corset fashions
1700s
In the early 18th century the primary style for women was a rather loose, flowing gown with pleats at shoulder level in back. It was known as a sack dress (in England) or sacque (in France) and was sometimes called the Watteau gown, after French painter. This dress developed into the much fuller robe à la française, which was worn over hooped petticoats. In the robe à la française, a tight bodice and a wide overskirt were joined together, and the overskirt opened in front to reveal an underskirt or petticoat beneath. Beneath the bodice was a stomacher or filling decorated with bows, lace, or embroidery.
A renewed interest in the styles of classical Greece and Rome began in the last half of the 18th century. The simpler clothing of ancient Greece and Rome inspired women's fashions. For example, a dress called a chemise was adopted to give women a supposedly natural look and to replace the ostentatious and ornate styles that preceded the French Revolution. The chemise was made of white muslin, had a high waist just under the bosom, and hung fairly straight to resemble a classical column. No petticoats or hoops were worn underneath it, and many fashionable women stopped wearing corsets as well. Over time, the chemise revealed more and more of a woman's body. Today this style of dress is commonly known as the Empire style because it was especially popular during the empire of Napoleon I of France, which began in 1799.