The wedding dress in which the bride shines always attracts everyone's attention. From a young age, girls dream about how they will look at their wedding, and the entire period of growing up bring this image to perfection in their imagination. A large number of brides suggest that the white color of the wedding dress became generally accepted in the distant past, but this tradition was formed only a couple of centuries ago. The history of the appearance of a wedding dress, causing great interest among many, will be covered in the sections of this article.
The color of the bride's dress in ancient times
White outfits of the bride began to be worn for the first time in ancient Greece. They were called "peplos", had fasteners on their shoulders, by the appearance of which they judged their welfare. To the girl's marriage was filled with happiness, she was covered with a long piece of golden fabric.
Brides in ancient Rome put on an unremarkable outfit that encircled the body at the wedding ceremony, supplemented it with a large number of luxurious jewelry.
The history of wedding dresses in Russia says that in ancient times pagan traditions prevailed in our country. Typically, the fair sex dressed in red sundresses, the bright color of which was a symbol of protection from evil spirits. Another image of the bride was also widespread: the girls who were enraptured wore embroidered shirts, a red and blue check skirt with a lavishly decorated hem. The tradition of putting on red dresses for the wedding ceremony was preserved in Russia until the 18th century.
Middle Ages Wedding Fashion
During the Middle Ages, European brides did not prefer a certain color of the dress. They put on their best holiday dresses at wedding ceremonies, which were distinguished by rich pretentiousness. The history of the wedding dress suggests that buying dresses specifically for the marriage of young ladies living in Europe began in the 15th century. Traditionally, during this time period, the bride from wealthy families put on gorgeous dresses decorated with furs, jewelry, expensive fabrics at the wedding ceremony.
Girls in the Middle Ages preferred to choose dresses of dark or bright colors. They approached the choice of the shade of wedding attire (the history of the wedding dress is proof of this fact) from a practical point of view. On the city streets in those days it was dusty and dirty, so dresses of light, and even more so white, could easily be stained.
XVI-XVII centuries
During this time period, only female representatives wore white dresses, who went to the monastery and devoted their lives to the service of God without a trace. Dark colors in the 16th and 17th centuries gave way to pastel blue and pink tones. The nuances of the history of wedding dresses over two centuries had a direct relationship with the customs of different cultures:
- In France, girls very often chose purple dresses for marriage, promising them a loving spouse for life.
- Irish brides preferred to get married in green robes. According to popular belief, this color attracts happiness and good fortune to the house.
When the white wedding attire became traditional
As the history of the white wedding dress says, until 1840 the tradition to wear a white outfit for the wedding ceremony did not exist. Brides, as a rule, put on new beautiful dresses sewn in the latest fashion. The Queen of England, Victoria, made a revolution in bridal fashion, and she showed those around her at her wedding a gorgeous snow-white satin dress. Over the ribbon of lace that adorned the line of the neckline of the queen’s outfit, experienced craftswomen worked for six months. After Victoria’s wedding, samples of exquisite lace, so that no one could recreate their unique pattern, were destroyed.
To use her robe, Victoria used only a sapphire brooch given to her by her fiancé. The appearance of the young queen delighted everyone around so much that the white wedding dress became traditional not only in England, but throughout the world. In Russia (the history of the wedding dress confirms this fact), brides began to put on such dresses only in the 19th century.
Stages of the evolution of wedding fashion
In the era of the late Middle Ages, the exquisite and sophisticated robe of the bride was distinguished by a narrow cut, elegant neckline, long sleeves and a train. In the Renaissance, which came to replace her, a wedding dress, usually decorated with pearls and embroidery, was sure to emphasize the splendor of the female representative's form, falling to the floor in massive folds.
The Rococo era (as the story of the wedding dress says) added to the robes of the brides pretense of pretentiousness. Dresses with huge multi-layered skirts and a large number of trains, ruffles and bows were considered stylish at this time. In addition to these outfits, brides often wore massive wigs. Empire-style wedding dresses, which had a high waist, were light and airy. They were sewn from the finest silk and worn with gloves.
An indispensable attribute of wedding dresses of the XIX century was lace.
Wedding dresses of the XX century
With the advent of the 20th century, bridal fashion began to regain simplicity and became elegant and more restrained. Dramatic changes (the history of the wedding dress serves as evidence of this fact) also affected the length of the outfit. If at the beginning of the century a dress that slightly opened ankles was considered impudent, then in the sixties straight and free wedding dresses of a shirt cut appeared, and over time mini dresses became trendy.
The styles of wedding dresses in the XX century also underwent many changes. In the 20s, brides entered into legal marriage in dresses of simple cut with a slightly lowered waist, in the 30s the image of the bride and groom became more feminine, in the 40s, wedding fashion was distinguished by severity and clearly defined lines. In the 50s, the romantic style became fashionable, in the 60s - minimalism, in the 70s - hippie style with its simplicity and freedom, in the 80s - sports style. Since the 90s of the XX century, a white dress, like that of a fairy-tale princess, has been steadily gaining its ground, enveloping the fair sex with a halo of innocence.
Signs related to the wedding dress
Here are some signs related to the wedding:
- the groom should not see the dress of his betrothed before the wedding;
- it is forbidden to sell a wedding dress in order to preserve the marriage, you need to keep it all your life;
- a girl should wear a wedding dress only over her head;
- it is not recommended to rent a wedding robe or buy it from hand, it must certainly be new, otherwise the weaker sex will be pursued by debts;
- To protect herself from the evil eye, the bride needs to make several stitches with blue threads on the hem of the dress.
Modern trends
At present, brides can opt for a wedding dress (mystical stories associated with this outfit have excited society at all times) of any style and color. The styles and models of wedding dresses are striking in their diversity, the white color of the wedding dress, interpreted as innocent and immaculate, remains traditional.
Nowadays, a girl on the most important day of her life can appear in the image that she cherished in her dreams. She has freedom of choice and a chance to transform into a business lady, a romantic charming lady, a princess from the Middle Ages, a Greek goddess. Not the most important thing on which dress the bride will choose, the main thing is that she be the happiest.