Louis & Hortense Bonaparte are important because their son…

.. would carry on the Bonaparte heritage after Napoleon I was long gone, and into the new era of the French Republic.

The Louis/Hortense grandchildren and heirs would remain to this day key political and fashion figures worldwide.

(portrait: Hortense in about 1812 with Napoleon III, her son who would continue the Bonaparte leadership.  Note the difference in the structure of this gown compared to the earlier version.

While still outwardly appear to be the same puffed sleeves, white thin fabric, low cut bodice, and underbust waist, this has much more structure, ornamentation, heavier fabric, and was worn with internal structure and stiffening as opposed to the simple string ties of earlier gowns.

Heading towards the 1820’s, skirts gradually widened into “bell shapes” and became much more stiff.)