Wedding dress

Weddings performed during and immediately following the Middle Ages were often more than just a union between two people. They could be a union between two families, two businesses or even two countries. Many weddings were more a matter of politics than love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Brides were therefore expected to dress in a manner that cast their families in the most favorable light, for they were not representing only themselves during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics. It was common to see them wearing bo

Over the centuries, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status—always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained also was a reflection of the bride's social standing and indicated the extent of the family's wealth to wedding guests. Today, there are wedding dresses available in all price ranges, and Western traditions have loosened up to include a rainbow of colors and variety of lengths, which are now considered acceptable. Women may purchase ready-made gowns, wear a family heirloom, or they may choose to have a dressmaker create one for her. In addition, today many bridal salons have samples of wedding gowns in their stores where the bride selects a certain style and orders one to be made to fit.

Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920s, wedding dresses 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 1940s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. Although there has always been a style that dominates the bridal market for a time, and then shifts with the changes in fashion, a growing number of modern brides are not choosing to follow these trends. This is due in large part to non-traditional and non-first-time weddings, and women who are marrying later in life.

Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white^[1] though "wedding white" includes shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. Lowering wedding costs by selecting a second hand wedding dress rather than purchasing a new one is a growing trend.^[2]

Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding gown in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France because it was her favorite color, although white was then the color of mourning for French Queens. The first documented instance of a princess who wore a white wedding gown Princess for a royal wedding ceremony is that of Philippa of England, who wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine) in 1406.^[3]

White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event to incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen's choice.^[4]

The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia.^[5] Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this was not

Many wedding dresses in China, India (wedding sari) and Vietnam (in the traditional form of the Ao dai) are colored red, the traditional color of good luck and auspiciousness. Nowadays, many women choose other colors besides red. In modern Chinese weddings, the bride may opt for Western dresses of any color, and later don traditional costume for the official tea ceremony.

Red wedding saris are the traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Sari fabric is also traditionally silk. Over time, color options and fabric choices for Indian brides have expanded. Today fabrics like crepe, Georgette, tissue and satin are used, and colors have been expanded to include gold, pink, orange, maroon, brown, and yellow as well.^[8] Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (lehnga, choli, etc.).

At Japanese weddings, brides will often wear three or more dresses throughout the ceremony and subsequent celebrations with a traditional kimono, white and colour dress combination being popular. The Javanese people of Indonesia wear a kebaya, a traditional kind of blouse, along with batik.

In the Philippines, variations of the Baro't saya are considered to be wedding attire for women, along with the Barong Tagalog for men.

the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) The white gown is in fact a symbolic Christening gown. They are a variation of the white surplice worn in the Western Catholic tradition by members of the clergy, church choirs and servers and the gowns worn by girls making their first communion and at their confirmation and also by women making religious vows. Jews have gone to great lengths ^[6] to follow^[7] these Western (Judeo-Christian) customs, whilst adhering to the laws of Tzniut. Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.

ld colors and layers of furs, velvet and silk.

Wedding dress

Weddings performed during and immediately following the Middle Ages were often more than just a union between two people. They could be a union between two families, two businesses or even two countries. Many weddings were more a matter of politics than love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Brides were therefore expected to dress in a manner that cast their families in the most favorable light, for they were not representing only themselves during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics. It was common to see them wearing bold colors and layers of furs, velvet and silk.

Over the centuries, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status—always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained also was a reflection of the bride's social standing and indicated the extent of the family's wealth to wedding guests. Today, there are wedding dresses available in all price ranges, and Western traditions have loosened up to include a rainbow of colors and variety of lengths, which are now considered acceptable. Women may purchase ready-made gowns, wear a family heirloom, or they may choose to have a dressmaker create one for her. In addition, today many bridal salons have samples of wedding gowns in their stores where the bride selects a certain style and orders one to be made to fit.

Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920s, wedding dresses 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 1940s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. Although there has always been a style that dominates the bridal market for a time, and then shifts with the changes in fashion, a growing number of modern brides are not choosing to follow these trends. This is due in large part to non-traditional and non-first-time weddings, and women who are marrying later in life.

Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white^[1] though "wedding white" includes shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. Lowering wedding costs by selecting a second hand wedding dress rather than purchasing a new one is a growing trend.^[2]

Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding gown in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France because it was her favorite color, although white was then the color of mourning for French Queens. The first documented instance of a princess who wore a white wedding gown Princess for a royal wedding ceremony is that of Philippa of England, who wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine) in 1406.^[3]

White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event to incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen's choice.^[4]

The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia.^[5] Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this was not the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) The white gown is in fact a symbolic Christening gown. They are a variation of the white surplice worn in the Western Catholic tradition by members of the clergy, church choirs and servers and the gowns worn by girls making their first communion and at their confirmation and also by women making religious vows. Jews have gone to great lengths ^[6] to follow^[7] these Western (Judeo-Christian) customs, whilst adhering to the laws of Tzniut. Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings

Wedding dress

Weddings performed during and immediately following the Middle Ages were often more than just a union between two people. They could be a union between two families, two businesses or even two countries. Many weddings were more a matter of politics than love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Brides were therefore expected to dress in a manner that cast their families in the most favorable light, for they were not representing only themselves during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics. It was common to see them wearing bold colors and layers of furs, velvet and silk.

