Wedding dress

{{Short description|Dress worn by a bride during the wedding ceremony}} {{Other uses|Wedding dress (disambiguation)|Gown (disambiguation)}} {{AI-generated|date=May 2026|reason=[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wedding_dress&diff=1252606382&oldid=1244994815 these 2024 edits]; note WP:AISIGNS - promotional tone, undue emphasis on significance, vocab distro very typical of 2024 LLM output, etc}} thumb|A white wedding dress, 2024 {{Western dress codes}} A '''wedding dress''' or '''bridal gown''' is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. Wedding dresses hold a significant place in fashion, symbolizing personal expression, and cultural traditions, and societal values. In Western culture, the wedding dress is most commonly white, a fashion made popular by Queen Victoria when she married in 1840.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Brennan |first=Summer |date=2017-09-27 |title=A Natural History of the Wedding Dress |url=https://daily.jstor.org/a-natural-history-of-the-wedding-dress/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=JSTOR Daily |language=en-US}}</ref> In Eastern cultures, brides often choose red to symbolize auspiciousness.<ref name=":2"/> These wedding dresses often represent a blend of heritage and contemporary trends, making them a pivotal aspect of bridal fashion and a reflection of evolving style in society.

== Fashion == Wedding dress fashion has evolved significantly, shaped by shifts in aesthetic preferences, technological advancements, and broader cultural trends. Historically, bridal attire featured elaborate designs with structured silhouettes and intricate detailing, reflecting the prevailing styles of their time.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Chrisman-Campbell |first=Kimberly |title=The way we wed: a global history of wedding fashion |date=2020 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-7624-7028-0 |location=Philadelphia}}</ref> In more recent decades, minimalist and modern designs have gained popularity, emphasizing simplicity and personal expression. Wedding dresses continue to adapt to contemporary fashion trends while retaining elements of tradition, offering a wide range of styles that allow brides to express their individuality.<ref name=":0" />

=== 21st century === In the early 21st century, many wedding dresses were sleeveless and strapless.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web | last1 = Chilton | first1 = Charlotte |title=The Evolution of Bridal Style Through the Years |url=https://www.elle.com/fashion/personal-style/g31437529/bridal-style-evolution/ |date = 16 May 2020 | work = Elle |access-date=2 May 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Other brides preferred styles with sleeves, higher necklines, and covered backs.

The latest wedding dress designs, as of 2024, feature drop-waist silhouettes, convertible gowns, intricate crystal embellishments, tulle, and gowns that display vintage charm.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wax |first=Shelby |date=2024-04-09 |title=The Biggest Wedding Dress Trends From New York Bridal Fashion Week |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/wedding-dress-trends-new-york-bridal-fashion-week-spring-2025 |access-date=2024-10-16 |website=Vogue |language=en-US}}</ref>

== History == In Western cultures, white wedding gowns have symbolized purity and grace since the 19th century, whereas Eastern cultures often feature elaborate, colorful garments imbued with symbolic meanings unique to each region.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Currie |first=Dawn H. |date=1993-10-01 |title="Here Comes the Bride": The Making of a "Modern Traditional" Wedding in Western Culture |url=https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/jcfs.24.3.403 |journal=Journal of Comparative Family Studies |language=en |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=403–421 |doi=10.3138/jcfs.24.3.403 |issn=0047-2328|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Western culture === thumb|Wedding dress from 1891. Until the late 1960s wedding dresses reflected the styles of the day; since then they have often been based on Victorian styles.

