The Parts of a Wedding Dress - Silhouette

Before looking for your perfect modest wedding dress, it's important to know the terms used to describe each part of the gown, so you can clearly articulate exactly what you are looking for in the perfect wedding dress. Using this guide, you'll be able to walk into any bridal salon and tell them exactly what you want. Here are the basic styles and descriptions for the most common wedding dresses.

There are basically five parts that make up every wedding dress, and each part has different styles.

Silhouette - This is the overall shape look to the dress. Virtually every kind of wedding dress springs from one of the following 8 silhouettes.

A-Line Silhouette: A more modern inspired silhouette with straight lines, the classic A-line dress came into fashion in the mid-20th century. Like the name suggests, this silhouette has a wider skirt at the bottom and a narrow bodice, forming a triangular "A" shape. The A-Line style is a modern adaptation of the Princess silhouette style.

Ball Gown Silhouette: If you've ever seen Disney's Cinderella, you've seen a ball gown dress. This silhouette has a full flowing skirt with a thin, fitted waist.

Ballerina Silhouette: Iconic ballerina-topped jewelry boxes represent the ballerina style silhouette. The skirt is mid-calf length, made of ultrafine fabric, bounces over layers of petticoats.

Bustle Back Silhouette: In the late 1800's, the Bustle Back came into fashion. They accentuate the rear-view decorations which were more popular then. Modern variations are less extreme.

Empire Silhouette: The empire style is characterized by a high, bust-height waistline, on top a slimmer skirt. This style was popularized by Napolean's wife Josephine.

Princess Silhouette: Like the A-line dress, the Princess silhouette features a wider skirt with form-fitting bodice. Skirts on Princess dresses do not have the rigid lines and geometry as much as a modern A-line dress.

Sheath Silhouette: The Sheath style closely follows the lines of the body. Worn by Marilyn Monroe, the Sheath dress creates a curvaceous silhouette. These are also known as Mermaid silhouettes, when the skirt flows out when it reaches knee length.

Slip Silhouette: The Slip dress caresses the body, and usually has a short length skirt. Slip dresses are cut on the bias, meaning narrow dresses will cling to the body, accentuate curves, and hang more gracefully.

The next part to evaluate in your perfect wedding dress is the Sleeves. Our next article will describe various wedding gown sleeve styles.

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