As with all types of clothing, the wedding dress has changed in style and fashion throughout the ages. During the medieval period, when a wedding was a matter of politics above all else, brides had to dress in a way that would best reflect their families. The higher the social standing of the bride, the richer the colours and the more expensive the fabrics used. Fur, velvet and silk were often incorporated into the design. The styles and colours of the wealthier brides were copied by the brides of lower social standing as best as they could.
Even though centuries passed and styles came and went, brides continued to dress in the most fashionable clothes, made from the richest and boldest materials that money could buy. Another factor indicative of the wealth and social standing of the bride was the amount of material used. Those who couldn’t afford anything new wore their best church dress on their wedding day.
In the 1920s fashion dictated that wedding dresses be shorter in the front than at the back and that they have a long train. They were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. In the 1940s the obsession with following fashion trends stopped as the Victorian full-skirted designs came back into fashion. Today, while many new styles and designs have been created, the Victorian full-skirt is still popular with many brides.
Mary Queen of Scots was one of the first women to wear white when she married Francois II of France. White was still not the traditional wedding colour and was considered rather inauspicious, as it was the official colour of mourning in France at that time. It was not a subtle message. It was only in 1840 that white became popular, after Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coberg. In order to make use of some white lace that she owned, Victoria insisted on a white dress. After the wedding portrait was published, many brides copied the dress in honour of the Queen.
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Source @ Fibre2fashion.com