Weddings performed during and immediately following the Middle Ages were often more than a personal union between two individuals. They frequently symbolized a union between families, businesses, or even nations. These ceremonies were driven more by political considerations than romantic love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Brides were expected to dress in a way that reflected the status of their families, representing more than just themselves during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics, such as furs, velvet, and silk. The attire of the bride was a testament to the wealth and social standing of her family. Brides from lower social strata wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount and the price of material a wedding dress contained was a direct reflection of the bride's social standing and indicated the extent of the family's wealth to wedding guests. More recently, due to the exorbitant price of new dresses, second hand shops often carry wedding dresses. At which point, a tailor can make the necessary alterations for the bride.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vogue.com/article/how-to-sell-your-wedding-dress | title=How to Resell Your Wedding Dress, According to the Experts | date=18 April 2024 }}</ref>

==== Color ==== thumb|A blue wedding dress from 1840 The first documented instance of a royal bride wearing a white wedding dress was that of Philippa of England. She wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with squirrel and ermine in 1406, when she married Eric of Pomerania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ivybridalstudio.com/wedding-white-doesnt-mean-what-you-think-it-means/|title=Wedding white doesn't mean what you think it means|date=3 March 2014|website=Ivy Bridal Studio|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511141350/http://ivybridalstudio.com:80/wedding-white-doesnt-mean-what-you-think-it-means/|archive-date=11 May 2016|access-date=21 November 2014|quote=Princess Philippa of England is the first recorded princess to have worn white during her wedding in 1406, with her attire consisting of a tunic and cloak in white silk, but it wasn’t until Queen Mary that the white dress would explode in popularity}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.amalfi-wedding-planner.com/eng/StoriaMatrimonio.htm|title=The History of Matrimony|website=Amalfi Wedding Planner|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506232925/http://www.amalfi-wedding-planner.com/eng/StoriaMatrimonio.htm|archive-date=6 May 2006}}</ref> Similarly, Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding dress in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis, the Dauphin of France, because it was her favorite color, although white was then the color of mourning for French queens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://madameguillotine.org.uk/2011/04/24/mary-queen-of-scots-first-wedding-day/|title=Mary, Queen of Scots' first wedding day|date=24 April 2011|website=Madame Guillotine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623182153/http://madameguillotine.org.uk/2011/04/24/mary-queen-of-scots-first-wedding-day/|archive-date=23 June 2015|access-date=21 November 2014|quote=Mary’s choice of a white wedding dress was an unusual one, particularly as white was more traditionally worn by royal ladies when they were in dieul blanc mourning but in this as in other things the strong willed Mary may well have been an innovator, keen to not just impress her own taste on her wedding day (after all, she hadn’t been allowed the privilege of choosing her groom) but also emphasise her virginity and show off her famously pale redheaded beauty, which would have been accentuated by a pure white dress.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elizabethfiles.com/resources/elizabeth-i-facts/|title=Elizabeth I Facts|website=The Elizabeth Files|date=23 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724215348/http://www.elizabethfiles.com/resources/elizabeth-i-facts/|archive-date=24 July 2018|access-date=21 November 2014|quote=Her favourite dress colours were white and black which symbolised purity.}}</ref>

This was not a widespread trend, however: prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being popular in Finland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sydaby.eget.net/swe/jp_marriage.htm|title=Old Marriage Customs in Finland|last=Pelo|first=June|website=Sydaby.eget.net|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>

White became a popular option in 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, when Victoria wore a white gown trimmed with Honiton lace. Illustrations of the wedding were widely published, and many brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen's choice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/royal-weddings-1840-1947/windsor-castle-drawings-gallery|title=Royal Weddings 1840-1947|website=Royal Collection Trust|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> Although white was later assumed to symbolize virginity, it was originally blue that represented purity, piety, and fidelity, and was associated with the Virgin Mary.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ashliman, DL|title=Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook–Greenwood Folklore Handbooks|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2004|isbn=9780313058592|page=9|author-link=D. L. Ashliman}}</ref>

Despite the rise in popularity of white wedding dresses, brides continued to follow contemporary fashion trends. In the early 1900s, clothing included a lot of decorations, such as lace or frills. This was also adopted in wedding dresses, where decorative frills and lace were common. For example, in the 1920s, they were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1960s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era.<ref name=":2"/>

