It seems that the white wedding dress has always been. But this is not the case. The traditional white dress bride appeared in the XIX century, to be exact - February 10, 1840. On this day, the altar was the British Queen Victoria in a white dress. Since then, every bride wants to wear a white dress for the wedding.
Before the wedding of Queen Victoria, the bride married in just anything. Not literally, they also try their best to surprise the surrounding wealth of festive decorations. Just the color of dress were any, as well as style - everything depended on fashion. What were the wedding dresses in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and modern times?
Wedding Dress in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages the wedding was one of the greatest events in the life of a woman. Commoners could not afford the rich wedding dress, but the high society had to show his fortune with the help of the bride dresses. In those days, marriages were often political and economic purposes. So the bride wealth was, so to say on the face, or rather on the dress. They were made of the most expensive fabrics - velvet, silk, satin and trimmed with fur and gold embroidery, and precious stones.
The dress was in the Gothic style and the most closed: no cleavage and bare shoulders. Sometimes the dress is so richly decorated with precious stones that needed help the bride walk in heavy attire to church. Rich choosing bright dresses - red, blue, purple. Middle class chose dresses natural colors. This was due to the fact that the dyeing with natural dyes worth a fortune. The greater the use of fabric in the sewing of the dress, the bride was considered richer.
Medieval wedding dress was the only joy of the marriage of a girl to consent to a marriage which did not even ask.
An interesting fact, but in Scandinavia, which is adhered to the Puritan views of life, a long time bride was completely black.
Wedding dress in the Renaissance
During the Renaissance, the first time in fashion wedding dress delicate pastel shades. It was not necessarily white, used all the shades of milk, pink, ivory. This was due to the fashion for holding "white balls". Wedding dress decorated with numerous frilly, fluffy skirt. For the first time in a light dress appeared Queen Margaret of Valois at his own wedding. This wedding dress was fashionable only 200 years. Then replace the other colors come to him.
Maragarita Valois in her wedding dress
Color wedding dresses in different regions differ. Therefore, sometimes there were incidents. A case where the Portuguese princess Catherine Bragansskaya, marries English King Charles II appeared at the wedding in a pink dress with a frame, fashionable in Spain and Portugal. The British thought it was strange dress and tasteless.
During this period, we continued to decorate dresses with embroidery and jewels. Who were poorer, decorate it with fur: mink and sable for brides richer or hare and fox to indigent brides. At this time the bride "goes out" more than once - for the wedding. It was not considered bad taste to appear periodically in it at balls and other celebrations.
A replica of the wedding dress of Catherine II
History of Dress from New time to the Victorian era
During this period, all the wedding dress also continues to be the clothes to go out. White, though considered a beautiful color, but it was not practical, especially if she was planning to wear this dress on. Therefore dress often chose blue, the color of connecting with the purity and innocence of the Virgin Mary. Incidentally, this tradition has been preserved in modern England, they considered a good sign to have the wedding something blue.
it was forbidden dress for wedding Red - the color of it was women of easy virtue. It was considered a bad omen dress earth tones as the color belonged otherworldly forces: the fairies and forest spirits.
Poor girl choose wedding dresses in gray - the color could serve them for a long time. That's changed style of dress:
In the 19th century, if she could afford to put on a wedding dress once, she graced it with ribbons. After all the celebrations, each of the guests could tear the tape itself, it was a good omen. Then tape were replaced by flowers. They began to be used as a hair decoration, dress, and even a wedding bouquet.
Queen Victoria's Wedding
Wedding dress like a modern appeared in the late 18th century. In the middle of the 19th century wore a dress of Queen Victoria. These dresses were like dresses-transformers. Girls can continue to wear them, but in a slightly modified form, for example, cleaned loop. After the appearance of Queen Victoria in a white dress a new round of wedding fashion began at his own wedding. But that's another story.
You will also be interested to know very vulgar fashion: aristocrats emphasized their manhood.
Photos in the text of the open-source
