A Brief History of the Empire Waist History of the Empire Dress Folkwear Regency woman in a green empire line dress at the window Tapestry by Lee Avison Fine Art America Design History Womens Medium M Dress Sleeveless Embroidered Stretch Empire Waist eBay The empire waist reshaped fashion in the early 19th century. It borrowed from classical antiquity and rejected the ridgid styles of the 18th century. While the fashion looked more relaxed, the societal