INTRODUCTIONThe wedding dress is unique. Along with baptism and burial, marriage is among the three great public occasions in a person's life, and the just one at which the principals can fully appreciate the glory of the central role. For that bride, more than your daughter's groom, it's Her Big Day. Throughout history, women have tried to make their wedding dress special, to suit the festive occasion, to help make the beautiful bride more beautiful and the not too beautiful at least splendid to look at.
At the top of the scale, royal princesses have always attempted to be most princesslike on their own wedding days. During medieval times, when royal marriages were of great political importance and accustomed to seal alliances between two countries, it had been also essential for the young bride to appear magnificent to uphold the prestige of her country, to thrill the bridegroom's country together with her own nation's apparent wealth and, if at all possible outdo what you could have afforded. Her jewellery could happen to be the main topic of prolonged negotiation, included in her dowry.
To this end they used as much material because they possibly could, of the most costly, like velvet,damask silk, satin, fur and fabrics woven with silver and gold thread.
In days when all fabrics were hand spun, woven and dyed, and economical use of it had been standard, the skirts would be gathered and full, the sleeves would sweep the floor and trains would get behind to a length of several metres. Colours could be rich too only the wealthy can afford expensive red, purple and true black dyes, that have been more difficult to acquire than natural vegetablebased shades. Additionally, the dress would be sewn with precious gems diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls so the bride to be would glitter and flash in the sunlight. In some cases, clothing would be so thickly encrusted with jewels, the fabric beneath was hidden and in the fifteenth century when Margaret of Flanders was married, the end result was so heavy that they could not move in her robes coupled with to become carried in to the church by two gentlemen attendants!
With the creation of constitutional monarchy, royal marriages were of dynastic, rather than national importance, but a princess going, or from, overseas would still wish to impress her new country. This sometimes backfired, when an outfit within the height of current style at her very own court may not be so admired elsewhere. This happened to poor Catherine of Braganza (left) at her wedding to Charles II of england in 1662, when her pink farthingale was castigated as dowdy, and her hairstyle as peculiar.
Of course, very few brides were princesses and many could not afford such expense. But, in order to look special, a bride would usually attempt to copy the gown of the woman of a higher social class than herself. A noblewoman would do her best with gems and fur trimmings. A welltodo middle class woman (like Giovanna Cenami in 1434, right) would aspire to velvet or silk fabrics, and since she couldn't usually afford mink or sable, she would wear fox, or rabbit fur to thrill her friends. The poor bride's dress would be of linen, or fine wool, instead of the usual coarse homespun, and she would use as much fabric as she could. For an everyday girl, clothes would normally be as sparingly cut as was decent, so an outfit with flowing sleeves or a train was a big symbol of status. In modern times with factory made materials, the indication of the bride in her train has lost its original meaning, but become a tradition.
A regular girl, who couldn't afford very much in the way of decoration or trimming on her wedding outfit, which would need to become her Sunday best frock immediately afterwards, and perhaps serve for several years as part of her everyday wardrobe, still wanted the excitement of the special dress. She might have it by sticking with the rules and traditions of wedding costume.
Before medicine, a long and healthy life was not very easy to attain, but people attempted to ensure best of luck by following superstition. Many superstitions grew up around weddings, to bring about a girl's happiness in her new house not to mention to ensure her fertility. The colour from the gown was a popular supply of luck.
White, or a variation of white, was obviously always a favourite and symbolised a girl's virginity and innocence in the face of her imminent change of state. But it was not an operating shade for many purposes also it was not always the favourite choice. Blue (as worn with a bride of 1870, left, whose gown is incorporated in the London Museum), with its associations with the Virgin Mary, was another a powerful indication of purity, that also traditionally symbolised fidelity and eternal love (therefore, the popularity of the sapphire in engagement rings). Brides who wore blue believed their husbands would always be true to them, so even if their gown itself was not blue, they'd make sure to wear something blue regarding their person. This really is another tradition which has survived even today.
