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The Waistline


The waistline is the part of the dress which covers the narrowest part of the body, between the ribs and the hips, where the bodice and the skirt are joined together. Deciding of the appropriate waistline is crucial as it will outline the height and shape of your body and will give proportion to your silhouette as well as a unique look to the overall style of your dress.
Here follows a short guide which we hope will help you to figure out the various types of waistlines.

1.Natural waistline:
As you might guess by it name, the seam of this waistline rests on the natural waistline, ending your torso at the narrowest area of you body, between your ribcage and your hips.


Natural
. Natural

The waistline of any style of dress will be defined from the natural waistline, whether it is raised above the natural waistline, i.e. the Empire waistline ,or lowered, i.e. the dropped waistline or Basque waistline.

This waistline creates a balance in the body's proportions and is very flattering for "petite" silhouettes.

It is used in most ballgown dresses, where a very fitting bodice ends at the natural waistline and separates the body in half , bringing harmony to the whole outfit
2. Dropped waistline:
3 to 5 inches below the natural waistline, the dropped waistline stops at the hips.

Very flattering for full figured brides, this waistline elongates the silhouette and will bring back some proportion in the figure of someone with fuller lower body or a short waist or both.

It also looks stunning on a very slim silhouette.




3. Basque waistline:
Starting from the sides of the natural waistline, the Basque waist is a fitted dropped waistline which goes down to the front middle of the dress into a V shape, 2 to 3 inches below the natural waist.

This is one favourite style as it is flattering to most, petite or full figures. The design of this line gives an impression of height and slenderness by reducing the width of waist and hips, which will work very well with a Princess or A-line silhouette, resulting in a most elegant slimming and feminine dress.







4.Raised waistline :
Not as pronounced as the highly raised waistline, the seam of this waistline will sit at around one inch above the natural waistline, shortening the bodice with a result of lengthening the lower part of the silhouette.

5.High raised (Empire) waistline:
This waistline is raised in a very pronounced way above the natural waistline. This very distinctive high waist look, which begins directly below the bust and in the case of the Empire style falls to a soft slender skirt will be perfect if you wish to cover up a large waist or conceal a heavy lower part of your body. This style looks very flattering on smaller brides as it makes them look taller but might be best to avoid if you have a large bust.

6. Asymmetrical:
This waistline runs across the front of the bodice from one side to the other in a line falling from a high raised waistline to a natural waistline or from the natural waistline to a dropped waistline. This very chic style can have a stunning slimming effect.


[All dresses shown in this article are or have been for sale in The Dressmarket]