Garment silhouettes

Distinguish overall garment shapes and proportional lines from neckline to hem.

Silhouette describes the overall outline of a dress or coat from shoulder through hem—not a single seam but the proportional shape shoppers see at a glance. Each Style Library silhouette entry is a sourced article: how to recognize the shape, where the name comes from, where it has been worn, what is still in use, and the references behind those claims.

How to choose

Start with the overall outline from shoulder to hem, then note where volume sits—bust, waist, hip, or skirt. Compare gold anchors A-line, sheath, empire, fit-and-flare, hourglass, and column when product copy blurs shape names. For batch-28 silhouettes, compare boubou kente ao dai qipao dirndl folk sarafan kosovorotka chapan chlamys toga chiton stola palla tunica against those anchors and batch-27 cousins cheongsam dashiki kaftan. West African robes separate boubou and kente from dashiki and kaftan; East Asian cousins separate ao dai and qipao from cheongsam; folk and classical forms separate dirndl folk, sarafan, and kosovorotka from Alpine and Russian anchors; Central Asian chapan reads against djellaba; Greek and Roman draped cousins separate chlamys, toga, chiton, stola, palla, and tunica.

  • A-line silhouette

    A dress silhouette fitted at the shoulders or bodice and widening gradually toward the hem in an A shape—the A-line form on day dresses a...

  • Abaya silhouette

    A dress silhouette with black loose floor-length cloak with straight column outline on modest Gulf dress—the abaya form on day and evenin...

  • Ankle-length silhouette

    A dress silhouette with hem grazing the ankle naming a long narrow dress outline just above the floor—the ankle-length form on day and ev...

  • Antebellum silhouette

    A historic dress silhouette with a bell-shaped full skirt on crinoline support before the American Civil War—the antebellum form on perio...

  • Ao dai silhouette

    A dress silhouette with fitted long tunic over wide silk trousers with high side slits on Vietnamese dress—the ao dai form on day and eve...

  • Architectural silhouette

    A dress silhouette with deliberate geometric volume and built form referencing architecture—the runway couture form on avant-garde evenin...

  • Art Deco silhouette

    A dress silhouette from Art Deco design with geometric lines, drop waist, and column or bias-cut evening proportion—the 1920s–1930s form ...

  • Art Nouveau silhouette

    A dress silhouette from Art Nouveau design with organic S-curve lines, flowing asymmetry, and naturalistic proportion—the Belle Époque fo...

  • Asymmetric silhouette

    A dress silhouette with deliberate imbalance in hem, shoulder, or proportion—the asymmetric form on modern evening dress, distinct from o...

  • Athleisure silhouette

    A dress silhouette from athleisure with streamlined legging lines, track jacket fit, and performance knit proportion—the active-to-street...

  • Ballgown silhouette

    A formal evening silhouette with a fitted bodice and very full skirt to the floor—the ballgown form on gala and debutante dress, distinct...