Pink was another popular colour, considered most suitable for a May wedding. It's flattering to many complexions and related to girlhood, but some superstitions held so that it is unlucky "Marry in pink as well as your fortunes will sink"! Mrs Joseph Nollekens (right) was much admired in 1772 in her saque gown of brocaded white silk embroidered with delicate pink flowers. She wore shoes of the identical material, with heels of three and a half inches (8cm). The deeper shade of red was definitely taboo by Victorian times, with its reference to scarlet women and hussies.
Among the unpopular shades was green. This was considered the fairies colour, and it was misfortune to the attention from the little folk to oneself during a time of transition. Also associated with the lushness of verdent foliage, it had been held to make rain spoil the big day.
Harking back to the times of homespun garments, any natural shade of brown or beige was considered very rustic. "Marry in brown you will live of town" using the implication that you'll be a hick and never make good within the city.
The bright shade of yellow has already established varied popularity. Three hundred years ago it had been The fashionable colour for a while, and lots of wore it, such as this bride of around 1774 (left) whose dress is at the Gallery of English Costume in Manchester, before that time it absolutely was associated with heathens and non Christians and was considered an unholy shade to wear in church!
For brides of the lower classes, an incredibly common shade of wedding dress was grey, because it was such a useful colour to reuse as Sunday best, being considered eminently respectable. Mary Brownfield (right) chose grey twilled silk as suitable, like a maiden lady of 32 years during the time of her marriage in 1842. In Victorian times it became related to girls in domestic service, as they would regularly be provided with a new grey dress each year by their employer. Its deeper shade of black was of course banned, using its permanent association with death and mourning. Actually it was considered this type of bad omen that in some places the guests weren't allowed to wear it, along with a recent widow would change her mourning for a red gown for the day, in deference towards the bride. This in turn deepened the antipathy towards red, that was viewed as bridal mourning.
Those forced by economics into wearing an outfit that would soon become regular daily wear, would adorn it for the day with temporary decorations. Up to the nineteenth century ribbons would be tied into bows, or "love knots" and loosely connected to the dress. These "bride laces" would be performed through the guests throughout the post ceremony festivities, and kept as wedding favours, or souvenirs. This tradition gradually died out, being replaced by flowers instead. Guests would be given floral buttonholes to wear, and also the bride might wear flowers in her own hair; like a corsage; or garlanded round her skirts, otherwise carry these questions bouquet. Rosemary and myrtle were early favourites, and orange blossom shot to popularity within the 1830s. This tradition has, obviously, remained even today most brides, regardless of how simply dressed, will have a flower or two somewhere on their own outfit! When Charlotte Pennell (left) married George Hill in 1910, she was nearing 40, and had no aim of wearing a "once only" dress. She did however, decorate her fashionable ensemble having a posy of flowers in her own hat and a matching bouquet
The "traditional" wedding garb as you may know it today first appeared within the late 18th century. With the introduction of bulk manufactured fabrics and economical muslins imported from India, and styles inspired through the classical world, by 1800 the white dress with a veil was definitely the one to put on. As always with fashion, it began in London, spread with other towns and cities and finally to country areas.
In the nineteenth century, a bride who wore white would expect to wear her dress again. For the season of her "bride visits" when she would do the rounds of family, friends and acquaintances like a happily married woman, she would wear her wedding dress, with the train and flowers removed. A greater class bride would then adapt the bodice from the outfit (that was often made separately) and retrim it for cocktail dress for an additional season. Queen Victoria herself removed the lace overskirt from her dress and frequently tried on the extender again she wore it over a black silk gown on her Diamond Jubilee celebrations over 50 years later.
Before the 1920s wedding dresses were forever in the style of the moment, if more elaborately decorated than usual, and much more modest than the probably the most daring fashion. For the reason that decade however, there is a revolution in women's clothing, and hemlines for ordinary wear rose from the shoe to well over the knee. Initially wedding styles followed suit, and brides showed their ankles, but because skirts grew more and more abbreviated, it was felt by some to become unsuitable for any church service, and many brides preferred fulllength wedding dresses. This alternative of following a fashion of year or reverting to a long dress having a train led in the last century towards the development of another style in bridal wear which echoed, but often diverged from mainstream fashion (like this Vionnet couture style of 1926).
