A Line Sweetheart Beads Empire Waist Sleeveless Prom Dress With Slit, Royal Blue 0 RUFFLE DETAIL EMPIRE WAIST SLEEVELESS MIDI DRESS WHITE Boldly Fashionable Boutique A Closer Look: 19th Century Fashion 1800s 1840s Part 1 Cultured Elegance Afternoon dress. Culture: American. Date: ca. 1862. The female silhouette of the middle of the 19th century consisted of a fitted corseted bodice and wide full skirts. The conical skirts developed between Dearest gentle readers, This author has been keeping a keen eye on the fashions of the early 19th century, and it would seem that puffed sleeves and daring silhouettes were very much Empire Waists in 1893? witness2fashion