Ball gown

A formal evening dress with a fitted bodice and a full, floor-length skirt, traditionally worn to balls and other white-tie events.

Bodice: The fitted upper section of a dress or other garment, extending from shoulder to waist or hip. Its close fit anchors the gown above the expansive skirt.
Court dress: Formal clothing prescribed or worn at a royal or aristocratic court. Ball gowns developed from the elaborate formal dress worn at European courts.
White tie: The most formal Western evening dress code, typically requiring a tailcoat for men and a full-length gown for women. A floor-length ball gown is a traditional option for women at white-tie events.
A-line dress: A dress with a fitted upper body and a skirt that gradually widens toward the hem. Its restrained flare contrasts with the ball gown's dramatically full skirt.
Petticoat: An underskirt worn beneath a skirt or dress, sometimes to add warmth, opacity, or volume. Underskirts add structure and fullness beneath the gown.
Robe à la française: An eighteenth-century court gown with back pleats falling from the shoulders and a wide skirt. Its expansive skirt and formal setting anticipate later ball-gown conventions.
Debutante ball: A formal social event marking the presentation of young people, traditionally women, to society. Full-length white gowns remain a recognizable convention at many debutante balls.
Mermaid dress: A close-fitting dress that flares sharply at or below the knees. Its narrow skirt reverses the ball gown's broad, voluminous shape.
Corset: A close-fitting garment stiffened with boning and lacing to shape or support the torso. Historical gowns often used corsets to shape the torso beneath the fitted bodice.
Robe à l'anglaise: An eighteenth-century gown with a fitted back and a skirt supported by panniers or petticoats. Its fitted torso and full skirt offer another influential eighteenth-century silhouette.

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