Evolution of Bridal Wear

Lucia Ponce
Trends & Forecasting
Summer 2014






Clothes are pieces that come and go as they no longer prove to have use in terms of wear-
ability or style, but for a married woman there is one exception to this thought the highly
treasured and especially cared for wedding dress. Over the centuries wedding dresses have
symbolized a brides culture and traditions as well as a differentiator between other brides in
terms of prestige, wealth, and or status. For many, wedding dresses are seen as an outfit that
serves a one-time purpose, but this proves to have deeper meanings among that persons
customs, along with their societys norms and practices. For example, one may not be as thrilled
to wear a white dress, but will oblige to meet the cultural expectations of their society. This ritual
process commences the moment a couple has chosen to get married, in that instant the woman
becomes a bride. Women then enter the phase of leaving their social group, the one of single
women, to prepare themselves for marriage and to become devoted wives and future mothers.
The marriage ritual procedure functions as a way of moving a person from one social status to
another, handing the bride down from one family to the next. One of the earliest recordings of
wedding dresses can be traced back to the Hellenistic period of Greece. It is strongly believed
that is the birth origin of bridal wear and wedding ceremonies as couples decided to unite their
lives for several purposes, they would then adorn themselves with plain flowers or tiaras and
other ornate accessories, depending on their wealth and status. Normally, when choosing dresses
not only do we have to take our taste for consideration, but must also contemplate on choosing
the proper dress based on our traditional and cultural elements that have formed a part of our life.
The essay will discuss the various differences and yet subtle similarities in bridal wear across
various cultures.
For the most part, in Europe and North America, white has been the official color for a
wedding dress as it symbolizes purity. Several years ago it was also related with the notion that
the woman would be entering into the marriage as a virgin so white was the fitting color to
represent her innocence. Still, many people do not know that the color white was not always the
it color for wedding dresses. In the eighteenth century the favorite colors for bridal dresses
throughout Europe and parts of North America were yellow and gold. That was until Queen
Victoria set the Western concept of what the bride should look like in the United Kingdom. In
1840, when Queen Victoria wore a creamy white and lace gown; furthermore, this is what
solidified the positioning of the white dress among society. Soon afterwards, this caught on with
the rest of the industrialized world. Before long, a trend had formed in terms of how family and
guests were supposed to be dressed, this again was also readily accepted among the Western
principles. Other details of dress from the early twentieth century bridal wear included tight-
fitting sleeves with buttons and a veil of tulle and lace. Drapery had also become the basic
element of wedding dress, by incorporating fabrics such as silk or chiffon in off-white colors of
ivory or light silver grey, often with add-ons of pearl embroidery and detachable trains that fell
either from the waist or the shoulder. During the 1900s, for the citizens of Canada, religion
played a great part in their lives; therefore, conservatism was key during this time period.
Religion was a vital source in dictating how the bride was to go about with her wedding dress.
For a bride to have an adventurous soul in the sense of wanting a dress that was a little more
revealing than the usual norm would have been troubling as the church and the rest of society
would have looked down on her. Other important factors were the refusal of wearing white or
choosing not to wear a veil, which was unacceptable because it meant the bride was no longer
pure and had given her virginity up before her unity unto God. In the 1970s quite a few women
dreamed of getting married in blue jeans; however, none took the risk out of fear fear of
rejection and shame from their family and the community. Many times, brides were pushed on
the edge between the constant struggles of what they wanted and what their traditions required.
In the United States, white or off-white were also the official colors for a bridal dress. The dress
plays an important role in all weddings in order to separate the wedding couple from invitees.
