Vintage Inspired Gowns - Mermaid Dresses

The mermaid-style dress is classic in many ways. It can be described as a vintage-inspired dress; it is certainly designed for the hourglass (figure 8) silhouette, it's a nice reminder of the chic and elegant gowns of the mid-19th century, and it's a blast from the past . . . of classic movies where all the beautiful and sexy actresses always wore clothes that highlighted and accentuated their body shape. 

Trumpet/Mermaid Strapless Sweep/Brush Train Satin Wedding Dress

Mermaid dresses, also known as trumpet gowns or fish-tail dresses, are made to fit snugly from the upper arms/shoulder of a woman's body; down the bosom to a tightly cinched waist, closely fitted around the hips all the way down to the knees where it then flares out like a mermaids tail.

The dress design is glamorous, to say the least, but can be styled from 'subtle' to 'dramatic' For instance, a subtle look may have a soft flowing tail, made from layers of delicate fabrics like silk, chiffon, or satin to form flowing "voluminous fish-tail ruffles". For a more dramatic but elegant look, a stiffer fabric like taffeta, tulle, brocade, or organza will create a stiffer fishtail dress, forming the perfect figure of a mermaid.

They can be heavily or lightly embellished with sequins, intricate embroidery, faux gems, faux pearls, metallic finishes, and Swarovski stones.

Mermaid Strapless Chapel Train Satin Wedding Dress

A mermaid dress is meant to be sleek and feminine, and come with long or short sleeves, puffed sleeves, 'spaghetti' straps, strapless, halter, or with a single strap, and since they all come as long dresses that sashay out at the knees, they are quite suitable to wear as:

• Wedding gowns
• Prom dresses
• Formal wear
• Evening wear

Who Can Wear a Mermaid Dress?

To wear a mermaid dress AND look good in it, one needs to have an almost hourglass figure. Of course, a woman can wear the perfect body shaper to get that "magic shape", but the point is that the silhouette must be shaped like an '8' for the dress to look good.
 

Fish-tail Sweep Train Chiffon Evening Dress (Inspired by Rosci Diaz at the Emmys)

To 'wear the gown well,' it's best to be of average to tall height. You must have an average bust size, a slim waist, and curvy hips (not necessarily a Kim Kardashian, but close is good!), and nice straight legs too. So if you possess these shapely attributes, you have the best body shape for this vintage-inspired gown.