A Brief History
Early Brides
Virginal white or a shade thereof, is generally thought of as the traditional colour of wedding dresses in the UK. Brides in ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece all wore wedding dresses in various shades of white but for most of the last 2000 years, brides have in fact, worn all kinds of colours on their wedding day. Often they simply wore their best dress, or sometimes a new one, to get married in. This was very convenient, as at least they could wear it again after their big day.
Queen Victoria and Royal Weddings
Queen Victoria is usually credited with the popularization of the white wedding dress - even though her wedding dress wasn't actually white at all. The dress for her wedding on 10 February 1840, was composed of a bodice and a skirt of plain cream silk satin, with a spectacular lace veil and skirt flounce. Cream was already quite a popular choice for bridal gowns at this time but there is no doubt that Victoria's endorsement of the colour helped to establish it. She certainly set a royal trend as subsequent British queens have all worn cream dresses at their weddings (incorporating Victoria's antique Honiton lace into their dresses as something borrowed!).
Although each royal wedding dress spawned a host of imitations across the land, probably the most influential wedding dress since Queen Victoria's was that worn by Lady Diana Spencer, whose 1981 wedding to Prince Charles, set the style for the next 15 years. Her fairytale ball gown with huge ruched sleeves and a long train created a new concept in sheer extravagance and spectacle of a wedding dress.
Modern-day Dresses
Mrs Wallis Simpson, a bride who married a former king, wore a very different outfit at her wedding to Edward VIII in 1937. Her simple floor-length dress with matching jacket was specially designed for her in a colour created to match her eyes, dubbed 'Wallis Blue'. Complementing this, she wore a pink and blue feathered hat. Contemporary reports suggest the outfit was much admired and imitated: it is said to be the single most copied dress in fashion and certainly, in wedding history.
The bridal fashions of each decade of the 20th century continue to influence and inspire modern brides. In the 21st century, high street fashions have had an effect on wedding wear - the asymmetrical look and diamanté fad are recent examples. Even 1980's wedding dresses, with their fussy ruffles and flounces, which used to be seen as the antithesis of all things contemporary, could be set for a come back in the current '80s revival.
