The Empire Era

Era card: the Empire (c. 1795–1820)

• The basic line: a high waist sitting just under the bust, with a long, straight skirt falling from it. That is why we still call any dress with this cut an "Empire line" dress.
• Inspiration: Greek and Roman statues and paintings, so white and fine fabrics dominated, above all cotton muslin, often imported from India.
• Under the dress: stays that were often shorter and lighter than 18th-century ones, focused on lifting the bust rather than compressing the waist.
• Warmth and accessories: the spencer was a short jacket ending at the high waist, the pelisse a long coat, the Kashmir shawl one of the most precious pieces, and the reticule a small handbag, because the slim dress could no longer hide the old tie-on pockets.
• Napoleon and Joséphine: Napoleon was crowned Emperor on 2 December 1804, and the painter Jacques-Louis David recorded the ceremony in a huge canvas. Napoleon supported the French silk industry of Lyon, and Joséphine was famous for her elegance and her large collection of Kashmir shawls.
• Men: in London, Beau Brummell led a new taste: an expertly tailored dark coat, a white linen cravat, and long pantaloons and trousers that gradually replaced knee breeches. Elegance now lay in the quality of the cut, not the amount of decoration.
• End of the era: in the 1820s the waist gradually dropped, the skirt widened and its hem was decorated, and sleeves puffed out, paving the way for the fashions of the 1830s.