This also helped the guests extricate the bride and groom, along with her bridesmaids. The
bridesmaids typically dress in a similar style with a similar color scheme, while the bride dresses
differently and more lavish. For the duration of the 1920s bridal dresses had shortened in length
and had dropped around the waist. After World War II, the traditional wedding would take a
different course in the U.S., as people had more social exploration they had now incorporated
dinner and dancing into the white wedding style. The movie Father of the Bride most likely
foreshadowed contests that would brand this new wedding style and post American life more
broadly. The effects of World War II inclined couples to quickly consummate courtships and
enabled them to shorter engagement periods. In the 1960s, the white weddings broad
combination of various traditional, communal, and individual insights had finally taken a toll on
the American Society. As older interpretations clashed with more recent beliefs there was no
longer a firm tradition. This allowed for other themes to surface, which is why in 1971, Look
magazine gave way to a new wedding theme when they published: Marriage the New Natural
Way. It was a multi-page spread, it introduced a new vibrant outlook to a different style of
wedding which they presented on a daffodil farm on the countryside. The article presented a
selection of striking men and women, as they celebrated in a field full of trees and flowers
surrounded by untouched rural landscapes. They were dressed bright garments that reflected
contemporary styles and hip fashions. This proved to be the exact opposite from the customary
traditionally formal wedding as the young brides exuberated their femininity with soft fabric
dresses and expressing free youth by being barefoot in beautifully rustic plains. This was then
replaced with ball gown dresses adorned with puffy sleeves, it had become the next sensation
after the marriage between of Lady Diana and Prince Charles. Around the mid 1990s brides
began to shift their interests towards tight fitting dresses, mermaid gowns with sweetheart
necklines were the prime choice as it displayed a womans figure. Over the years, weddings have
been gaining popularity and themed weddings have begun to replace traditional weddings,
giving an advantage to a variety of bridal styles.
In Europe during the First World War, weddings had practically disappeared and with it
the beautiful notion of selecting dresses. With the mourning of fallen soldiers, citizens could not
concentrate on such matters. With the conclusion of World War I, life was able to resume and
some distinctions had been made in the length of dresses. The dress was now up to the hemline,
they had adopted a V shaped neckline, brides also had the option of having their sleeves long or
short and the preferred color at the time was cream (Wedding Dress Across Cultures). In
England unemployment had escalated to about three million with the stock market crash of 1929,
still wealthy women had the sufficient resources to purchase wedding dresses, but those which
faced harder financial burdens had no choice but to make their own. Oddly enough, poverty just
increased the longing for so many brides to attain a dress like those in fairytales. Partially to
blame for this was the intense media coverage in the form of photographs and gossip columns
which captured every detail in British high society. The wedding dresses had now gone back to
being floor length, with the neckline being rounded or sweetheart. During 1933, white had once
again become the primary color and were paired with chiffon or tulle veils. In the course of the
Second World War fabric had become scarce in England, which meant women would have to
resort to borrowing wedding dresses from previous relatives. Moreover, to cope with the
shortage of cloth, many women began to produce their own wedding dress from various
materials such as net curtains, upholstery fabric and even parachute silk. The style was kept
simple, with a narrow hip-length bodice, small shoulder pads, and narrow long skirts with the
neckline being rounded or sweetheart. By the end of World War II, the dresses hadnt changed
much in England, the veil had made its comeback from its fading during the war. Unlike women
in the U.K., Russian women did not desire to imitate an image of a princess, this is mainly
because after 1917 with the many churches closing down, people would turn to civil registration
in order to get married. These sceneries were not appropriate for a woman to wear anything
elegant nor luxurious. In the 1930s, Russia was filled with a rush of design, simplicity and
functionality which defined beauty at the time. This enhanced the silhouette of a women to
become more mature and subtle rather than a boyish look. In contrast to the U.K., fashion in
Russia had been put to a halt, most of the fabrics had gone to the few manufacturers that were
left which would then produce military clothing. In return, brides had no option but to dress
poorly and mimic a masculine appearance. The dresses took a square figure, with brass buttons,
it gave the appearance of a mixture between military uniform and athletic wear. After the war,
three new dress styles had developed a straight silhouette with broad shoulders; an X shaped
silhouette with wide sleeves, full hip and a tight waist; an unfitted bodice with kimono sleeves.
By 1954 Russia began to indulge in a better financial position, this gave way for more opening of
fashion houses, wedding dresses began to have either straight short jackets or light coats. It was
until 1960, when once more traditional wedding ceremonies began to reemerge. For both
countries, bridal wear had succumbed to various factors throughout those several years, the
direction in which it took depended heavily on the shift of political and cultural conditions.
