As you look through catalogs and online dress stores are you just a bit confused by all the technical talk?

For those of us who don’t work in the fashion industry the terms “empire”, “bateau” or “mermaid” conjure up nightmarish memories of history class, forgotten high school french  and a cartoon with red hair instead of wedding dresses.

Put your French-English dictionary away, turn off that Disney movie and stop trying to remember what ladies wore when the world was divided into empires and relax. You don’t need any of that to pick out the perfect wedding dress.

All you need is a few minutes and Wedding Fashion Files. We are here to help you. So sit back, grab a cup of tea and read on! You are about to become a wedding fashion guru.

Dress Shapes

• Ballgown: Actually Disney comes in handy here since I’m pretty sure all of the wedding dresses worn by Disney princesses are ballgowns. In case you never saw a Disney cartoon, a ballgown has a full skirt that puffs from the natural waist. The fullness of the skirt can be enhanced by wearing a crinoline (a petticoat made of stiff material) underneath.
• Empire: You might have heard your mother call this style “babydoll”. It refers to a dress in which the waist is placed just below the bust area with the skirt flowing down usually in a straight line.
• A-Line: This is most popular dress silhouette since it flatters almost shape. It gets its name from the fact that it is in the shape of the letter “A” with the chest being smaller than the waist and the waist being smaller than the hem.
• Shift: You might be reminded of the 1920’s when you see a shift silhouette. With this style the chest, waist and hem have the same measurements. In order to not make a woman look frumpy or shapeless the waist or hips are usually adorned with a sash or belt or other embellishments to define the bride’s femininity.
• Column: This is also a popular silhouette particularly for the woman with a more mature taste. The dress is form-fitting from the bodice to the skirt to show off all the bride’s curves.
• Mermaid: The mermaid style is another form-fitting dress that gets its name from the skirt flaring out below the knees. Many designers these days have made this style quite flattering and beautiful, so don’t discard it solely based on the name!

Length

• Ankle Length: Even those of us too busy with cake tastings to remember our own name can guess with this means, …but just in case I’ll write it out: the skirt is hemmed around the ankles.
• Floor Length: Hmmm, once again it seems obvious, but just in case it isn’t a floor length dress has the skirt hemmed so that it barely skims the floor.
• Tea Length: This skirt style is hemmed at mid-shin. It may seem a bit conventional but many designers have tea length dresses with a very modern look.
• Intermission: The hem of this skirt can fall anywhere in between the knees and the ankles.
• Hi-Lo: A dress with a Hi-Lo hem has a skirt that is high in the front with an intermission length hem and low in the back with a floor length hem.
• Knee length: Okay, back to the unimaginative names now! A knee length hem is just that: a skirt that falls to the knees.

Necklines

• Halter: A halter neckline is backless with the straps of the dress coming together at the back of the neck. A very flattering look for women with small to medium chest size or for someone with broad shoulders.
• Scoop: Here the neckline makes a “U” shape that can be as high or low as you want. This style goes well with any sleeve length and is flattering for all figures.
• V neck: With this style the neckline makes a “V” shape and can be subtle or plunging. A well-endowed woman might opt for a subtle v shape in order to bring attention to the bust tastefully while a smaller chested woman can bring the illusion of having more with a more plunging “V”.
• High collar/Jewel: This neckline is finished just below the neck or might extend slightly up the neck. It is a very refined and elegant look for a wedding dress.
• Bateau: Also known as the “boat neck”, the neckline skims the collar bone in a horizontal line from one shoulder to the other. It is a beautiful choice for bustier brides as it brings attention upwards towards the collar bone.
• Square neck: Here we have a neck line that comes straight down from the shoulders and makes a right angle at the chest to skim straight across the bust line and makes another right angle turn back up the other shoulder-thus it has a square look to it.
• Sweetheart: The sweetheart gets its name from the way that the bust line looks like the top of a heart. The shape can be dramatic or more subtle, but either way this is a good look for the well endowed woman. It gives support without bringing too much attention to the chest.
• Sabrina: This look is similar to the bateau neckline with the difference being that here the line swoops a few inches below the collar bone. This is a flattering look for most all shapes.
• Strapless: This is a very popular style for wedding dresses. Not having straps or sleeves allows the bride to show off her back, neck and shoulders, allowing jewelry or other adornments have their own spotlight. It can incorporate a bust line that is sweetheart, curved or straight across and it looks great on pretty much everyone.
• Off the Shoulder: The neckline sweeps across the upper chest giving the illusion of it being wrapped around the bride. The sleeves start just after the shoulder and can include almost any sleeve style.

Sleeves

• Capped: Just one to two inches of material are needed with this style, just enough to cover the top of the shoulder.
• Petal: This sleeve has two parts with the top part overlapping the bottom part to give it a look similar to a flower at the sides.
• Juliet: Of course you immediately think of Shakespeare here, which is normal since it is named after his Juliet. The sleeve is long and tight with the top part puffed out at the shoulder. A very theatrical, dramatic look.
• 3-Quarter: This style extends from the shoulder stopping between the elbow and the wrist.
• Illusion: All the way to the wrist, 3-quarter or any other length, this sleeve is made out of a transparent material that can be adorned with beads or jewels.
• Bell: This is like bell-bottoms on your arms. Here the sleeve starts out form-fitting at the top but flares out from the elbow. It is poetic and elegant, but it might be tricky not to get cake frosting on it!

Trains

• Brush: A wedding gown with a brush train has a short one-and-a-half feet or less of extra fabric at the bottom of the skirt.
• Court: This is also a short train like the brush but this train starts descending from the waist, making the back of the skirt fuller.
• Watteau: Here the train is a separate piece of material that is attached to the dress at the shoulders, flowing down to the floor.
• Panel: This is also a separate piece of material except that here it is attached to the dress at the waist.
• Chapel: Extending from the waist this train can measure up to three-and-a-half feet. This is probably the most popular these days.
• Cathedral: For a more dramatic look this train measures from six-and-a-half feet to seven-and-a-half feet.
• Royal/Monarch: Exactly what a true princess would wear. This train extends twelve feet or more out from the waist and usually requires a few people (younger boys in the case of actual royal weddings) to hold it up as the bride walks down the aisle.

Veils

• Blush: The shortest veil for a bride, this one can extend anywhere from the chin bone to just above the shoulders.
• Elbow: Once again the title says it all. This veil stops at the elbow of the bride.
• Fingertip: Yes, you guessed it, this veil brushes against the bride’s fingertips.
• Waltz: Just when you thought you knew them all…The waltz veil drops straight down from the head to the ground.
• Chapel: This is the waltz but includes extra material to make a small train.
• Cathedral: Just like the chapel, but with a longer train.
• Mantilla: There are a few ways to wear this typical Spanish veil. One of the most popular is to lay the decorative edge flat across the top of the head or styled hair. The other is to wear it with a peineta, a large comb that is placed into the hair with the mantilla sweeping over it and down the back of the bride.
• Double Tier: This is a two layer veil with the shorter layer being placed over the face of the bride and the longer layer falling down her back.
• Pouf: The material of this veil is gathered at the top and placed low in the hair piece to create a halo effect or high to create a crown effect.