of dress for the reception. The silhouettes are the same, cut shorter. See dress lengths and trains for the names of each length.