Since the mid-20th century, white has been the dominant color for Western wedding dresses, though "wedding white" includes shades such as eggshell, ecru, and ivory.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stewart |first=Jude |date=14 February 2011 |title=The Bride Wore Chartreuse: Why (Most) Wedding Dresses are White |url=https://www.printmag.com/imprint/the-bride-wore-chartreuse-why-most-wedding-dresses-are-white/ |access-date=19 January 2019 |website=Print}}</ref> However, white is not the universal color of wedding dresses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Traditional Mexican dress · V&A |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/traditional-mexican-dress?srsltid=AfmBOoqKStRbTi4dIC3dsmZWueX0HeO4-Zf1iQLcsWTSEugcvoIhIrOo |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum |language=en}}</ref>

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the color white is used as a symbol of purity, innocence, and cleanliness, particularly in religious ceremonies, including weddings.<ref>{{cite web |title=Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple |url=https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/preparing-to-enter-the-holy-temple/preparing-to-enter-the-holy-temple?lang=eng |website=Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=16 December 2021 |archive-date=16 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216211107/https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/preparing-to-enter-the-holy-temple/preparing-to-enter-the-holy-temple?lang=eng |url-status=dead }}</ref> For weddings in the temple, white clothing is also worn by all participants during the ceremony, both men and women, to symbolize unity and equality before God.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lesson 5: Learning from the Lord through Symbols |url=https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/endowed-from-on-high/lesson-5?lang=eng |website=Endowed from on High: Temple Preparation Seminar Teacher’s Manual |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=16 December 2021 |archive-date=16 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216211123/https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/endowed-from-on-high/lesson-5?lang=eng |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Symbols? |url=https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2007/02/why-symbols?lang=eng |website=Ensign |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=16 December 2021 |date=February 2007 |archive-date=16 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216211159/https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2007/02/why-symbols?lang=eng |url-status=dead }}</ref> The brides are instructed to wear white dresses that are modest in design and fabric and free of elaborate decoration.<ref>{{cite web |title=27. Temple Ordinances for the Living |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/27-temple-ordinances-for-the-living?lang=eng#title_number25 |website=General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=20 September 2021}}</ref>

=== Eastern culture ===

Traditionally, a Kurdish first-time bride would wear a red dress for her wedding to symbolize the postcoital bleeding she will experience when she loses her virginity while a Kurdish bride who used to be married before would wear pink. Many Kurds associate red wedding dresses with impoverished Kurdish rural society and it is no longer commonly worn.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allison |first1=Christine |title=Kurdish Culture and Identity |date=1996 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |page=154 |isbn=9781856493291 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2xgOAQAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Russel |first1=Jan |title=They Lived to Tell the Tale |date=November 2007 |publisher=Lyons Press |isbn=9781599216393 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2gQF4mEPvZ8C}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Smothers Bruni |first1=Mary Ann |title=Journey Through Kurdistan |date=1995 |publisher=Texas Memorial Museum |page=57 }}</ref>

In India, brides wear a wedding sari. These are usually red with golden brocade, as red is the color associated with married women. Other colors appear in some regions and castes, like red-white checkering in Tamil Nadu. Wedding saris are traditionally woven from silk, although other materials are also gaining popularity.

==Gallery==

===Historical Western European wedding dresses=== <gallery> Image:Bologna marriage women.jpg|Detail from ''The Marriage'' by Nicolo da Bologna, 1350s. Image:Peter Paul Rubens 088.jpg|Helena Fourment, second wife of Peter Paul Rubens, painted by Rubens in her wedding dress, 1630. File:Sofia Magdalenas brudklänning, robe de cour, 1766.jpg|Sophia Magdalena of Denmark's wedding dress, 1766. The Royal Armoury in Sweden. Image:Napoleon Marie Louise Marriage1.jpeg|''The Wedding of Napoleon and Marie Louise'' by Georges Rouget, France, 1810. </gallery>

