Empire Plus Size Prom Dresses

Shop for Empire waist plus-size Empire waist formal prom dresses at Sydney's Closet. These classic Empire evening gown designs work to create a very slimming silhouette for curvy teens of all sizes and figure types. 

What is an Empire Waist Formal Prom Dress?

How do you know if a style is designed with an Empire waist?  That's easy!  All you need to do is look for evening gowns where the waistline is raised above the natural waistline - and the bodice is fitted.

Depending on the designer, the height of Empire waist can vary from just about 2 inches above the natural waistline to the am Empire-waist seam that hits on the body at a point that is just directly under the bust cup. In some cases, designers opt to create a modified Empire design where the waist seam is sewn somewhere between the natural waistline and the bust line.

Regardless of where the seam hits on your body, the effect of the Empire waist design is that slims any shape figure. How? The silhouette of fitted bodice dresses hides any extra weight, bulges or rolls in the midriff and tummy area. The gathered skirt flows freely from the bodice seam in a loosely gathered skirt that remains unfitted at the waistline. No need to worry about adding a petticoat to this design.

Best of all, Plus size Empire waist prom dresses mean you can be oh-so-comfortable on your big night without worrying about seams pinching your waistline.

History of the Empire Waist Dress

Women's love affair with dresses featuring an Empire waist trace back to ancient Greece and Rome when loose-fitting tunics, cut in rectangle patterns with belts under the bust, were popular.

By the end of the 18th century, the style emerged as fashionable in the royal courts of Europe especially France. These loosely fitted evening dresses with bare arms were typically sewn in a light, white fabric The designs came as a sharp departure from by the structured and voluminous designs that were all rage just 20 years earlier.  Soon sleeves started appearing on Empire plus size formal dresses adding a modest and elegant design feature that made the design fancier.

As the style spread to England, it was favored by women who earned a high social status because they were rich enough to get the garments cleaned. 

Over the centuries formal frocks in this style remained in vogue among the elite who favored the freedom the less restricting high waist created.  

Today an Empire waist formal gown never goes out of style whether it is plain or heavily embellished.