The
White Wedding Dress:
Wedding
Dress Customs & Traditions:
The
White Wedding Dress
As a little girl
-- and as grown adults -- the typical woman spends her fair share of
time envisioning herself in a fairytale wedding dress. And, what
colour is that wedding dress as a rule? Chances are it's a white one.
Millions of girls and women dream of the perfect marriage with a
vision of the perfect white wedding dress
in their minds.
But why white?
Where did this tradition come from? Brides haven't always been
marrying in white.
In fact, in the
grand scheme of things, the tradition isn't even all that old. The
white wedding dress of today is deep-seated tradition, and for many
is worn to signify virtue as well as uphold tradition. Millions -- in
fact billions -- of women all over the world start thinking about the
perfect white wedding gown before they have even found the perfect partner.
Britain is a place
that is rife with traditions and legends, so it is little wonder that
the tradition of the white wedding dress was started by the English
Monarchy. It was the wedding of Queen Victoria that spawned the
interest and popularity of white wedding dresses as we know them today.
Queen Victoria
married Albert of Saxe in 1840, and wore what would then have been
considered a flamboyant white gown. Of course, this did not start the
tradition immediately; however, many women saw this as a statement of
class and style, and copied the Queen by also getting married in white.
The white wedding
dress in those days had nothing to do with being virtuous -- it was
all about wealth. Getting married in a white, extravagant gown was a
sign that you could afford to buy a dress that you would never be
able to wear again because of its style and colour (whites were not
easy to clean in those days as they are today!).
Of course, women
still continued to be married in various colours and styles of dress
-- it was only the vain and the wealthy that insisted on white to
follow in the footsteps of the wealthy Monarch. However, during
Edwardian times, the white wedding dress once more soared to new
heights of popularity, as Coco Chanel unveiled its new knee-length
white wedding dress, complete with extravagant train.
Even so, with the
depression that followed World War I and the approach of World War
II, many women continued to make do with whatever type of dress they
could afford, and this went on for decades. Some women would marry in
a short white informal wedding dress, which could then be dyed and
used as an everyday dress. Again, it was only the fabulously wealthy
that could really afford to splurge on an elaborate gown.
However, from the
1950s onwards, as the world watched Hollywood stars, royalty and
members of high society get wed in stunning white gowns, the
tradition of white became signed and sealed.
Wedding Dresses of
Different Colours:
A Bit of Folklore
As with many other
things in life, there is much folklore and legend surrounding the
various other colours that brides have been known to wed in. One old
rhyme seems to sum up these notions:
Married in
white, you have chosen all right.
Married in
green, ashamed to be seen.
Married in
red, you will wish yourself dead.
Married in
blue, you will always be true.
Married in
yellow, ashamed of your fellow.
Married in
black, you will wish yourself back.
Married in
pink, your spirits will sink
Of
course, most people will think nothing of this poem, apart from the
fact that each colour has been coupled with a meaning that just
happened to rhyme very well. We all know that there are plenty of
people that have married in pinks, blues and every other colour, and
have enjoyed a long and happy marriage. And we certainly know that
there are plenty of people that have married in white, who have not
prospered quite so well.
Luckily, legend
and folklore has given way to individuality in recent years, and
brides now enjoy getting married in the colour of their choice. Both
celebrities and everyday women have injected their wedding dresses
with their own sense of style and personality, and we have seen women
marrying in colours ranging from delicate ivory to deepest red and
even black.
Royalty and high
society still tend to favour the tradition of marrying in white.
However, since simply wearing a white wedding gown can no longer mark
their stature due to the availability of the white wedding dress,
they now do this by infusing the dress with the most expensive silks,
pearls and material possible, making it worth a king's ransom by the
time it is finished.
Luckily, we don't
all have to pay a fortune to look stunning for our wedding day, and
there is now so much choice in colour, style, material and design
that we can get married looking just the way we want -- and without
having to sell all of our worldly possessions to do so!
Articles
& Advice
About The Author:
Reno Charlton is
an award-winning author and freelance writer from the West Midlands,
England. She has written many articles providing consumer information
on such topics as designer wedding dresses, and designer wedding gowns.
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