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A silhouette is a view of a person, object or scene that consists of an outline and a featureless interior without details. The term silhouette is often used to refer to backlit photographs and shapes in fashion. The term is also used to refer to original silhouettes, or cut paper representations of individuals or objects in profile.
The word silhouette comes from the name of Louis XV's finance minister, Etienne de Silhouette. The wealthy blamed Silhouette for the taxes and fees placed upon them because of the financial difficulties caused by the Seven Years' War. Silhouette enjoyed making cut paper profile portraits, and he spent his retirement years decorating his home with them. These portraits soon became associated with his name.
There are four types of antique silhouettes. They can be painted in black on porcelain, vellum, ivory or silk. They can be painted in reverse on the backside of glass. They can be hollow cut, creating the silhouette from negative space. But the most common antique silhouette is cut paper, typically a black card, which is then glued or pasted on a white or ivory background.
Early silhouettes made in the 18th century were quite simple. By the end of the 18th century, slight bronzing was used. Silhouettes developed dramatically as an art form in the 19th century. Embellishments to the traditional silhouette image included collars, jewelry and details on the hair. Some silhouettes were set against watercolor backgrounds. Collectors often favor the naive silhouettes produced in America, which combine lithographed bodies and hand-cut silhouette heads.
By the beginning of the 20th century, fashion marketers and magazines were using the word silhouette to describe the line of clothing and the shape it gave the body. This is especially true in terms of corsets and undergarments of the period. This use of the term silhouette remains common today as fashion designers choose the silhouettes they produce for a given year in terms of cut and shape.
In fashion, the term "silhouette" is used to refer to the line of a dress, or the garment's overall shape. This is especially important when discussing the cut of wedding dresses and formals, which can be used to dramatically emphasize and alter a woman's appearance. Different dress silhouettes are designed to flatter different body types, and to match the formality level of different events. Understanding how they are used can be helpful when choosing the perfect dress.
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