Wedding Gown Glossary

Gown shapes:
Ball gown - This is the classic wedding dress shape. This has a large full skirt and is what you would recognize as a “Cinderella” look.
Basque Waist - This dress is similar to a ballgown except it has a dropped waist with a V-shape to it.
Empire Waist - Has a very high waist close to or directly under the busts. The skirt drops from there.
Mermaid - A fitted gown in the bodice and waist that flares dramatically at the bottom starting usually in the mid to lower thigh area.
Sheath - A straight dress fitted throughout with no waist.

Gown Lengths:
Ballet - the dress stops just above the ankle
Floor - the dress stops approximately one inch from the floor
Intermission - the dress is floor-length in the back but the hemline is about the mid-calf area in the front.
Street - The dress stops just below the knee
Tea - the dress stops between the knee and the ankle.

Necklines:
Bateau - slightly curved below the collarbone from one shoulder to the other
Decolletage - a plunging neckline that reveals cleavage
Jewel - Encircles the base of the neck itself
Portrait - the neckline comes just above the shoulder and gathers at a point just above the bustline in the center of the dress
Queen Anne - A high neckline on the back and sides of the neck and sometimes plunges in the front.
Sabrina - A straight neckline that begins about two inches inside the shoulder
Scoop - A low, rounded neckline
Square - as it says, its shaped like a square across the front of the dress
Sweetheart - the neckline begins inside the shoulder and dips into a heart shape at the bustline

Sleeves:
Balloon - puffed out from the shoulder to the elbow
Cap - a short sleeves that fitted and only covers the shoulder
Gauntlet - a detachable long sleeve that usually covers the forearm to the wrist or back of the hand
Juliet - A sleeve that is puffy at the top and then is fitted on the lower arm area

Waistlines:
Asymmetrical - Begins at the natural waist and then angles over to one side
Basque - Come to a point dipping in the center of the front of the dress
Blouson - the fabric is gathered at the waist
Dropped - the waistline is a few inches below the natural waist
Empire - the waistline begins just below the bustline and drops from there