Idea Chain – White Wedding Dresses

As important as one’s marriage, displays of wedding dresses are always being well considered by every bride. Back to the beginning of the wedding dress history, those were actually not white but blue, purple, red, or even black, which showed the wealth, faith, or purity. The old royal gowns were made of “expensive velvet, damask silk, satin, fur, and fabrics woven with precious stones and gold and silver thread” (Wedding Dress History…).

The trend of white wedding dresses was started when Queen Victoria presented a stunningly beautiful white dress at her wedding to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1860. Dresses with cozy bodices, tight waists and long full skirts covering down to hoop and petticoats were the style of the earlier, and “organdy, tulle, lace, silk, linen and even cashmere with sleeves went from puffy and mutton –legged to fitted, then back to bell-shaped” in later time were all seen during the Victorian era (Wedding Dress History…). Gowns were rather assembled in 1900s, but in 1910s, when the Edwardian age started, fancy lace and taffeta became popular again, and continued the tradition of Victorians. Followed up by WWI, dresses changed into simpler styles. Coco Chanel brought a big influence in the 1920s by introducing the short wedding dress that has a short front and long train in the back (The History of …).

Emphasizing the front and center with arc-shaped collars were the main points in the 1930s. WWII had an impact on the wedding gown because of the military silhouettes, which shoulders got bigger, waists got slimmer, and with more luminous materials. After a restricted time, brides fell in love with lace again in 1950s. “Wedding dresses embraced modesty, with traditional sleeve lengths, sensible necklines, full skirts and few embellishments. ‘Ultra-feminine,’ one might say, right down to towering, slender heels” (Wedding Dress History…). There was a medieval twist during 1970s to 1980s. Instead of being heavy, the gowns went softer and thinner by using smooth materials, such as nylon and polyester to form A-line skirts. Wedding dresses of the “fairytale” look was re-introduced by Princess Diana. “After Diana's dress, everyone had full skirts gathered to the waist, and big sleeves to the elbow, with flounces and bows and lace embellishments” (A Brief…).

Moving towards present, from first preferring more simple forms of dresses to the sense of expressing personal characteristics, wedding dresses now has less limitation and vary depends on individuals. As long as people feel comfortable, no one has problem with it.