Vintage Wedding Dresses

From time immemorial, a wedding for a woman was something more than a celebration and a festive date on the calendar. Consequently, the choice of a wedding dress was approached with greater zeal than any other outfit. It will be interesting to know that white was not always associated with a wedding. Previously, brides were preferred to completely different colors. And the styles were very different from those that we used to see on brides. An excursion into the past world of wedding fashion promises to be interesting, exciting and sometimes even filled with surprise.

The rich decoration of the bride testified to the prosperity of her family, so the most expensive fabrics were chosen to create a wedding dress. Often it was silk or tulle, satin or velveteen. The fabric was richly decorated with gold threads and valuable natural fur.

The morals of bygone times were strict and demanded that the bride choose as closed a dress as possible. The maximum length was present not only on the skirt, but also on the sleeves as well.

Natural colors were common, as they were created on the basis of only natural components. A bright wedding dress of scarlet, blue or pink could be found only on a very wealthy bride.

What precious jewels did not adorn expensive wedding dresses. They used pearls, diamonds, sapphires and emeralds. Their number was sometimes so large that it was difficult to consider the fabric of the dress itself.

The most striking evidence of this fact is the wedding of Countess Margaret of Flanders, whose dress was very heavy due to the large number of jewelry. They were in the thousands.It was impossible to walk in such a dress, so she was brought to church.

With the advent of the 17th century, weddings began to bear a rather dynastic role. But this did not calm the ardor of the brides, who did their best to appear before the guests in the most beautiful dresses.

True, these efforts were not always appreciated. Take at least the wedding of Princess Catherine of Bragan from Portugal and the English king. The bride did not change the fashion trends of her country and chose a pink dress, which provided for the presence of an internal frame. The British did not understand such a decision, although after a while they fell in love with such wedding dresses.

This period was marked by the high popularity of natural expensive fur in wedding dresses. Only very wealthy young ladies who chose fur from mink and sable could afford such a finish.

Brides from not so rich families were content with fox or hare fur. Well, very poor brides could afford to choose linen for sewing dresses instead of the usual rough material that was used to create everyday clothes.

The status of the bride could be judged by the length of the sleeves and hem on her dress. Ordinary girls, whose wealth was not fabulous, the wedding dress later served as festive clothing that was worn for major holidays.

At that time, white was not yet the main color for the wedding attire, although it was considered immaculate.

Due to its impracticality and soil, pink and blue were predominant. By the way, it was the blue color that was associated with the purity of the virgin Mary herself. This custom has also reached modern brides from English-speaking countries, who necessarily bring an element of blue color in their outfit.

Pink was also often present in wedding dresses. Take, for example, the dress of the bride of Joseph Nolekes (British sculptor), which, although it was created from white fabric, but pink flowers adorned it richly. The outfit was complemented by very high shoes for that time (as much as 8 cm) with the same pink embroidery. Despite its unusualness and extravagance, such an outfit was liked by all fans of wedding fashion, and fashionistas took it into their arsenal.

Another categorical color was black, which carried a mournful subtext. Even the guests tried not to dress him, so as not to provoke trouble on the young. Yellow has just begun to appear in the world of bridal fashion, reviving and flourishing with renewed vigor after it was declared pagan in the 15th century.

The poorest brides had no choice but to wear dresses of gray or brown shades, which were the most practical and non-marking. A hundred years passed and gray became associated with the servant.

The beginning of the 19th century brought with itself a fashion for ribbons with which wedding dresses were abundantly decorated. They were colorful and each guest tried to tear one ribbon in memory of such a significant event.

A little time passed and the ribbons were replaced with flowers. Beautiful bouquets were brought by guests to congratulate the young, and no less beautiful flower arrangements of the bride were held in their hands. Flowers decorated the dress and hair of the bride.

It was at this time that dresses began to be sewn, which albeit remotely, but all resembled modern models. Machine-made materials were born, active import of Indian-made fabrics began, and the first wedding models appeared with a veil, lace gloves and jewelry.

The most popular fabric was satin, which was decorated with pearls and natural rock crystal. Narrow skirts began to come into fashion under the sunset of this century.

This is how wedding fashion developed, passing through a thorny path. You, modern brides, are very lucky, you were born in an era devoid of prejudice, strict morals and a limited selection of wedding dresses.