Marriage a la Mode: Three Centuries of Wedding Dress Tradition

About this book

This book traces the development of dress from the silver and white brocades of eighteenth-century formal aristocratic weddings to the elegant crinoline revivals of the 1960s and 70s. The wearing of a white dress with a veil gradually gained ground during the nineteenth century and the tradition as we know it seems to have been well established by the 1880s probably influenced by the marriages of Queen Victoria her children and grandchildren. Even then fashionable white weddings were the preserve of wealthy families. Many brides were married in the best they could afford often a smart day dress which could also be worn on many occasions after the wedding. Wedding veils might be used again in another form particularly as christening robes. Shelley Tobin has drawn on the collection of wedding dresses owned by the National Trust and kept at Killerton House in Devon. Whenever possible she has focused on gowns and accessories where she can trace the provenance of the wearer or maker. The dresses themselves are supplemented with fashion plates portraits and photography together with bridesmaids dresses flowers favours and customs to provide a fascinating social history of the past three hundred years.