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The History of the Wedding Dress

The white dress

Actually, back in the day, a wedding dress was just as likely to be black or blue or yellow. Because a wedding dress was usually your best dress, your Sunday best, maybe even your only other dress. Ironically, it was the woman that spent most of her life in black, Queen Victoria, who started the trend for white, with her own wedding dress back in 1840. Of course now, once again, every hue from the most shocking of scarlets to the deepest midnight is acceptable for a wedding dress - and that's if it's a dress at all. (There was an awful lot of about pants suits in the 70's.)

A nice day for a white wedding - Pre 1910

Well, when I say white, I mean more like ivory really. Because most of the dresses were made of silk, and silk couldn't survive the harsh chemicals and techniques they used. The shape was all about the confining corset. With high waists and high necks, the wedding dress was the height of propriety and virgin chic. Long sleeves were also expected - bare arms were not allowed in church. (Today, the same rules apply in Westminster Abbey, which is why every royal bride has kept them covered - including most recently Kate.)

At a glance:

Icon: Queen Victoria

Features: Corset, bustles

Details: Pearls, wax flower tiaras

A glimpse of silk stocking - The twenties dress

It's just after the 1st world war and things have changed. Women are more independent. They had to be; there are fewer men. Women could smoke, drink and Charleston the night away. Goodbye corset. Hello Jazz hands. The delicious Lanvin and delectable Coco start doing their thing. Waistlines and necklines drop. But the hemlines of bejewelled and heavily beaded wedding dresses were raised to risqué levels (just below the knee). Trains cascaded from the shoulders or court and cathedral length veils billowed and fluttered around their brides.

At a glance:

Icon: Louise Brookes

Features: Flattened bosoms, asymmetrical cuts and lines

Details: Bunt bobs, Juliet cap veils, trailing bouquets

The silver screen - The thirties dress

Paris and Hollywood shaped the wedding dresses of the thirties. The Paris designer Vionnet pioneered willowy simplicity by inventing the bias cut. Elegant and geometric panelled dresses followed - long, slim columns of draped silk, satin and chiffon. And for the first time the backless dress was flirted with. The great Depression wasn't so great. People need escapism. And Hollywood provided it by the cinema loads. Scarlet O'Hara reignited the Victorian love of the floor-skimming, princess style, satin skirt with tight bodice. (And it's never really gone away since.)

At a glance:

Icon: Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, Wallis Simpson

Features: Leg o' Mutton sleeves, flowing satin, lines of tiny buttons, butterfly capes.

Details: Soft curls, diamonds not wax flowers in the hair.

War brides - The forties dress

It wasn't just food that was rationed during the 2nd world war. Silk was for parachutes not wedding dresses. People had make do. Tailored suits and registry offices sufficed. (Unless you were the future Queen Elizabeth II.) After the war, Dior blazed a trail with his New Look. All hips and cinched-in waists. The silhouette was a return to the feminine. Accentuating the positive with v necked fitted bodices and conservative shoulder pads.

At a glance:

Icon: Lauren Bacall

Features: Puddle trains, gathered sleeves.

Accessories: Tulle rather than lace veils

Hollywood Royalty - the fifties dress

Sweetheart necklines, wasp waists and ballerina skirts. The 50's were classically romantic, and endlessly glamorous. Women didn't even pop to the shop without hat, gloves, shoes, handbag and lipstick to match. Girdles ruled. But nobody quite dared to bare the bridal shoulders just yet. A duchesse satin strapless dress was completed with a lace bolero. Curved banded fascinators and coronets perched. Beehives were backcombed. For the first time wedding dresses could be bought ready to wear. Fabulous dresses for everyone. Hip hip hooray.

At a glance:

Icon: Jane Russell, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Doris Day

Features: Petticoats, lace, brocade, necklines

Accessories: Beehive, kitten heels, short shoulder length veils, gloves

Peace and love - the sixties dress

Mod, mini and space age. It was the decade of change. Rebellion. Of Biba and Mary Quant. Suddenly the thigh was the limit for wedding dress lengths. Girdles, bodices and corsets were out. Empire line, shift dresses, space age, architectural design was in. Daisies replaced roses. Crochet replaced satin. Now it was about barefoot waifs in Peter Pan collars and bell sleeves.