It was emphasised through the hiatus brought on by world war ii, when clothes were rationed, uniforms were ubiquitous, and frivolity was frowned upon. When fashion came back, everybody was keen to put on long gowns in luxurious fabrics on their wedding day, regardless of the ever increasing popularity of casual, easywear clothing and trousers for ladies in your everyday living. As fashion has become more relaxed and sporty, so wedding styles have diverged more, to ensure that although each decade's brides are often distinguished through the styles then fashionable, it's not for that reason style's resemblence to general fashion. The Twentieth Century The 1920s
When Lady Elizabeth BowesLyon (left) married HRH the Duke of York in 1923, the ceremony took place in Westminster Abbey, and also the bridal gown was the standard complete, with a court train behind. Current fashion was followed in the dropped waist and generally unshaped bodice, and in the way the headdress was worn low over the brow, clasping the veil towards the bride's head in a way that echoed the cloche hat every woman was wearing then. The style was described in the contemporary press as "medieval", but really was very trendy, except for the space. She chose a traditional bouquet (which doesn't appear in her official photographs as she laid it in the tomb of the Unknown Warrior on her behalf way out from the Abbey, in memory of her brothers, and others killed within the War) however, many brides emphasised the medieval effect by carrying sheaves of white lilies. Elsie Pennell (right) married Charles Locking in Cleethorpes, Lincs, in 1925. Thinking herself at the ripe senior years of 26, a it old for virginal white, she chose a dress she could wear again to dances, of beige lace over old gold silk. The style was pure flapper, with shapeless bodice, dropped waist and short skirt. Her big extravagance (she made the dress herself) was the picture hat, of brown and cream velvet, which cost her 29/11d (1.50) and weeks of agonising over whether she could afford it. She carried bronze chrysanthemums. The 1930s
Following the "Roaring Twenties" came the depression of the thirties, and the times were characterised by a alternation in fashion. Waistlines returned for their natural position, and have become more defined. Hemlines dropped back underneath the knee, though they were not to reach the floor again for day wear. Instead of the boyish look, women emphasised their shape again. It was more pronounced because the decade wore on, using the introduction of bias cut gowns that hugged the feminine figure. Nora Pennell (right) married Arthur Williams in Cleethorpes, Lincs, in 1931, wearing an oyster pink silk crepe dress yourself in the currently fashionable type of boat shaped neckline, fitted bodice along with a short skirt to simply below the knee. The wax orangeblossom headdress and silk net veil were also of palest pink, and she or he carried a bouquet of pink carnations. Her three bridesmaids wore similar outfits in pale blue, green and lemon respectively, and carried mixed sweet peas. Wallis Warfield Simpson's blue Mainbocher outfit, that they wore at her wedding towards the Duke of Windsor in 1936, clung to her every curve. The 1940s
The white wedding gown virtually disappeared during the war years. Clothes rationing was introduced in 1941, when fashion almost ceased to exist. A few made brave efforts with parachute silk, whilst others wore gowns borrowed from relatives, but many brides wore uniform. Those not within the services also tended to put on a suit, or "costume" as they were called then, with a floral corsage pinned towards the lapel. Betty Hutton, the Woolworth heiress (right) chose a blue silk costume with matching veiled hat on her wedding to Cary Grant in 1942. Following the war ended, rationing was still in force, but nobody wanted Princess Elizabeth to skimp on her wedding dress clothing coupons poured into Buckingham Palace in 1947 from loyal citizens wanting to see her at her best at her marriage to Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey. Consequently, her Hartnell gown was sumptuous, with embroidery and beading decorating the flowing satin, with its long train and silk net veil. The sweetheart neckline and wide shoulders followed a predominant type of the last decade, which was soon to give way, within the late forties, to Dior's stunning New Look, with narrow shoulders, nipped waist and wide skirts. The 1950s
