A wedding dress is an article of clothing or costume worn by the bride at her marriage ceremony. Weddings have always been a highly-regarded event. Clothing worn by a bride at her wedding is usually different from her everyday wear. The dress may have a symbol attached, like white, for purity. It may also be attached to other items, like something blue to bring luck. Wedding dresses may carry cultural, personal, or traditional symbolism.
Colonial immigrants maintained the marriage traditions of their homelands. The English Jamestown brides wore costumes similar to those of mid-Elizabethan country brides. The first American marriage records do not mention clothing. However, we know that English brides wore russet dresses, which is a woolen fabric dyed in a reddish-brown color with tree bark. On their heads, they wore fitted, simple white caps. Wedding dresses and caps were often adorned with beautiful embroidery.
The wedding dress evolved from the traditional American dress to a more elaborate or festive version. Dresses were worn to special occasions following the wedding. The dress is usually brand new. However, the laces and trims may be older and passed down by a family member. In the mid-1800s wearing a mother’s wedding gown became a sentimental choice.
Brides adorned themselves with the most beautiful and fashionable dresses to mark the occasion. The styles were influenced both by Europe and the news of royal weddings. Early American wedding dresses were in all colors, even though white was worn at Roman weddings. White became the most popular color, even though other colors were sometimes seen. This was after Queen Victoria of England married in 1840, wearing white satin.
The wedding dress has seen countless changes since the Victorian period’s hooped designs. The wedding dress with a train and flowing veil became popular in the 1870s. Some early dresses had a small trail of fabric.
When possible, elaborate fabrics, embroidery, laces and braids were used. Wedding trims were often made from laces like Aloncon and Venice. Honitan and Chantilly are also popular. The styles that evolved included the tubular skirts in the 1870s and 1880s. They also included the leg-o’-mutton sleeves, the bustles from the early 1900s.
The wedding dress was renamed the wedding gown in the 1930s because the word gown referred to a lavish dress worn during the Depression era. The hemlines of daily dresses have changed over the years, but since the 1930s, the majority of wedding gowns are floor-length.
Wedding gowns from the 1940s wartime period are characterized by a lack of laces, trims and embellishments. Instead, they feature padded shoulders with belted waistlines and padded shoulder straps. In the prosperous 1950s, extravagant wedding dresses were introduced with laces, yards of gathered skirting, and sweetheart or off-the-shoulder necklines. Peter Pan collars and Peter Pan collars also became popular. The groom would traditionally give his bride a strand of pearls as a wedding gift. This meant that the neckline was designed to highlight this gift.
In the 1960s, traditional wedding dress styles were replaced by more modern styles. The floor-length dresses with floral prints were worn by many brides, but they weren’t much more extravagant than the usual dress. In the late 1960s or early 1970s, the hippie bride who married in a field gave way to the bride wearing a miniskirt and repeating her vows before a Justice of the Peace.
The traditional wedding gown enjoyed a revival in the 1970s. The baby boomers of the early 1950s found great joy in unpacking and refitting their mothers’ gowns from those decades. The bridal apparel industry had new designs made from polyester fabrics for those who did not have a gown dating back to these decades. Even though elaborate gowns were produced in finer fabrics, by the 1980s, the bodice of the dresses was covered with laces and beading.
It was up to the individual’s taste what they chose for their wedding dress in 1990. Many wedding dresses revived styles from the past. However, some styles evolved, like the mermaid gown, which was form-fitted up to the knees and had a flared skirt. Dresses featured a skirted or detachable train. A veil was also added to the hemline of the dress, simulating the effect of a train. Wedding dresses with beadwork and fine construction were made for the next generation to wear. Most wedding dresses that were not intended for repeated wear may have been embellished with beading or trims glued on instead of being hand-sewn. These dresses are often kept in boxes for sentimental purposes. Renting a wedding gown is a good option for the practical bride.
The modern wedding gown is steeped with tradition and history. The bride can choose the elaborateness of design and whether to associate any cultural significance or traditional symbolism with the dress or items worn along with it.
