History is the last thing we think about when we’re scrolling through an online shopping app in search of new clothes, but what we wear now says a lot about who we are and the times we live in.
Though the Georgian era would begin with Marie Antoinette-like silhouettes, it sharply changed with the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to power.
In a painting titled The Coronation of Napoleon, you can see several female figures wearing a dress that features what would later be called the empire waistline.
These waistlines sat high on the torso, just under the bust, and gave way to an A-line skirt at the bottom. The fabrics themselves were lightweight and made of cotton, linen, or muslin.
Bonaparte also brought back statues and artifacts from ruins he encountered during his military campaigns, giving artists, architects, and designers more than enough inspiration to work with.