In contrast to the dominant white dress of western cultures, in Asia it ranged from
kimonos in Japan, with women wearing a wonsam (green robe) in Korea, to elaborate saris in
India. In oriental countries there are strong traditions and standards which were held by religious
and societal norms. Still, with the popularity of western wedding styles growing, even those
regions with solid traditions could not prevent people from holding two ceremonies one which
celebrated the marriage in their own tradition, and the other with the western style. Of course,
this was only common if the couple could afford having two ceremonies; hence, it was only
practiced among upper and middle classes. Having two different ceremonies is especially
popular among Japan and Korea. Contrary to the Western white dress, in India the sari is the
traditional garment worn by the Hindu and Jain Gujarati women which is primarily forty inches
wide, six to nine yards long. The typical fabric of the sari is cotton or silk. The bride will wear
two saris as it symbolizes her departure from her natal family and her welcoming to her
husbands family. The saris are decorated in vibrant and rich colors as they represent life. In this
culture white is only used until the bride has become a widow. The use of the two saris from two
different families provides an insight into the roles and approaches of the two families. Gujarati
weddings demonstrate a particular event between the families of the bride and groom regarding
attire. The bride will be entering permanently into her husbands home, so the grooms family
must display as the dominant family in the wedding. This is where the wedding saris contribute
to the factor in demonstrating this; the panetar sari of her natal family should not be neither more
elaborate nor expensive than the gharcholu from the groom's family. Throughout shifts in
history, the gharcholu has remained remarkably consistent in its designs and its motifs. It has
even been introduced into other wedding ceremonies of outside communities from the Gujarat.
However, the panetar is more as a name than as a specific sari. Within the Gujarati culture, the
panetar sari has normally been a plain white body with a tie-dye border as well as one to three
tie-dye medallions depicting an image of dancing women in the central area. About sixty years
ago green was the popular color for the border of the panetar because blue represented their God
Krishna and yellow was the color of his consort, Radha. The mixture of these two colors would
then represent the divine union of two people. More colors came into play after Indias
independence in 1947 and the Gujarati soon introduced colors such as orange and red for the
panetar, with red becoming the preferred color as it symbolized joy. The gharcholu is a tie-dye
fabric of great complexity, its designs and motifs vary between communities. For instance,
Hindus incorporate animals such as elephants, dancing women, and birds. However, the Jains
refuse to use gharcholu with animals or people depicted on them. The cloth is either mill or hand
woven cotton which is then sent to Jamnagar in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, where the cloth
is dyed and sold. The original color of the cloth, will normally consist of yellow or white, this
area is particularly protected from the dye and thus form the accent and design colors. Also,
some green tie-dye work is found in the gharcholu containing the same motif with the panetar
the symbolism of Krishna, Radha, and the unification between two people. During the wedding
ceremony, the mother-in-law hands the gharcholu to the bride, in this manner it represents the
bride's acceptance into her new household. It also serves as the public symbol that her new
family will always provide care, shelter, clothes, and food for her. The panetar and gharcholu
saris reflects values and attitudes of Gujarati society. The panetar is only worn by the bride for a
specific event her marriage. Whereas the gharcholu, will forever outline her role within her
new family for the rest of her life. For the Japanese, the Shinto ceremony is considered by
citizens as a distinctive, traditional custom, but research has showed that this traditional is not as
old (Bridal Dress in Japan). It indicates that the first ceremony was held around 1900, during the
late years of the Meiji period. This was a period which displayed a firm Western influence due to
the efforts of the Japanese government to make the nation cultured, educated, to fit among
Western ideology. The bride wore a traditional Japanese attire for the Shinto ceremony; it was a
dress customized to fit the atmosphere of the ceremony. Her attire is consists of an intricate and
heavy coat (uchikake), that is worn over a white kimono. This together with a special wig that
covers the head, and white makeup is said to be a brides traditional appearance. The kimono has
become a symbol of femininity in postwar Japan, and it is considered that the kimono, along with
the overall bridal appearance is viewed as a poignant moment of a Japanese womans life. In
terms of the brides overall appearance, two color schemes seem to be quite dominant white
and red. The white uchikake, more commonly represents purity, similar to the Western dress.
