Empire Style Lolita Dresses, Low-profile and Opulent

Lolita dresses made with inspiration from the past are elegant and romantic. The diversity of European women's clothing became the design inspiration for various styles of Lolita Fashion. In addition to the familiar Victorian and Rococo style dresses, today we will introduce you to another elegant and feminine Lolita dress - Empire Style.

Empire style is a part of the natural elegance of Classic Lolita.

What is Empire Style?

The Empire style was a popular style of women's clothing during the First French Empire under Napoleon, mainly popular around 1795-1829. Empire Style originated from neo-classical fashion and was a variation of the loose gowns worn by women in the Greco-Roman time.

As Napoleon promoted the natural ancient Greek style, the corset that oppressed the female figure was put on the back burner and embraced the natural aesthetics of the body.

Empire Long Dress

Therefore, the Empire style has a natural cut and a simple style. A high waist is a key feature of the empire-style dress, called the "Empire silhouette" or "Empire waist". The long length of the dress is the other main feature. This high-waisted long dress is collectively known as the Empire Long Dress.

In the famous painting "The Coronation of Napoleon", Queen Josephine and her maids wear typical empire-style dresses, exquisite and beautiful.

The Coronation of Napoleon (1807 Painting)

Josephine's costume seamlessly wove in elements of middle age, Renaissance, and seventeenth-century dress.

French Queen - Joséphine de Beauharnais

The costumes in the 1995 film Pride and Prejudice are the very classic and historically accurate empire-style dresses of 1790-1810. The author, Jane Austen, lived at a time when the empire style was popular in England, and the costumes in her works reflected the fashion trends of English society at that time.

Pride and Prejudice (1995 Movie), Adapted from an 1813 novel by Jane Austen

Empire style dresses were usually light, long, and fit loosely, they were usually in white and often sheer from the ankle to just below the bodice which strongly emphasized thin hem and tied around the body to create a train on the back.

Compared to the empire-style dress in the royalty, they are much more simple and casual. The dress usually does not have too many tedious ornate decorations, mostly solid colors, and flowers, very simple and elegant. Usually paired with a shawl.

Development History of Empire Style

The neoclassical trend that promotes ancient culture has been emerging since the time of Louis XVI. In contrast to the ornate, pretentious Rococo style, this neo-classical style is characterized by an extremely simple, plain shape.

In 1775, France was domestically affected by the American War of Independence. French Queen Marie made the "Chemise Dress" - a loose-fitting petticoat dress made of white fine cotton - popular.

This style developed into the empire style after the French Revolution.

Empire Style(1795~1829)

1795~1805

Empire style was in transition in this period, with the influence of Chemise Dress.

The back of the bodice was tightly fitted and the front part of the bodice was tightened with straps to create a perfect gathering effect. Ladies would also fill a square scarf or shawl around the neckline to create a rounded front. White was the most popular color during this period because the fashion was originally inspired by Greek marble statues. But people often decorated the hemline and various edges with colored fabrics or embroidery or paired long dresses with colored petticoats.

In this period, three types of necklines were popular: round neckline, v-neckline, or crossover type.

For daytime travel, if the neckline was low, women would use a high-cut tucker, a kerchief, a fichu triangle shawl, etc. to decorate and cover up the neckline. At dinner parties, women would wear half-body tunics or robes to decorate, and the neckline will be lower than the daily.

In addition, when women went out, they would also wear tight-fitting short jackets, leather spencer, pelisse, cloak, shawl, etc.
Various brimless hats, head scarves, gloves, and coral necklaces were all popular accessories at that time.

1806~1817

The Empire Dress of this period is the most familiar look to us, which features a narrower skirt, higher waistline, and shorter sleeves.

The height of the empire dress waistline reached its peak around 1816 and then began to decline in the following years.

In the early 19th century, the empire dress with a back train design was out of fashion in France. However, many people in England still wore this style of empire dress on a daily basis until around 1814, when the trend faded.

In 1804, the square neckline became popular. In 1809, a corset-like neckline appeared.

In 1814, hemlines became more elaborate and were embellished with lace embroidery, etc. Two years later, the petticoat was enriched with lace ruffles, and the length of the skirt was rising, often to the point of showing the ankle.

1818~1829

During this period, the waistline dropped significantly to a normal position, above the navel. By 1820, the waistline of the dress was essentially back around the waistline.

The body of the dress also gradually abandoned the long, thin lines of the past and began to develop a wide, thicker shape. Women would wear more layers of petticoats to support the outer skirt.

The neckline gradually extended to the edge of the shoulders, the hemline became more decorative, and the relatively simple empire dresses of the past fell out of fashion.

At the end of the empire style, after the defeat of Napoleon and the resurgence of the old aristocracy, women's clothing once again developed in the direction of ornate and excessive decoration, and towards the Romantic Style.

Regency Style & Empire Style

Regency Style and Empire Style are basically the same fashion called differently in different countries. These styles were stimulated in large part by the bitter rivalry between France and England and their rulers: French Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821) and England's future King George IV (1762-1830).

With Napoleon's military conquests, the Empire style was brought to Europe and the United States, and the Regency style under George IV of England overlapped with the French Empire style in time and was influenced to some extent by the latter.

The regency Style is first known as the "English Empire," named after England's Prince Regent. The Regency style is largely attributed to the French empire style, but a few adjustments have been added to make it more suitable for British tastes.

50 Recommended Empire Style Lolita Dresses

The following is the ultra collection of 50 empire-style Lolita dresses, let's recapture the elegance of the 18th to 19th century together!