• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Wedessence

Wedessence

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Articles

White Wedding Dress: History and Tradition

Home / Uncategorized / White Wedding Dress: History and Tradition

White is the most popular color for wedding dresses in the West today. It is estimated that over 80% of brides in the United States are wearing white. This color trend for wedding dresses began primarily in Europe and was adopted in North and South America.
In the East, white is often considered unlucky. In Asian countries like China, Pakistan, India and Vietnam, red is worn more. And in all the countries of Africa brides prefer multi-colored bright hues for their wedding attire.

Wedding Gowns through the Years

Until the early 19th century, wearing white was not a tradition. Most brides didn’t favor a particular color. White was not very practical.And it wasn’t worn much.
Brides from the lower classes wore a variety of materials in different colors. Bridal gowns were usually just the brides fanciest dress. A new dress was not always purchased for the wedding. Day-to-day dresses were often brown or black.
On the other hand, brides from the upper classes wore gowns in expensive fabrics, often embroidered with gold or silver and fur. But even the upper class dresses would often be worn again.
The first examples of brides wearing white, date back to the 1400’s and were prominent in weddings of European royal families.
White wedding dresses came more into fashion in the mid-1800’s and became a traditional wedding wear by the mid-1900’s.

Queen Victoria Trendsetter?

In the 1840 marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert, in England her dress was celebrated throughout Europe and America.

Would you like to write for us? Well, we're looking for good writers who want to spread the word. Get in touch with us and we'll talk...

Let's Work Together!

Queen Victoria wore an elegant white dress draped in orange blossoms. This inspired many of her subjects. The tradition of a white wedding dress  began.
After the Queen’s wedding, well-to-do brides began having grand white gowns, made for their weddings. And even lower class women would sometimes wear simple white wedding dresses.
Ten years after the wedding, photographs of the wedding appeared in “Godey’s Lady’s Book”. This was one of the first magazines for women in America. In Godley’s, white was recommended as the perfect color for a wedding gown. And the trend took off.

White A Symbol of Purity

There is a concept that a white wedding dress is a symbol of purity, virginity and innocence.This ideal was not really borne out by history.
White was originally the color of royalty and wealth. White cloth or silk was the color of the rich. It did not represent virginity until much later.

Wedding Dresses in the Great Depression

During the Great Depression through the end of World War II, there were shortages on many fabrics. Times were tough and most people couldn’t afford a dress that was only going to be worn once. Many brides favored more simple suits in earthtones. Brides returned to the practice of wearing their best outfit.

World War II to the 1980’s

White wedding dresses didn’t hit mass popularity again until the economic boom after World War II. White became a popular as the economy improved. Popular culture has often led the wedding industry.

In 1959, the American actress, Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco. Her white silk wedding dress inspired brides everywhere. Wedding gowns became high fashion. Long lace gowns were the style. And in 1981, Princess Diana walked down the aisle wearing an ivory silk taffeta and lace dress. White is still overwhelmingly chosen by brides in the West.

Like it? Share it!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
« Previous Post
Next Post »

Category iconUncategorized Tag icongrace kelly wedding,  princess diana wedding,  Queen victoria wedding,  wedding dress,  wedding dress symbol,  wedding gown,  white symbol purity,  white wedding dress

Get Updates Right to Your Inbox

Sign up to receive the latest and greatest articles from our site automatically each week (give or take)...right to your inbox.
Blog Updates

Further Insights

video wedding
Get Creative: Planning Your Virtual Wedding
May 10, 2020
Wedding flowers
Plan Your Wedding Flowers
May 10, 2020
wedding postponed sign
How to Cancel or Postpone Your Wedding: Coronavirus Update
April 23, 2020

Primary Sidebar

Search

Latest Articles

video wedding

Get Creative: Planning Your Virtual Wedding

Wedding flowers

Plan Your Wedding Flowers

wedding postponed sign

How to Cancel or Postpone Your Wedding: Coronavirus Update

invitation cancelled in newspaper

The Coronavirus is Impacting the Wedding Industry

Exploring the website?

Our site includes quite a bit of content, so if you're having an issue finding what you're looking for, go on ahead and use that search feature there!

Footer

We hope you enjoy this website. We've created informative articles that you can come back to again and again when you have questions or want to learn more!
  • Facebook
  • RSS

Explore Site

  • Home
  • About
  • Articles

Copyright © Wedessence & Buzzle.com, Inc.
6789 Quail Hill Pkwy, Suite 211 Irvine CA 92603

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.