The empire cute, pronounced ahm-pier, comes from the styles popularity during the empire time in France. The empire cut is defined by the waist line that is moved up to sit just below the bust line, and then beings to flow out from the body until it reaches the hem line. The silhouette of this gown can vary depending on the fullness of the gown and the fabric you choose.

A lighter weight fabric will flow softly out and lay lightly against the body. However in contrast a heavier weight fabric will have more structure to the gown and have the bottom of the gown be fuller. This gown style works well for most body types as well. It works especially great for the smaller bust because it draws the attention to the top half of the body.

The bust can be embellished with beads and lace to add a bigger effect to the gown. Oddly enough this gown style also tends to minimize the fuller bust. Most of the empire wedding gowns have a square cut neck line and therefore reveals less of the bust then the traditional V neck or scoop neck.