===Wedding dresses from different areas of the world=== <gallery> File:Bauernhochzeit Jomala 1.jpg|Traditional Finnish farmer wedding dress in Jomala, Åland File:SB - Kazakh woman on horse.jpg|Traditional Kazakh wedding dress File:Ստորին Հայքի հարսնազգեստ.jpg|Traditional Armenian wedding dress File:Kymi's costume.JPG|18th-century wedding dress from Kymi, Greece (Collection of PFF, Nauplio) File:"Highlanders' Wedding", Dom Ludowy Theatre 08.jpg|Bride in a wedding dress, Podhale, the Tatra Mountains Image:Jewish Yemenite bride.jpg|Yemenite Jewish bride in Israel, 1950s File:ModernEgypt, Khedive Tawfiq, DHP13401-1-1 01.jpg|Wedding of Tewfik Pasha and Emina Ilhamy, Cairo, Egypt, January 1873 Image:Traditional chinese wedding.jpg|Chinese couple wearing traditional wedding hanfu </gallery>

===South Asian dresses=== <gallery> File:IMG-20190213-WA0044.jpg|Indian Hindu bride in red Sari File:Sikh bride 01.jpg | Sikh bride wearing purple lehenga and dastaar for Anand Karaj File:Wedding of Bangladesh.jpg|Traditional Bengali bride in formal matrimonial Sari File:Indian bride in white.jpg|Indian Christian bride in white Sari File:Newar bride 1941.jpg|Nepali bride of Kathmandu, 1941 File:Bengali bride during sindoor daan IMG 7811 1.jpg|Bengali Hindu bride during Sindur Daan File:Bride-323334 640.jpg|Marathi wedding File:A & D Wijeyeratne's Wedding Photograph.jpg|Sri Lankan wedding </gallery>

===Southeast Asian dresses=== <gallery> File:Art and culture.JPG|Khmer (Cambodian) couple dressed in traditional wedding outfits File:Thaiquoc-ngockieu.jpg|Vietnamese couple in traditional dress File:Couple at a pre-wedding ceremony in Thailand.jpg|Couple dress in traditional Thai outfits File:Nyaungshwe, wedding (6211610799).jpg|Couple dressed in traditional Burmese outfits File:Bali Hindu Wedding Traditional Dress.jpg|Bali Hindu wedding dress Image:Korea-Seoul-Royal wedding ceremony 1365-06.JPG|Reenactment of the royal wedding ceremony of King Gojong and Queen Myeongseong </gallery>

===Modern Western-style dresses=== <gallery> File:BrideMiniskirt1968.jpg|A bride in 1968, wearing a dress reflecting the styles of the time File:Nixon with daughter Tricia marriage 1971.jpg|Patricia Nixon Cox with her father Richard Nixon, 1971 File:Western wedding dress in Taiwan.jpg|Taiwanese couple dressed Western-style for keepsake photos in the park, 1989 File:John and Gail at St. Stephens church.jpg|American bride marrying a Scotsman wearing a kilt, 1996 File:The bride - New Orleans.jpg|New Orleans bride wearing a strapless, sleeveless gown, 2006 File:Свадьба Ирины и Алёны Шумиловых в Санкт-Петербурге.jpg|Same-gender marriage. Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2014. </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

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--> {{commons}} *[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p15324coll12/searchterm/wedding/field/title/mode/all/conn/and/order/nosort/page/4 Fashion Plates of Wedding Dresses from 1820-1929] from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries * [http://digitalcollection.chicagohistory.org/cdm/search/collection/p16029coll3/searchterm/wedding%20dress*/field/subjec/mode/all/conn/and/order/title/page/1 Wedding Dresses at Chicago History Museum Digital Collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729235620/http://digitalcollection.chicagohistory.org/cdm/search/collection/p16029coll3/searchterm/wedding%20dress*/field/subjec/mode/all/conn/and/order/title/page/1 |date=2012-07-29 }} * [https://statenisland.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/8F273460-28B0-4155-ADC7-196403668592 Wedding dress, 1900, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database] * [https://statenisland.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/BDD6D520-E3F8-4C30-AFE6-535900831247 Wedding dress, 1951, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database]

Category:Wedding Category:Dresses Category:Gowns Category:Wedding dresses