Over the centuries, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status—always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained also was a reflection of the bride's social standing and indicated the extent of the family's wealth to wedding guests. Today, there are wedding dresses available in all price ranges, and Western traditions have loosened up to include a rainbow of colors and variety of lengths, which are now considered acceptable. Women may purchase ready-made gowns, wear a family heirloom, or they may choose to have a dressmaker create one for her. In addition, today many bridal salons have samples of wedding gowns in their stores where the bride selects a certain style and orders one to be made to fit.

Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920s, wedding dresses 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 1940s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. Although there has always been a style that dominates the bridal market for a time, and then shifts with the changes in fashion, a growing number of modern brides are not choosing to follow these trends. This is due in large part to non-traditional and non-first-time weddings, and women who are marrying later in life.

Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white^[1] though "wedding white" includes creamy shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. It's also important to take into account the rising trend of selecting second hand wedding dresses over brand new in an attempt to lower wedding costs.^[2] Philippa of England was actually the first documented princess in history to wear a white wedding gown during a royal wedding ceremony: she wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine).^[3]

White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria had worn a white gown for the event so as to incorporate some lace she owned. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for a similar dress in honor of the Queen's choice.^[4]

The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia.^[5] Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this had not been the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) The white gown is in fact a symbolic Christening gown. They are a variation of the white surplice worn in the Western Catholic tradition by members of the clergy, church choirs and servers and the gowns worn by girls making their first communion and at their confirmation and also by women making religious vows. Jews have gone to great lengths ^[6] to follow ^[7] these Western (Judeo-Christian) customs, whilst adhering to the laws of Tzniut. Today, the white dress is normally understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.

Wedding Dress

Contrary to what it suggests, having an apple figure doesn't mean you're overweight. Rather, this fruity label refers to a slightly rounded figure with hips, waist and shoulder widths of similar width, but set off by slim, toned arms and legs. "Women with apple figures tend to collect weight around the middle of their bodies, leaving the waist region a bit lost", says Marie Power, a Dublin-based bridal shop owner and designer. "A slim waist is the most feminine physical characteristic a woman can possess and on your wedding day, you want to look as womanly as possible."

Thus, choosing a dress that defines an apple's waist is a must. "A bodice worn with an A-line skirt - slim at the waist and flared at the bottom - is a popular choice for apples who need to pull themselves in around the middle", says Marie. "Choosing a bodice with a lot of detailing around the bust will promote that area well."

While all apples will look good in a bodice, those of super slim stature should make a bee-line for the bias cut. Superb figure-huggers, the bias cut clings to the hips and midriff, falling delicately across the body, lending it the label of 'a second skin.' "The bias cut is good for creating the illusion of shape. That said, you should avoid dresses with fish-tail skirts as these will not bring out the best in your figure."

While bias cuts are good for the apple, a longer-length dress like the ultra-straight column dress is an apple no-no. "It's hard to create definition between waist and hips with the column dress which is best suited to women with naturally slim waists."

The Hourglass

The hourglass figure is the closest thing to the perfect figure. Characterised by hips and shoulders of the same width and a well-defined waist, this body shape is synonymous with the classic Hollywood hot bod. Epitomised by the original queen of Hollywood, well-proportioned and voluptuous Marilyn Monroe, the hourglass figure has more recently been shown off by shapely Oscar-winner Kate Winslet. Topping a recent UK poll for 'Best Celebrity Body', it seems the size zero obsession of the noughties is slowly being replaced by a more natural, womanly curve as the Western body ideal. "The hourglass is the most proportioned of figure types", says Marie.

Those lucky enough to be blessed with such a 'perfect figure' will naturally be able to pull off anything. "This shape is by far the easiest to dress because virtually any style can be adapted to suit", says Marie. "You can choose to highlight your curves by wearing a fish-tail skirt which will show off your womanly shape to perfection. Alternatively, you can emphasise your bust area by wearing an empire-line top. You could also focus on your small waist region by wearing a well-fitted bodice."

But perfect people beware: while hourglasses may have a host of physical assets to highlight, less is more. "Women with hourglass figures have many different parts of their body worthy of flaunting but they should not be tempted to go overboard and highlight them all at the same time", warns Marie. "If you try to highlight your bust, curves and waist, rather than showing off your perfect figure, having too much going on in the design will simply take the attention away from your great shape. Avoid this at all costs by focusing on one of your assets alone."