A
Brief History of the Wedding Dress
For
the most part, wedding gowns as we know them today are a recent
invention. In medieval times, royal marriages were of great
political importance and often were arranged in order to seal
alliances between countries. Accordingly, it was incumbent
upon brides of royal heritage to look magnificent on her wedding
day, in order to uphold the prestige of her country and impress
the groom's country. Thus, medieval wedding gowns were elaborate,
using as much material as possible, of the most costly fabrics
such as velvet, damask silk, satin, fur and fabrics woven
with gold and silver thread.
The
colors used in a royal wedding gown were rich in hues, as
only the wealthy could afford expensive red, purple and black
dyes. Skirts were full and gathered, and the sleeves would
sweep the floor, with trains of several meters. Additionally,
the dress would be sewn with precious gems such as diamonds,
rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls, so the bride would
truly sparkle in the sunlight. In some cases, a gown might
be so elaborately encrusted with jewels that the fabric beneath
was nearly entirely hidden. In the fifteenth century, Margaret
of Flanders could not move in her heavily-laden wedding gown
that she had to be carried into the church by two gentlemen
attendants! Of course, few brides were princesses and most
could not afford such expensive gowns. In order to look special,
most brides tried to copy the dress of a woman of a higher
social class. For example, a noblewoman would do use a few
gems and fur trimmings, while a well-to-do middle class woman
would aspire to less expensive velvet or silk fabrics. The
poor bride's dress would be of linen, or fine wool, instead
of the usual coarse homespun, and she would use more fabric
than her everyday frocks. The lower class bride's gown often
then became her Sunday best church gown immediately afterwards,
and would serve for many years as part of her everyday wardrobe.
During the eighteenth century, a bride of the lower social
classes walked down the aisle dressed in a simple robe, which
symbolized to her future husband that she brought nothing
with her into the marriage and would therefore not burden
him with any debt.
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