White is also the color of the brides makeup for the traditional attire. The extensive makeup
process includes the painting of the face, neck, arms, and hands. Her makeup was white and
considerably heavier in the past than it is in present day. It was usually done with an old-style
powder but has now has been replaced by current cosmetics. This can be related to the fact of
how strong Western influenced has played among the upcoming generations. In Japan, its people
have begun to explore western style weddings and bridal attire. This stems from their initial
economic slowdown around the 1990s and has persisted to present day, the younger generation
has also helped influence the outcomes regarding wedding ceremonies and the attire. Most
Japanese people have their weddings in hotels but less extravagant weddings are also held in
other locations, such as restaurants. One of the popular cities to have an extravagant wedding is
in Osaka, where they have a mixture of westernized culture with their old traditions. Another
rising trend has been the influence of Christian-style or chapel wedding ceremonies. This is
particularly true in Osaka as Shinto and Christian style weddings are the most popular in this
region. Couples pick either of the two based on what that they see fit to best match their ideal
atmosphere, aesthetics and sensibleness. For Japanese, the blend of western material culture with
their local traditions has served as a gateway towards a new configuration for the nation. The
extension of Westernization had also reached other parts of Asia, for example, Korea had begun
to change as it branched out to borders beyond its country. It started off with the introduction of
Western style uniform for the military and soon enough extended to shape the styles of womens
dress. In 1809, it then produced the first Western style wedding. At first, these weddings were
only accepted by Christian Koreans or those with a Western educational background. In Korea,
Pyebaek, was the traditional wedding ceremony which required that the bride kowtow to the
grooms family. This tradition was maintained until the early twenty first century. In pyebaek,
brides wear a traditional Korean wonsam (wedding robes). Vibrant colors were applied to the
wedding dress, unlike ordinary clothes. Embroidery and gold imprint patterns on the wedding
dress expressed good wishes for the couple. Though wedding dresses varied somewhat from
region to region in Korea, overall there was no big difference. (Bridal Dress in Korea). The
common form for the wedding dress was similar between social classes because a wedding was
thought to be an important event within the Confucian family. Moreover, meaning anyone held
the right to wear clothing originally designed for royalty on his or her wedding day. The
distinction between social classes was then displayed with the use of finer fabrics and more
decorative ornaments. During the Joseon era, the bridal ensemble was also compromised of a
rectangle shaped veil made of black silk gauze. This also included face powder and lipstick, with
little red circles that were drawn at the center of the cheeks forehead. Within this time period,
earrings were not acceptable because Confucian teachings stated that piercing any part of the
body was immoral. Women were able to wear pendants and twin rings which were reserved for
the wedding. The Western style wedding came to Korea at the end of the nineteenth century
when contact with the west began. It also changed at the start of South Korea industrialization
with the end of after the Korean War (1950 1953). In the course of this time, many Koreans
began to hold Western style wedding ceremonies in commercialized wedding halls or churches.
The number of brides wearing Western style wedding dresses began to increase around the
1960s and a majority of brides have worn them since the 1970s. While brides still wore
traditional Korean ensembles at the beginning of the twentieth century, most times the Korean
veil was switched with a Western white veil. In the 1980s and 1990s, dresses that flattered the
body are highly preferred: A-line, ball gown, or the mermaid. However, in present day, the
Korean culture has gained much recognition, resulting in the choice of returning to a more
traditional style of dress.
The modern age brought about a newfound sense of nostalgia and romance, it opened
way for the new generations to hold more authority over the decisions making process of their
own attire without having to shy away their needs to please those of their ancestral customs.
Furthermore, the tendency to adopt the Westernized wedding culture, seems to be continuing
throughout the world, sometimes more in some regions than in others. As it steadily gains
popularity outside of North America, the white wedding is losing in terms of favorability as other
bridal styles and themes continue to evolve and shape societal norms.









Works Cited