When Joyce Holmes (right) married Gerald Locking in 1951, her gown showed medium difficulty style between the padded shouders from the forties, and the narrow look of the fifties. Her draped skirt, similar to Princess Elizabeth's, extended into a full train. The material would be a creamy satin, without any trimming at all. By contrast in 1955, her cousin Jill Wringe (left), at her wedding to Victor Savage, wore a totally Change outfit. Her dress was like many more of the decade, of "ballerina" length, making having a removable lace jacket bodice using the ubiquitous tight sleeve with cuff pointed over the hand, worn within the low cut underdress with its circular skirt held out by stiff petticoats. A lot of women wore variations on this look, coupled with the underdress dyed a new colour afterwards to wear as a dress wear. Brocade and lace gradually superceded satin almost universally for wedding dresses. To counterbalance the bouffant skirts, veils, which had previously been usually square, worn folded diagonally with the point at the back and sides, now became circular and waistlength, usually attached to a coronet style headdress. The 1960s
The early sixties showed little change around the bridal front. Girls still wore circular skirts, sometimes supported by crinolines, tight sleeves and short veils. Really the only change was that the veils became more bouffant, to match the backcombed hairstyles then in vogue. A popular option to the coronet was a large single rose, worn high in forehead, to which the veil was gathered. In contrast, bouquets shrank, and tight little posies were prefered within the large, loose bouquets previously carried. Commentators professed to become surprised by the lack of embroidery or ornamentation on Princess Margaret's wedding gown (right) in 1960, however it was quintessentially of their era. The only difference was that hers lengthened right into a train at the back, with a matching long veil. Through the middle many years of the decade, however, the influence from the "Swinging Sixties" types of Mary Quant and co were beginning to alter even the bridal profile, and waistlines first dropped, as worn by Eileen Bessant to her wedding in 1965 to Steven Bessant (left) after which straight, shiftstyle dresses started to be viewed, like that of Eileen's cousin Christine Holmes, who married Paul Heron exactly the same year. Combined with the narrower line, returned the train and also the "cathedral" veil, so named because only brides married in cathedrals had previosly worn them! The shift soon proved too shapeless for wedding fashion, also it quickly become the empire line, with the waist tight underneath the bust. Influenced by mainstream design, some girls abandoned veils towards floral bonnets, or floppy hats. This development continued into the next decade, when hoods connected to the dress, and Juliet caps worn with or without a veil, also became popular headgear. The 1970s
Sleeves were the large feature of seventies dresses. After two decades of tight sleeves cut to a point within the hand, Princess Anne led the way in which together with her extravagant Tudor sleeved wedding gown, and the brides of the decade followed suit with sleeve styles culled from every era. The form of the dress itself moved gradually in the narrow, highwaisted empire line of the late 1960s to the more flared princess line, with little if any train, and also the waist gradually fell to its natural position by 1980. Pinafore styles were extremely popular, whether actually two layered, or just giving the effect having a contrasting sleeve and bib front.
These two brides are both wearing gowns typical of the midseventies, produced from the same Simplicity Pattern 6940. When Trudy Pope (left) married Stephen Hutchings in May 1976, she added a scooped neckline and bishop sleeves to the slightly highwaisted princess line gown. She carried white tulips. When Elizabeth Locking (right) married Edward Davies in December of the identical year, she also made the dress up in satin, purchased from Hart's of Wigan for six.40, but chose the high neckline and the multicaped sleeves. She carried bronze chrysanthemums in imitation of her grandmother Elsie Pennell fifty years before, and mounted on her Juliet cap wore a hand crocheted veil made by Elsie. The 1980s
If Princess Anne's wedding dress influenced the seventies bride, the Princess of Wales' extravagant skirt and huge sleeves proved the style icon from the 1980's. Following the restrained outlines from the previous decade, every bride now wanted a fairytale crinoline and tiara. Waistlines had already returned to their natural position. When Glynnis Davies (right) married Thomas Barnes in 1979, skirts had already commenced to get fuller, but this was still flare, not gather. Glynnis's gown was of nylon ribbon lace, coupled with a wide spreading train. Her veil was attached to the back of her matching headband, and she carried yellow roses. After Diana's dress, everyone had full skirts gathered to the waist, and large sleeves towards the elbow, with flounces and bows and lace embellishments. There is an outburst in popularity for taffeta and silk. Her flowers also signalled coming back of the big bouquet, with trailing greenery. However, it soon became clear that what looked wonderful on a 5'10" slender princess, did not always suit short miss average. Then when Sarah Ferguson modified the appearance to match her fuller figure, with a low waistline, pointed at front
This Christian Dior wedding suit is sophisticated, simple and perfect in every way.
